How a carp can keep a family together for decades: Part 17 of our FR Advent stories
For as long as I can remember, or at least remember, my family has had carp for lunch at Christmas. It was like when I was twelve, when I was sixteen, and it’s still like that at 34. But there is no common carp, but the one from Thalberg. You don’t know the nest? No wonder, this story takes place in distant Brandenburg, where, according to the national anthem, dark pine forests and Brandenburg sand predominate.
My parents’ house is in the spa town of Bad Liebenwerda, and your doorbell probably won’t ring either, but there is very good mineral water. But back to tradition and Christmas morning. We get into the car there and drive the five kilometers to the pond farm. We used to be accompanied by snow or fog, and the ponds to the left and right of the path were sometimes frozen. Today we are already happy when some frost sticks to the leaves of the trees.
Christmas rituals
For some it is the goose on Christmas Eve, for others it has to be “Three Nuts for Cinderella” in the afternoon program. We all have certain stories, films or rituals that belong to Christmas – and without which our Advent season would only be half as festive. This year you will not only find the popular personal stories in the FR advent calendar, but also raffles every now and then. Good luck and in any case: Happy Holidays! FR
On site we choose a fish in the sales room. The older I and my brother got, the bigger the fish had to get to feed everyone. If the right fish is in the net, it goes into the plastic tub, where it is stunned by an electric shock. Then it is cut open so that it bleeds out. It is strange that the feast of the birth of Jesus always goes hand in hand with dead animals on plates.
A return trip later, back in the home kitchen, the fish is gutted. Initially from my father, later also from me and my brother. At some point he decided to become a chef. Since then, he has been preparing Christmas lunches year after year. It has to be carp blue – not baked, not fried. With apple horseradish, potatoes and a delicious sauce.
What sounds so perfect today is the quintessence of many decades of trying and refining. There were always unforgettable failures. Sometimes the fish was too small, sometimes so big that it didn’t fit in the pot. In a year we were ignorant, put the carp in the hot water and didn’t put the lid on. In one leap he was outside again, dragging bay leaves and hot brew with him and dancing a few more times on the white tiles in the kitchen.
The attempt to escape was of no use to him, it landed first on the fish platter on the room table and then in our stomachs. Since then, the lid has been put on immediately and held in place until there is no longer any danger. Today the story is anecdote and a warning at the same time. And is performed at least once during the midday feast. After the meal, we also thank the carp. Because it not only makes us full, but also brings us together year after year – no matter how many kilometers there are between us today.
