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Christmas Food  The goose  Keeping geese Group with geese at a
farm on Stalling Down, near Cowbridge Turkey was not part of the
Christmas fare in the rural areas until the second half of the
twentieth century.  Goose has been the festive bird associated
with Christmas in Wales over the centuries. Since the late
medieval times the yeoman farmer had a goose on his Christmas
table. Geese were easily bred and readily fed, especially in the
early autumn when they were allowed to glean the fields after
the corn harvest. Many farmers would give one as a gift to
tenants and workmen to celebrate Michaelmas Day but a fair
number would be reserved and fattened for the Christmas Market.
In general, the turkey was not accepted as part of the Christmas
fare in the rural areas until the second half of this century.
Goose blood tart  Goose blood tart Gooseblood tart, a Christmas
delicacy in parts of Montgomeryshire.  In mid-Wales, it was the
custom to make goose blood