The Holy Family

This painting entitled "The Holy Family" depicts St. Elizabeth, Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist and Jesus.  It is estimated that Peter Paul Rubens created the work between 1615 and 1620 with the assistance of a pupil.  Such collaborative efforts were common for the baroque master at that stage of his career.  At least three other versions of this painting are known to exist.  Mrs. Mary Emery bought this copy in 1912 and displayed it in Edgecliffe - her Cincinnati home.  It was bequeathed to Christ Church in her will in 1927.

The Holy Family has been an important focal point of 
the Boar's Head since the 1950's.
C.K. Wang, photo

In the festival's climax, God comes down to his people. They reach up to God.
C.K. Wang, photo

We are giving thanks to Mary M. Emery(1844-1927) as parishioners of Christ Church Cathedral prepare for our annual gift to the people of Cincinnati.

In his book, Rich in Good Works: Mary M. Emery Of Cincinnati, art collector and philanthropist, author Millard F. Rogers, Jr. wrote how he was drawn into the life of Mary Emery:

"Mary Emery first attracted my attention during my tenure as director of the Cincinnati Art Museum from 1974 to 1994 when I was in daily contact with the museum building she provided, the endowment she established, and the collection of paintings by Titian, Mantegna, Hals, Murillo, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, and others she bequeathed to that institution. It was not difficult to grasp her methodology in acquiring these master pieces, but so many questions were unanswered about her life, her husband, Emery's acquisition of wealth, and her dedication to charitable acts and the dispersal of most of her estate.”

The Holy Family has been an important focal point of the Boar's Head since the 1950's.

The Boar's Head Festival at the 1835 Church, about 1952
Photo from Boar's Head archive

The Boar's Head Festival at the 1835 Church
Photo from Boar's Head archive

Christ Church was founded in 1817. In 1835, the church moved to its present location at 318 East Fourth Street. The red-brick structure of 1835 was modeled after the old Stepney church St. Dunstan's in London.[1]

The interior was completely redone in the late 1890s, as shown in the above photos. There were Tiffany glass tiles lining the chancel, Tiffany glass hanging lamps, and a sanctuary transformed with a Moorish arch. The Plum Street Temple introduced Moorish architectural design to the city of Cincinnati in 1866. Elements of the 1890s sanctuary were used to create the Ascension Chapel on the 2nd floor of the Parish House.

The Boar's Head Festival at the new Church, about 1957

Photo from Boar's Head archive

The 1835 building, deemed unsafe, was replaced in 1957 with the current building, designed in a bold modern style by David Briggs Maxwell. Although it incorporates features such as the stained glass windows from the original church erected in 1835, the building is in stark contrast to the older buildings in the cathedral complex.

The Boar's Head Festival in the 1980's, 
after church's 1983 renovation
Photo from Boar's Head archive

 In 1982 and 1983, this sanctuary was completing stripped of green tiles on the pyramidal pilasters and argyle diamond pattern (green & gold) on chancel wall and painted off-white everywhere. It was extensively remodeled again in the 1990s.[1]

1. Wikipedia contributors, "Christ Church Cathedral (Cincinnati)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christ_Church_Cathedral_(Cincinnati)&oldid=622369384 (accessed September 20, 2014).

The Boar's Head

Posted: August 23, 2014
Updated: October 10, 2014

The Festival we know today originated at Queen's College, Oxford, England in 1340. Legend has it that a scholar was studying a book of Aristotle while walking through the forest on his way to Christmas Mass. Suddenly, he was confronted by an angry wild boar. Having no other weapon, the resourceful Oxonian rammed his metal-bound philosophy book down the throat of the charging animal, whereupon the brute choked to death. That night the boar's head, finely dressed and garnished, was borne in procession to the dining room, accompanied by carolers singing "in honor of the King of bliss."

By 1607, an expansive ceremony was in use at St. John's College, Cambridge, England. There, the boar's head was accompanied by "mustard for the eating" and decorated with flags and sprigs of evergreen, bay rosemary and holly. It was carried in state to the strains of the Boar's Head carol, still sung in the Christ Church ceremony.

C.K. Wang, photo

With Boars being in short supply in the forests of Cincinnati, a hog's head is dressed to represent the boar. It is roasted and garnished, but not eaten. Boar's tusks were carved for the first Boar's Head here. The three flags in his head represents the ceremony's British roots, the French Huguenots who brought it to Colonial America and our own nation.

The property crew decorate the Boar's Head.

©2014 Constance Sanders

Many thanks to Suzann Parker Leist for donating the black head for many years. Each year, after a local farm hog is butchered for its meat, the head is deep frozen. It rests in the Cathedral freezer until ready to roast. 

Suzann Parker Leist with the Boar's Head, 2011

The Boar's Head Company
©2010 Constance Sanders 

The Boar's Head Company, about 1958. Frank Pandorf, left 
and Ralph Kendrick, right
Boar's Head photo archive

The Plum Pudding

August 23, 2014

Plum pudding, together with mince pie, are symbols of hospitality and were always on hand to serve guests in medieval times.  Here in the festival, they suggest the fullness of God's gifts to his children.

Susan West,  photo, 2014

Malcolm Dunn (casting as the Poor Man) with the plum pudding, 2006
C.K. Wang, photo

Malcolm Dunn has been the sole baker of the plum pudding since 1996, and his wife, Priscilla, decorates the final product. It’s a year-long process . The preparation starts by soaking candied fruits with brandy in a jar after Christmas until next October when Malcolm gathers the rest of the ingredients and bakes in the first weekend of October. It requires mixing in two batches by hand and bakes in a specially made tin tube pan for 3 hours. When the cake is completely cooled, he wraps it in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and places it in an antique Grace Rush Fruit Cake tin. He stores it in a refrigerator at their daughter's home and "visits" it monthly to re-soak the brandied cheesecloth.

In the morning before the first performance, Malcolm will glaze the entire cake with orange marmalade which has had the rind removed. Priscilla then places blanched almonds which have been coated with marmalade around the outer edge and inner ring. Then pineapple slices are placed around the top of the cake followed by red and green cherries. The cake is then taken to Christ Church Cathedral where the hole is filled with holly etc. and placed on the trencher.

The Plum Pudding Company

As a tradition since Boar’s Head’s beginning here, the plum pudding is cut and shared with the cast and guests following the last performance. The rich, complex flavor is unmatched!