OK…I’ve written four series of these blogs. I’ve talked about decorations, movies, songs, Christmas cards, and pooping figurines, but I’ve never talked about fruitcake. 
Is there anything else as identified with the holiday season with a similar reputation for universal dislike? Fruitcake is the punch line to 38% of all holiday jokes (little known fact, 78% of all statistics are made up at the time they are written). Johnny Carson captured the essence with, “The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” It is the low-hanging fruit (cake) of holiday humor. The Grinch has a better approval rating.
Don’t tell anyone, but I love fruitcake. The wonderful Dominican Sisters of San Jose yearly send my office a “brick of heaven” every year, and one very special Sister slips me an extra loaf every year. I enjoy one piece a day throughout the holiday season, sometimes with a cup of Starbucks Christmas Blend, a little combination I call “perfection.” I love the strong molasses-y sweetness and the three magi of cake, fruit, and nuts. I also enjoy “heritage” tastes of Christmas, flavors that are disappearing from our world. I will take a fruitcake, or mince pies, over any of the bland sweetness of modern treats. It is also a bite of my own history, as I first loved my grandmother’s fruitcake (she also sent a second loaf home with me). My first Christmases in my Grandparent’s house with the old decorations, the twirling tree, and the beautiful scratched records on the hi-fi wake with every crunchy bite.
There were few moments when I saw myself in my daughter as much (and was secretly so proud) as when she showed her love for fruitcake.
That’s my story, but I find very few kindred spirits. My yearly love of fruitcake is a joke to my friends and coworkers. Even I made a fruitcake joke in a work email this week, saying that an unpopular idea rated just below fruitcake. So what I’m wondering is where are the other fruitcake devotees? Apart from private individuals and the Angel Dominican Sisters, I see stacks of fruitcakes in stores. Someone buys them, and I’m certain someone is eating them.
Fruitcake lovers unite! Claim your heavenly treat that says Christmas like no other taste or smell! Do you taste what I taste? Fruitcake
Sugarplums, on the other hand…
As always, I welcome your comments..