K.A.C. 2023 - T - 06 Days ...

     1970 - Once again we take a look at Horrible Christmas Foods, this time setting our Timeless Tinsel Tracker back a hundred years - to 1870 - and the most outrageous, eye-opening story we'll report on for this season's K.A.C. 

      What's on the menu? Stuffed Donkey Heads, Roasted Camel (English Style) and (horrifyingly) much, much more. Ripley's Believe It Or Not tells the true tale of the one-of-a-kind holiday Feasts of Beasts in 'Zoo Feast: A Christmas Dinner for the Ages':

     https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/zoo-feast-a-christmas-dinner-for-the-ages/ 

     Moving back to the present (well, 1970 present), while I know you would like to recreate that royal repast, it's just not practical. Instead, take a look at two articles showing you what would have been on the menu for a '70s Christmas feast, with such taste treats as Peanut Butter Soup and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in aspic ... those Stuffed Donkey Heads don't sound so bad now, do they? 

     https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/christmas-the-food-hostesses-in-1970s-were-expected-to-create-should-make-you-feel-better-about-your-festive-attempts-a6780136.html 

     https://www.bonappetit.com/story/very-70s-christmas-dinner

    

     But wait, there's MUCH more! Even Salvador Dali got into the Jolly Jellied Jamboree, as can be seen with our next entry, entitled 'Inside The Surreal World Of '70s Food Porn':

     https://elephant.art/inside-the-surreal-world-of-70s-food-porn-22122020/

      While there are SO many more articles on horrible holiday foods from the past (enough to fill all the remaining entries this year), we'll spare you those and instead will dally with Dali a tad longer, as we present a look at his own 'unique' take on Christmas cards below:

     https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/salvador-dali-surreal-christmas-cards/

     We've saved the best for last, or maybe all that aspic, jellied food has damaged more than our palates. I was looking for something to encapsulate just HOW strange the '70s were and found it in the most unlikeliest of sources: behold the 1970 edition of 'Archie's Christmas Love-In'. Ooof, where to even begin with this? Well, once you get past the cover where the Claus-meister is embracing his new role as the Riverdale Guru (as an aside, methinks he's holding the wrong kind of plant for where this is going, but I digress), the contents are more than bizarre, as Archie and the Gang decide to deluge their school with the seasonal joys that only Flower Power can bring ... and the hilarity that ensues. Thankfully Alan Stewart over at the Attack Of The 50 Year Old Comic Books website has done the heavy lifting here, breaking it down and adroitly examining the colossal crash of counterculture and total Squares-ville:

     https://50yearoldcomics.com/2019/10/26/archie-giant-series-magazine-169-january-1970/

     Did I say last? Well, almost - consider this a P.S. As silly as that comic book looks, I'm sure it planted a seed in some impressionable youths who took it to heart and passed down the peaceful vibes to their children and grandchildren. See for yourself in 'The Magic of Santa Claus Explained with Yogic Philosophy':

     https://saltspringcentre.com/the-magic-of-santa-claus-explained-with-yogic-philosophy/

     More tomorrow with a look at 1971. Peace, baby!