MISCOUCHE, P.E.I. — The P.E.I. Acadian Museum in Miscouche will host a family Christmas celebration on Sunday, Dec. 15.
For the second year in a row, there will be the naulet competition.
A naulet or aulet is a biscuit or cookie made in the shape of a child. It is sometimes described as a pastry doll.
Before Santa Claus discovered the Acadian communities, it was the only gift that a child received at Christmas. As Jerome A. Gallant, a native of Rustico, wrote in 1931: “On Christmas morning there was nothing more urgent for young children than to go to get their aulet that their godparents never failed to prepare for them."
Judith Arsenault of Saint-Chrysostome, born in Bloomfield in 1875, remembered that “naulets were made with a rich dough. They were shaped like a doll and they were really good."
When she was raising her family, she used to make them and put them in her children’s stockings.
The naulet varied in size and was generally made with a leavened dough but also sometimes with a sugar cookie dough. Raisins were used to make the eyes, mouth, nose and buttons on the coat.
People are invited to make a naulet and bring it to the museum on Dec. 15. The competition will be divided into two categories — one for children and one for adults. Those attending the activity at the museum will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite naulet. Prizes will be awarded to those individuals whose naulets have received the most votes.
The celebration is being organized by the Sister Antoinette DesRoches Historical Committee and the Acadian Museum in collaboration with La Belle-Alliance ltee of Summerside.
The event takes place 1:30-4 p.m. Admission is free. In case of a storm, the activity will take place on Sunday, Dec. 22.
