Getting Screeched!

Friday evening we had arranged to participate in a "screech in" ceremony.  What a blast!  This ceremony is a Newfoundland tradition whereby the locals give the CFAs (Come from Away’s) the prestigious title of honourary Newfoundlanders! Think of it as a fun initiation!  Typically, participants are made to repeat some local sayings, kiss a cod fish, drink some Screech rum, and possibly try some Newfoundland Steak (their fancy name for fried bologna). In return, you get a certificate confirming your title as an honourary Newfoundlander!  So, for about $35 that is what we did and we have the certificate and a souvenir Screech shot glass to prove it. 

If you have had the pleasure of seeing the musical, Come From Away, based on Gander's residents' responses to the planeloads of people stranded there after 9/11, a "screech in" is featured at one point in the production.  While there are at least 3 pubs on George Street that host the ceremony, the one that came most highly recommended was Christian's so that is where we went.  Thankfully, we had booked in advance as the 7 pm ceremony was completely sold out. 

Our ceremony was led by Lukey who was very entertaining and funny.  This pub's version of the ceremony (although are probably all much the same) involved learning a few "Newfie" phrases, eating some Maple Leaf fried bologna (aka Newfoundland steak) which had been seasoned with saffron (who on earth does that to cheap meat?) and drinking a shot of screech - a fortified rum drink - very strong!  It was so much fun and, while most participants were from all across Canada from Victoria (us) to nearby provinces such as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, one guy was from Venezuela and another one from Delaware.  At the end of the ceremony, we were given a certificate and got to keep the screech shot glass as a souvenir as proof of our participation.

I managed to capture a some of the ceremony on video plus pictures of us "kissing the cod" - which, due to Covid protocols, wore a mask and we had to use a napkin on our lips to kiss it.  I think somehow we missed something in the experience because of that - not that I was looking forward to locking lips with a frozen fish!     We had a great time and we met some lovely folks while we were there. 





 







Comments

  1. Unknown22 August 2021 at 09:07

    What a wonderful evening!
    Keep on having a funtastic holiday together. Fabulous memories 🤗😍

    ReplyDelete

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