By Alden Smith
The holiday season is steeped in traditions. From locale to locale, state to state, and nation to nation, each has specific meals and foods that are served at holiday time. With Thanksgiving the first event of the holiday season, we go on to Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. New Years Day rounds out the holiday season. Making the perfect meal for these holidays can be as simple or extravagant as you wish to make them. Here, we discuss the perfect holiday meal, and ways to enjoy them to the fullest.
The Special Days
Let’s look at each of these holidays, and see what a typical holiday meal would be comprised of:
- Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, comes at different times each year because it falls on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar. This translates to November-December on the Gregorian calendar. Focus on this Jewish holiday is on the lighting of the menorah. It is done during this holiday in commemoration of the re-dedication of the Temple after destruction by the Greeks. During these 8 days, after the menorah is lit, participants will feast on chicken or brisket. Latkes – potato pancakes – are a specialty during this celebration. They are traditionally served with applesauce.
- At Christmas, participants celebrate the birth of Christ. During this holiday time, many fine meals are served. For hundreds of years, goose has been the choice for the holiday meal. Although more a tradition in England, people in the United States still serve goose. Roast turkey, duck and pheasant are also served. The Smithfield ham, a special ham from Virginia, is also popular. Such things as cheese logs, Chex mix and eggnog round out this holiday season.
- Kwanzaa was established in 1966 in the midst of the Black Freedom Movement. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday. It is practiced by Africans of all religious faiths, and was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Africana Studies at California State University. The premise of Kwanzaa is to preserve, revitalize and promote African American culture. It is celebrated for seven days, from December 26th to January 1st. Meals served during Kwanzaa are typically of African origin. These include African vegetarian stew, Akara, a fritter made from black eyed peas, fried okra, Duro Wat, a spicy Ethiopian chicken stew, Tsebhe Sga, an Ethiopian beef stew, and Mafe, a peanut butter stew that is made throughout West Africa.
No mention of holiday meals is complete without mention of the 12-dish Christmas meal that is a big tradition in the European nations of Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania. The 12 dishes represent the 12 apostles and 12 months of the year. Because of the fast taking place, no meat, eggs or milk are allowed during the supper. Typical foods are fish, mushrooms and various grains. Herring, carp or pike are eaten, fixed various ways depending on locale.
In the second part of this series, we will discuss some traditional recipes, and safe procedures for the holiday meal.
Alden Smith is an award winning author and regular contributor to DoItYourself.com. He writes on a variety of subjects and excels in research.
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