While there are numerous festivals of light and feast holidays in the colder months, many of them—such as Diwali and Eid—take place outside the Winter Solstice period. In North America, the winter vacation is associated with the major holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and culminates in the celebration of the new (Gregorian) calendar year.
During this season, time off work, celebration with friends and large-scale sales in stores lead to so much general excitement that it isn’t necessary to partake in particular observances to enjoy some festive cheer.
But the food consumed during the winter holidays is about appealing to more than just taste buds. These foods are a way to bind us to our families and ethnicities, and often serve as an edible reminder of our past.
Food and the act of holiday feasting are also a reminder of our collective past, as the tradition of large holiday meals may have begun as a pagan ritual during winter solstice, when a symbolic meal was prepared in honour of Freyja, the Norse goddess of peace and plenty, in an attempt to ensure a plentiful harvest in the coming year.
The tradition of serving cookies, cakes and other sweets likely began symbolically as well; circular and therefore sunsunshaped, cakes had candles placed in their centre to encourage the sun to light up the gloomy winter months.
While some holiday food brings cheer and fond memories, none is more divisive—or more ubiquitous—than fruitcake. Love it or hate it, this candied treat has been around since Roman times, originally made with fruits in season during the winter solstice period. Many other foods have special associations with holidays based on the season in which the holiday takes place. Chefs and food scholars (yes, they exist) have suggested that oil plays a crucial role in the food and ceremonies of Hanukkah because the festival takes place at the time of year when olives were pressed into oil in ancient Israel.
The very name of Kwanzaa suggests the celebration’s association with food: Kwanzaa is derived from a Swahili word meaning “first fruits of the harvest,” and reflects the traditions of African harvest rituals, emphasizing the group work needed to grow and collect food, and celebrating with a feast of the harvest.
Although every culture has its own traditional meals and customs at holiday times, a universal theme seems to be the celebration of friends, family and food. Almost every winter celebration, religious or otherwise, involves gathering loved ones around a table and enjoying a meal as a group.
In Canada, there are myriad religions, cultures and lifestyles represented in our population, a multicultural society that translates into different personal interpretations of winter celebrations.
One of the traditional aspects retained from regional and familial origins is what people choose to cook and eat during their festivities. But we also live in a society where cuisines from all over the world are available for us to enjoy through cookbooks, restaurants and specialty food stores.
Food culture in Canada is becoming increasingly and appetizingly diverse, and it seems fitting to celebrate this fact by representing delicious fare from all over the world in this holiday recipe collection. Delicious and highly shareable, these diverse dishes will make you the star of any holiday party.
See what looks appealing, and venture forth into the kitchen. Cooking for people you care about is a wonderful way to celebrate the season. May these dishes bring global variety and good cheer to your table!
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