Recipes for a Happy Holidays
Many holidays are celebrated in the winter by many different cultures. Several of these holidays began as a way to brighten up the darkest days as a celebration of the winter solstice. However, not all of them did. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, I hope you can find some use or entertainment in the following recipes for a happy holiday season.
Christmas
Ingredients:
Tree with decorations
Lights
Mistletoe
A feast
Directions:
According to history.com, one of the first Christmas-like celebrations was in Scandinavia, With Scandinavia celebrating yule on December 21 (the winter solstice). They introduced the burning of the Yule Log and feasting in honor of the sun returning. Though Yule is much less celebrated now due to the introduction of Christmas, there are still those that celebrate.
Germans in the middle ages introduced the concept of decorating a tree inside. Their main reason for doing this was to bring the life they were missing into the house as many Germans in the middle ages worshiped the pagan god Oden, prompting them to stay inside for fear that he would come get them during the long winter nights.
The introduction of Christmas itself and the link to the birth of Jesus came with the christianization of ancient Rome. The Romans celebrated a few different holidays in the winter, most importantly Saturnalia which worshiped their god of agriculture and the birthday of Mithra an infant god of the sun born on December 25. During the month-long festival of Saturnalia all people feasted, both school and work were cancelled and the social order was turned upside down. This included the temporary freedom and equal treatment of enslaved people. It was during this time that Ancient Romans also lit ritual bonfires and candles to “push back the darkness.” This concept led to the lights many people now put on their trees. By this time Christian leaders had found out that outlawing Pagan holidays was not as good of an incentive to convert as absorbing them. So they assigned the birth of Jesus to December 25, effectively replacing the birth of Mithra, and celebrated it in a similar way to the Romans. The introduction of gifts on Christmas came from the gifts given to baby Jesus from the wise men.
During the spread of Puritan control in the 17th century in Europe, Christmas was cancelled as a show of over-indulgence. Charles the 2nd was quickly reinstated on the throne and restored the celebration. Similarly, the Puritans who came to America did not appreciate Christmas, thus it was not a holiday celebrated in early America. In fact, showing any “Christmas spirit” involved a fine of 5 shillings. Christmas only began to be celebrated after the American Revolution, and was only declared a federal holiday on June 25, 1870. Furthermore, many Christmas traditions did not become celebrated until immigrants brought their own traditions, such as German immigrants popularizing the use of Christmas trees in America in the early 19th century.
Notes:
According to ambuis.com mistletoe began to be used in the 18th century as a popular Christmas decoration, however it has been used for far longer. Its first recorded use was in the 1st century AD with the Celtic Druids. Its life in the dark and cold winter inspired many. Mistletoe further gets its meaning from a myth in Norse mythology. After her son, the god Baldur, was killed from an arrow made of mistletoe, the goddess Figg vowed mistletoe would never be a weapon again and would kiss whomever walked beneath it. This led to the superstition that any two who walk beneath mistletoe should kiss to show reverence to Figg and not tempt bad luck.
Hanukkah/Chanukah
Ingredients:
Menorah and candles
Dreidel
Fried foods such as Latkes
Directions:
According to history.com Hanukkah is an 8-day Jewish holiday that celebrates the reconsecration of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Its name comes from the Hebrew word חֲנוּכָּה, meaning dedication.
In 168 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphane ordered his soldiers to take Jerusalem, massacring many people and desecrating the city’s second holy temple. He did this to try and force the Jewish people to follow his outlaw on the Jewish Religion and worship Greek Gods instead. The soldiers even placed a statue of Zeus in the temple to reinforce this point.
From 166 BCE to 164 BCE Judah Maccabee (“the Hammer”), son of the Jewish priest Mattathias, forced the Syrians out of the temple. Judah and his followers then cleansed and rebuilt the temple. However, when they went to light the menorah, a representation of knowledge and creation meant to be kept burning every night, they only found enough oil for 1 day. The miracle of the oil, mentioned in the Talmud, was that the flame kept going for 8 days, enough time for Judah and his followers to get a fresh oil supply. This miracle inspired the celebration of Hanukkah. During Hanukkah many eat fried foods to commemorate the miracle of the oil.
Nowadays most Jewish homes have their own menorah, on which they light a candle for each day of the 8 day celebration. A special candle called a shamash is used to light the main 8 candles on the menorah. Furthermore, gifts may be exchanged and many play with dreidels - a four sided spinning top.
Notes:
Though Hanukkah is only a minor religious holiday, it has gained notoriety and become more commercialized in North America due to its overlap with Christmas. Hanukkah has no work or school restrictions due to its minor religious significance.
Kwanzaa
Ingredients:
Candleholder
Seven red, green, and black candles
A feast
Directions:
According to history.com, Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 as a way to celebrate African familial and social values. Karenga is a professor at California State University in Long Beach and was an extremely influential figure in the Afrocentrism movement of the 1980s and 90s. Kwanzaa itself is not a Swahili word, however, it does draw from words in the Swahili language. Karenga created the word by adding an extra a to the word “kwanza” (meaning first) from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” (meaning the first fruits of the harvest). The additional “a” is meant to make the word long enough for each letter to represent one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The celebration spans from December 26 to January 1st, with each day linked to one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. These principles are unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani).
To celebrate, the family comes together to light one of the candles in the kinara (candleholder) and discuss the principle of that day. These candles should be in the colours of red, green, and black, each candle symbolizes one of the seven principals. Furthermore, many people observing Kwanzaa will join a community feast called the karamu on December 31. Some wear traditional African clothing during the celebration to further show their connection to African culture and values.
Notes:
Kwanzaa is a non-political and non-religious celebration not meant to replace Christmas or other winter celebrations.
Bodhi Day
Ingredients:
Sutras
Special meals
Gana
Directions:
According to usnews.com Bodhi day is a buddhist holiday celebrated on December 8th in Japan, though the date can vary in the rest of Asia (generally falling between the winter solstice and the lunar new year). Some Buddhists do not celebrate Bodhi Day. It is mostly observed by East-asian Buddhists’ Mahayana traditions in Japan, Vietnam, and Korea.
The word “Bodhi” means “to awaken” in Sanskrit and Pali, however it is mainly taken to mean “enlightenment” in the Buddhist Religion.
The holiday is meant to celebrate how Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddah. It is said that he became the Buddah while meditating under a peepal or ficus tree in Bodh Gaya - a village in Bihar, India. The tree Guatama meditated under was named the Bodhi tree or tree of awakening, this has led to the use of ficus leaves as a symbol of Buddhism. Today Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple Complex are considered one of the most sacred places for Buddhists to make a pilgrimage. Though the original tree is no longer there, a large tree near the temple is believed to be a descendant of the tree the Buddah prayed under.
How this holiday is celebrated depends largely on the person celebrating it, however, many celebrate by reading scriptures (sutras), praying, and performing acts of kindness and generosity (gana). They may also hold special family meals or eat milk with rice which is believed to be what Guatama ate in his final push towards enlightenment. Another common practice is decorating a tree with lights or candles to symbolize the Buddah’s enlightenment.
Notes:
This holiday is mainly religious and generally not celebrated by anyone who is not a Buddhist in Eastern Asia.
St. Lucia Day/Saint Lucy’s Day
Ingredients:
Feast
Candles
Music
Directions:
Celebrated on December 13, winter solstice on the Julian calendar, St. Lucia day is a Christian holiday meant to honor the martyr Lucia of Syracuse. She is said to have brought food to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, using a candle lit wreath on her head to see along the way. This holiday is mainly practiced in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.
According to visitsweden.com, St. Lucia day can be traced back to the 4th century CE. However, the holiday did not become common practice in Sweden until the 1900s.
Originally, St. Lucia day was celebrated with a feast. The reason for this feast was twofold: commemorating St. Lucia herself and staying awake. In Swedish folklore the winter solstice is a dangerous night where dark spirits run amok. To survive the night, staying awake is imperative and eating was thought to help as well.
Today, in addition to feasting, concerts are held in churches, town halls, and even select restaurants. Though traditionally Lucia appears right before dawn, these concerts are generally held at dusk for practicality. Lucia and her handmaidens wear white dresses with a red ribbon around their waist. Though all the girls may wear a wreath atop their heads only the ¨Lucia¨ of the group may have candles on this wreath. They are followed by ¨starboys¨ who wear all white and cone-like hats, they may also hold star-adorned sticks. Lucia may also carry a tray of sweets, including S-shaped saffron buns called Lussekatt. Traditionally both coffee and mulled wine are served to drink during the celebration.
Notes:
In the past many schools would put a picture and short description of candidates for Lucia; this has been changed as some noticed it became a bit of a beauty contest. Now, most schools and churches choose their Lucia randomly, and some younger groups have multiple Lucias in their performances.
All of these holidays have various religious and cultural affiliations, but they all stem from the same ideal: bringing light and hope into the dark winter. So whether you celebrate none, one, or any combination of the above holidays I hope you can find a way to feel some of the hope and brightness these holidays inspire.
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