SC - New Year's Foods
Kay Loidolt
mmkl at indy.net
Thu Dec 30 18:46:07 PST 1999
Linda Taylor wrote:
>
> Question for the List:
>
> Does anyone know how (and what time of year) New Year's was celebrated
> foodwise in period? I was getting together our "traditional" collection of foods eaten for luck on New Year's Day, and it seemed
likely that something similar would have been going on in medieval
kitchens.
> I also recall that the New Year used to be considered to start in May. When did we switch to January? Was January 1 a special day, or was it
part of the general Christmas season? Inquiring minds want to know...
Johann, religious anthropolgist, replies:
Jan.1 was the old Roman New Years in honor of the god of time, Janus,
ie. January! In the Greek world the new year began with May 1 the return
of Persephone.
One of Christianity's single greatest talent is the ability to adapt
itself to its surroundings and to claim them as its own. This is
admitedly both a blessing and a curse to those cultures it comes in
contact with.
For Christians, the start of the new year might vary from the 1st
Sunday of Advent(about the 30th of Nov.) to the Feast of Pentecost( 50
days after Easter/Passover, comemorating the Descent of the Holy
Spirit), in the West.
In the East (Greco/Slavic,Arabic sphere) it may begin with either,
September the 8th, the Birth of the Theotokos(Virgin Mary), as the
initialization of the Incarnation /Redemption, or with Pasch (Easter
/Passover), the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. It is worth
note that the older measurements in the Christian scope are those of
Jewish origin and only when coming in contact with the Gentiles did the
various churches begin changing the point of origin for their new year
celebrations.
As for Special Foods, nearly anything that symbolizes plenty of fatness,
freshness, sweetness, and richness are used, but usually placed next to
sourness, saltiness, preserved foods to remind us of the need for
balance and to welcome both kinds of tears, joy and pain. These
guidelines seem to govern every new years meal regardless of clime or
culture!! 7 sweets and 7 sours, 3 beasts, 3 birds, 3 fish, 3 root
vegetables, 3 green vegetables, 3 grains, and 3 fruits!! or at least
multiples of these numbers!! One might strive to show a wide diversity
by the use of 6 fish, 3 fresh and 3 preserved or freshwater vs. ocean,
or beasts and bird and fruits from the wild <and> the farm.
Johann, in the midst of rinsing lutefisk for tomorrow!!!
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