[Sca-cooks] Paschal Beets

[Philip Troy]

On Monday 17 September 2001 11:56, Jennifer Whitbeck wrote:

> > Not me. I reported it in good faith from a source I
> > have no reason not
> > to trust. As to the whys and wherefores, however,
> > I'm at a loss.
>
> I meant debunking the "yam" myth. - It sounded silly
> to me that it would be considered an adequate
> replacement solely on the basis of a rhyme in one
> language (English).
>
> I've got no beef with the beet question, and certainly
> wasn't trying to randomly antagonize that assertion.

Yeah, I know all about you yam-hatin' antagonist types... ;  )

Sorry, though. My fault.

With regard, though, to the idea of a ritual substitution being based on a
rhyme in English, stranger things have been known to happen. For example, a
lot of the food symbolism in Southern China is based, more or less, on
homonyms and puns. Shrimp, for example, are symbolic of laughter and joy for
many people because they sound ("har") like laughter.

At this point nothing surprises me.

Adamantius