Muharram is the first month
of the Muslim year. The tenth day is the anniversary of the murder of the
Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali, and his grandson, Imam Hussain. Shia
Muslims, the minority, keep this as a day of mourning, a practice shared
by Sunni Muslims in countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, northern India
and southern Lebanon, where the Prophet's family is venerated, Rambunctious
new year festivities are precluded, but nonetheless, sweet foods are prepared
for guests and sent as gifts to neighbors.
Many countries have traditional
dishes made at this time of year. In Turkey, for example, the day is celebrated
as the anniversary of Adam's first meeting with Eve and the day when Noah
realized the flood was subsiding. Asure (pronounced ash-or-a), a
mixture of wheat berries with chickpeas, raisins, and nuts, is always made
for this time of year. All the festive dishes at Muharram are confections
or desserts rather than main dishes.
FOOD AND DRINK
In Afghanistan and northern
India, sweet dishes of rice or thin vermicelli cooked in milk and flavored
with saffron, rose water, pistachios, and cardamom are served throughout
the month of Muharram and on other festive occasions. In India, Muslims
make zarda or meetha pullao,
a dish of basmati rice with raisins, saffron, cardamom, and cloves.
In some countries, including
Iran, rice is cooked with green herbs, the green ensuring a happy year
ahead. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, sweetened yellow lentil dishes are eaten
to symbolize the hope for happiness and fertility. Similarly, yellowed
pilafs and puddings of rice with saffron, or less expensive turmeric, are
popular.
Another popular New Year's
rice dish in the Middle East is roz bil shaghria, rice mixed with
chickpeas and vermicelli. The vermicelli symbolizes long life, that one's
employment will be prolonged, or that one will beget many children. Basmati
rice with apricots or raisins and chicken is another festive specialty
because its ingredients are expensive. It is also likely to appear at other
festive occasions throughout the Middle East.
March 17, St. Patrick’s Day.
Irish
This is the anniversary of the
death of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland in A.D. 493. In Ireland and
in the Catholic community of Ulster, where the saint is buried, it is celebrated
as a religious day of obligation.
FOOD AND DRINK
Traditionally, festivities in Ireland are limited to a meal of ham with parsley sauce and potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and other winter vegetables. Among the Irish community in America, and increasingly in Ireland itself, St. Patrick's Day has a less religious tone. Parades and parties are its hallmark. In this country, Irish immigrants adopted the Eastern European Jewish dish of corned beef for their holiday. Another Irish food served at every festive occasion is soda bread, and drinks include tea, Guinness stout, Irish whiskey, and cream drinks such as Bailey's Irish Cream. Today Irish cooks often use these drinks in recipes, some of which have become popular. Guinness, for example, is used in a traditional fruit cake called Porter Cake and in Guinness Beef Stew. Whiskey, Irish Mist, or Bailey's is often used to flavor cakes and desserts (see recipe for Irish Cream White Chocolate Mousse and Irish Cream Cheesecake). Another Irish food served at every festive occasion is Soda Bread. Another contemporary favorite at Irish holidays is smoked salmon, generally served as a first course or on sandwiches.
March 18, Beginning of Lent. Eastern Orthodox Christian
The Lenten fast is strict in the Greek Orthodox Church. It is preceded by a festive Meat Sunday featuring lamb and other meat dishes, and then a Cheese Sunday, the last day when dairy products are permitted. Lenten fare is restricted to dried beans, lentils, rice, pasta, and vegetables, with fish on special days. In Greece, a carnival season called apokria precedes the start of Lent. Apokria begins with a feast of roast kid or lamb, followed by two weeks of festivities including parades of masked figures. The third week begins with Tyrini—Cheese Sunday—when cheese, a food forbidden during Lent, is eaten in pies. Dried beans are the main Lenten food in Greece.
March 20, Now Rouz (New Year). Iranian
This holiday is important in Iran and also in Afghanistan, where it is called Nauroz. It is celebrated as both the first day of spring and the first day of the new year. This holiday predates Islam, going back to the Zoroastrian solar calendar, and begins when the sun reaches the sign of Aries in the zodiac.
FOOD AND DRINK
In Iran, families gather around a table set with seven symbolic foods—sprouted seeds, hyacinth, sweet wheat pudding, vinegar, sumac, apples, and olives. (The names for all these begin with sen, the Iranian letter s.) Similarly, Afghans celebrate with special dishes, including kulcha naurozee, a cookie made of rice flour, and miwa naurozee, a compote made of seven fruits, each name containing the Iranian s.
March 21, Vernal Equinox (Shumbun No Hi). Japanese
This holiday of the vernal equinox celebrates the beginning of spring. It's a national holiday in Japan.
FOOD AND DRINK
The Japanese celebrate the start of spring with "nightingale cake," made from pounded sticky rice filled with a sweet paste made from white beans. Other springtime foods include raw squid and a special fresh-water fish, ayu, grilled and eaten with green vegetables. Seaweed is especially popular in spring because it is tender and sweet.
March 24, Palm Sunday and Holy
Week. Christian
FOOD AND DRINK
Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese communities have a number of fast dishes made from salt cod. In Puerto Rico, it is traditional to make large amounts of escabeche, a marinated fish that can be kept refrigerated for many days. While salt cod is the traditional choice, the technique is also used with fresh white fish such as snapper and grouper. In this way, the cook of the household can observe the solemnities without having to spend a lot of time preparing meals.
March 25, Annunciation and Greek Independence Day.
In the religious calendar, this marks the day when the Angel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. In the secular calendar, this is Greek Independence Day, dating from the 1821 Greek rebellion against Turkey, which led to independence in 1829. The Lenten rules are relaxed for this holiday and fish is eaten.
March 28-29, Holi. Hindu
This joyous holiday celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Bonfires are lit to commemorate the burning of Holika, a demon who perished in the fire in which she had planned to burn a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Holi is a festival of colors. To celebrate the games Lord Krishna played with his followers, people toss brightly colored powders at each other.
FOOD AND DRINK
Holi is especially important in northern India. It coincides with the arrival of spring, by which time the weather is already very hot. The rambunctious festivities take place outdoors, so by the end of the day people are exhausted. They return home to recover by eating barfi, a fudge-like candy, or drinking beverages made with bhaang, a form of marijuana. Unlike alcoholic drinks, which are generally taken only by Indian men, bhaang is also eaten or drunk by women. Holi is the only moment in Indian life when families consume bhaang together.
March 28-April 4, Passover. Jewish
Passover commemorates the liberation
of the Jews from their slavery in Egypt and their return to Israel. The
significance of Passover, explicit in the rituals and the Seder, the meal
eaten on the first and second nights of the holiday, is the focus on the
family and its religious roots. Passover signifies deliverance from affliction
and slavery into joy and liberation. Because of this and because Jews make
great efforts to get together as a family for Passover, this is an important
family gathering as well as a religious festival. This holiday begins at
sundown on the previous day.
FOOD AND DRINK
Passover has many observances
and customs mandated by the Torah. Among the most crucial of these are
the dietary rules, which, during Passover, are stricter than usual. Foods
must not be simply kosher but kosher for Passover, following the passages
in Exodus "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread" and "Seven days shall
there be no leavened products found in your homes." During this time matzos
replace bread and any other wheat product. These matzos are produced under
rabbinical supervision, which ensures that the flour and liquid are in
contact for less than the eighteen minutes required for moistened flour
to begin to rise. Ashkenazic Jews (those originating in eastern and central
Europe) also refuse to eat corn, rice, or beans, called kitniyot, because
these, too, might rise due to natural fermentation. (See recipe for Knoedel)
At the Seder, a plate divided
into sections is used for foods that recall the Passover story. Bitter
herbs such as horseradish or bitter lettuce symbolize the bitterness of
slavery, while a fresh herb such as celery leaves or parsley and a hard-boiled
egg symbolize spring. (See recipe for Bitter
Herbs Salad.) A roasted lamb bone recalls the sacrificial offerings
made in the Temple. Haroset, a brownish mixture of fruit and nuts, suggests
the mortar the slaves used in Egypt for making bricks. Wine, also kosher
for Passover, is important in the ritual. A sweet wine is customary, although
not necessary. Sephardic Jews also make Sephardic Eggplant Balls.
For Passover menus, most
people choose turkey, chicken, or lamb. Fish such as gefilte fish and salmon
are also popular. Desserts and snacks include cakes, cookies, and macaroons,
based on matzo meal and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and coconut rather
than flour.
March 31, Easter. Christian
This Christian holiday, the
most important of the year, celebrates the Christian belief in the resurrection
of Jesus, who was crucified on the previous Friday (Good Friday). For Christians
who have fasted during Holy Week or Lent, the joyousness of this day is
celebrated by once more eating meat and other rich foods.
FOOD AND DRINK
Traditional Easter food varies
from country to country, but spring foods are always significant. Among
these, eggs are the most widespread. Not only are they newly abundant as
hens move into the spring laying season but their perfect shape symbolizes
eternity.
Many European countries have
Easter breads or cakes. Frequently they are flavored with spices or citrus
zest and enriched with eggs and dried fruits such as raisins. Hot cross buns are popular. Regional specialties include simnel cake, which is covered with marzipan and decorated with 11 marzipan balls symbolizing the apostles who remained true to Jesus.
For the main Easter meal,
the most popular meats vary depending on the climate and topography of
the country.
Baltic
Pork is the meat of choice
in the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
English
In England, a roast leg of
lamb or a large roast chicken is most common. Children receive chocolate
eggs, often filled with candies, as gifts. Hot cross buns are the most
popular baked good, but there are also some regional raisin breads and
a marzipan-covered fruit cake called Simnel cake.
French
In northern France, jambon persillé—diced ham in parsley-flecked aspic—is the traditional Easter dish, while in southern France, the preference is for lamb roasted with garlic and rosemary. Salade de pissenlits is also popular. Traditionally, families gather the necessary dandelion leaves for this salad while hunting for Easter eggs. The leaves are tossed with the chopped eggs and browned bacon to make the salad.
German
In Germany (and also in Switzerland),
ham is the most common Easter dish. Chicken is an alternative. The German
Easter cake is ostertorte, a sponge cake with a mocha filling and
chocolate-egg decoration.
Italian
Lamb is the standard Easter
holiday dish. Cookies and breads are also popular and vary from region
to region. Roman Easter bread, pizza civitavecchia, is made from
a ricotta-enriched dough flavored with anise. Another bread, pizza di pasqua,
is flavored with the zest of oranges and lemons. From the area of Venice
and to its east comes gubana, a bread shaped like a snail and filled
with a sweet mixture of raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts. Columba
pasquala is an Easter bread made of a rich orange-flavored dough and
baked in the shape of a dove. Panada di Milano is a northern Italian
Easter soup made of beef broth, eggs, Parmesan, and bread.
A Sicilian Easter specialty,
which has beome popular throughout the year, is cassata, a cake
with a sponge base, almond paste sides, a ricotta cream filling, and a
fondant frosting with candied fruits.
Torta
Pasqualina, a tart filled with ricotta, Swiss chard, and eggs,
is a traditional dish in Liguria. Unusually for an Easter dish, it contains
no meat so it is suitable for vegetarians. Marzipan shaped into fruits
(martorana) and lambs are popular Easter treats, especially in southern
Italy.
Lebanese and Syrian
The Christian communities
of Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine make an Easter pastry called ma'amoul.
The pastry is flavored with rosewater and filled with dates, pistachios,
or walnuts.
Polish
A day or two before Easter,
Poles take the food they plan to eat to church, where the priest blesses
it. The Easter feast always features a large holiday kielbasa. Ham,
turkey, and other large cuts of meat are also often served, as are hearty
soups such as barszcz containing kielbasa with veal, pork,
or other meats in a slightly sour broth. The idea of both the large pots
of soup and the big meat dishes is that there will be food to offer visitors
throughout the holiday. Another custom is for family and visitors to symbolize
their unity by sharing one hard-boiled egg cut into many small pieces.
Portuguese
A roast pork loin or shoulder
stuffed with a filling of rice seasoned with tomatoes and peppers and dotted
with raisins and olives is the Easter dish of Portugal.
South American
In South American countries,
beef is the typical center of the Easter meal. Cuts and preparations depend
on the wealth of the family. In Uruguay and Argentina, affluent families
roast a whole side of beef outdoors poorer groups most often make a beef
and vegetable stew.
COLORS
The pastel colors of spring
flowers, especially yellow and mauve, are associated with Easter in the
United States and northern Europe. In Russia and Greece, red, symbolizing
the blood of Jesus, is used for dying eggs and in other symbolic ways.