Sacred Food

Food nourishes our souls and plays a vital role in both religious ceremonies and secular celebrations. Sacred Food takes readers on an evocative and personal journey exploring dishes that are traditionally served at significant moment in human life-birth, puberty, courtship, betrothal and marriage, death, and burial and remembrance-and illuminates how and why we celebrate with food. Elisabeth Luard reveals why we bury eggs in bread loves at Easter, bob for apples at Halloween, eat sweet things while courting, and make circular breads and sugared skulls at times of death and mourning. She examines the culinary instincts that unite and divide cultures and studies those foods that have universal significance, such as seeds, eggs, and grain proclaiming new life and hope.

Includes recipes for carnival, Chinese New Year, Christmas (Irish, Italian), May Day, Lent, Halloween, Iranian New Year, Kerala weddings, Mexican wedding, Provencale wedding, Provencale Christmas, Ramadan, Russian Easter, Shrove Tuesday, Swedish Christmas, Three kings cake, etc. Also includes information on aboriginal peoples of Australia, Afghanistan, Africa, Aga people of Bali, All Souls Eve, Americas, Amsterdam, Andalusia, Antarctica, Antipodes, Aprokreas, Araucani people, Arctic, Aryans, Ash Wednesday, Ashkenazim, Asia, Attica (Greece), Augustines, Australis, Austria, Ayurveda, Aztecs, Bali, baptism in Italy, bar mitzvah, Bathurst Island, Belgium, Bene Israelites, Bengal, Berbers, betrothal, birth baskets, birthdays, boarʼs head, Bolivia, bread, Buddhists, Carmelites, carnival, Celts, Champagne (France), Chanukkah, Cheese Sunday, Chile, China, Chinese New Year, Chingming, Chiristianity, Christians, Christmas, Irish Christmas beef, La consoada, Chirstmas in Tuscany, Chung Yung, Cochins, confirmation, conquistadors, convent sweetmeats, Copenhagen, Cree Indians of Canada, Czechs, dafina, Mexican Day of the Dead, Persian Days of the Dead, Shoro Nagashi, Denmark, Dominicans, Dragon Boat Festival, the D