Nov 2022

8 in-depth/westerner
November 30, 2022
westerner/in-depth 9
Bringing the holidays home
Traditional foods
fuse together
culture and identity
BY EMILY WOJNICKI
in-depth reporter
Food means more than a basic, human need for survival; it means
hope, connection, identity, and often love to people all around the
globe. During the holiday season, Maine West students encounter familiar
memories and feelings that originate from kitchen fragrances.
Every household has a dish they consider a family tradition and it’s
those dishes that bring out a student’s affection for their culture and
special memories of loved ones.
While many Americans eat turkey and mashed potatoes for
Thanksgiving, sophomore Eden Layous and her family take a different
approach to their meals. Instead of eating a traditional American
Thanksgiving dinner, Layous’s family serves traditional Arab dishes.
“We’ll make Freekeh, Batata Ou Jaj (chicken and potatoes), Warak
Enab (stuffed grape leaves), and lots of grains,” Layous said. Shawarma
is also a popular Arab food that she and her family incorporated
into both their year-round and holiday dishes. Layous’s family
dinner table is filled with food different from typical American
cuisine, with lots of fried meats and vegetables rather than cooked
potatoes and poultry.
“All of the recipes are normally made by my aunts, mom, and
grandma; it’s passed down from generation to generation as traditional
Arabic food,” Layous said. The Arab food Layous indulges in
connects her to her culture year-round and makes a meaningful connection
on holidays. Despite eating these dishes frequently, a holiday
like Thanksgiving integrates it into her American identity, too. “It
connects me to my family and tradition as well as culture as a whole.
It reminds me who I am and the environment I was raised in.”
In Polish households, many Maine West students integrate their
cultural dishes into Christmas meals and traditions. During Christmas
dinner, a meal consisting of 12 courses to symbolize the 12
Apostles, red borsch served with uszka is a common dish. As sophomore
Maya Biela explains it, “[Uszka] is a food that my family eats
as a tradition on Christmas Eve. They’re essentially dumplings filled
with mushroom or minced meat.” This dish plays an important role
in Biela’s holiday traditions as it helps her connect her Polish traditions
to her holiday celebrations. “This food connects to my identity
because of my Polish heritage. My family has been doing this for
decades and it’s become a huge tradition. It’s important to me and it
reminds me of my ancestors who passed this down.”
Even with cultural dishes that are served year-round, certain Polish
traditions and dishes only make special appearances on the holidays.
“My mom only makes [Uszka] during the holidays, so it’s an
extra special dish for me,” Biela said.
Consistently, Bulgarian dishes make appearances during the
holidays as well, reminding Bulgarian students of their connection
to their culture and the meaning of their identity. Sophomore
Sofia Nikolova said, “We traditionally make Pitka which is
a bread with feta cheese inside. We eat this on special occasions
like birthdays and Christmas.” Pitka is a dish passed down hundreds
of years ago and originally took its place as a familiar food
in everyday meals. Pitka now is only made for celebrations or big
events, meaning when the holiday season does come around, Bulgarians
are ecstatic. “It’s special to me and my family because it symbolizes
where we came from and how special that day is,” Nikolova said.
The food we eat, whether it’s day-to-day or only on special occasions,
in part makes up who we are. They remind us to think about
our ancestors and be proud of the customs they preserved.
BY SABRINA BUKVAREVIC & ADDISON STUTHEIT
editor-in-chief & in-depth reporter
NEW YEAR
In Vietnamese culture, individuals celebrate Tet — often referred
to as the Lunar New Year; this year, Tet will be on Jan.
22. During the holiday, family and friends unite in celebrations
that include games, socializing, and food. Families
also pay tribute to those who have departed by offering
food, clothes, and money to aid them in the afterlife. To
Destiny Coss, food is incredibly important on this holiday.
“Making food for the Lunar New Year is a way for
my family to get together, bond, and show the world
how proud we are of our culture. Our food — like Pho,
Bánh Xèo, Vietnamese spring and egg rolls, and Cháo
— not only brings my family together, but reminds us of
those who have passed; the deceased celebrate with us at
that moment,” Coss said.
Since it is a time for Coss and her family to embrace
their culture “unapologetically in the most fun and happiest
way possible,” the Lunar New Year wouldn’t be the same for
her and her family without their traditional food. As she pays
tribute to her departed loved ones, Coss remembers the culture
she shares with them and the culture she keeps alive. Tet
and the Vietnamese food served at Coss’s family gatherings
remind her how important it is to hold onto her culture and provides a way she can
do so.
EID AL-AHDA & EID AL-FITR
In Islam, Muslims celebrate various holidays throughout the year, however, Eid
Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr are the most well-known holidays. Depending on the culture
of each person, food made in celebration of these holidays vary.
For senior Umnia Harb, Maamoul is a staple in her Palestinian household. Maaoul
is a homemade shortbread cookie stuffed with dates or chopped walnuts, dusted with
powdered sugar. To Harb, Maamoul is extremely meaningful as it brings her family
together for many memorable experiences. “Every year, a day or two before Eid,
my aunt and some of my cousins gather at a house to start the process of making
these delicious cookies,” Harb said. The process of making Maamoul, a family affair,
strengthens her connection to her family and culture. “It’s an important part of my
identity; I’m very big on spending as much time with family as I can.”
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a traditional delicacy
known as baklava blesses many households during
Eid. Baklava, a dessert traced to the Ottomans,
Greeks, and Persians, is a layered
pastry filled with chopped nuts and
sweet syrup or honey. Making and eating
baklava is a cherished tradition for
many Muslims, especially senior Amar
Gradjan. “To my family, baklava is
what brings us together and bonds us;
from the process of getting together
and making to it, to sitting down at
the table and enjoying it. The effect is
the same whether it’s with one of my
cousins whom I haven’t seen in a year,
or my parents who I wake up to every
day.”
UMNIA HARB
Senior Umnia Harb celebrates with
her close family and good food during
Eid.
THANKSGIVING
As the one moment American society collectively reflects on
our blessings, Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t only include the traditional
turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie inspired by foods native to
America. Many families incorporate special foods that express
gratitude for their own family’s history and journey.
On Thanksgiving, senior Steven Frausto connects
this American tradition with his Mexican culture specifically
through one of the oldest foods grown in
North America: corn. “[My family] makes tamales on
Thanksgiving, and it truly brings us all together. I help
my mother make them and my father joins in when
he’s not busy working. The process is a bonding experience
for us because of the effort and time we
put into them from
start to finish. I
love how reward-
ing
it is to serve them
family, have them
like it, and be proud of
my integration of our
Mexican culture.”
Frausto’s mother’s tamale
recipe isn’t something that
was whipped up overnight. “My mother’s recipe for
tamales has been passed down through generations.”
To him, tamales represent his Mexican identity and
the strong ties he has with his family. “It shows how
diverse Mexican culture is, as most people only recognize
the surface level like tacos and burritos, despite
there being so much more.”
DESTINY COSS
Senior Destiny Coss takes a photo
with her family during Lunar New Year.
to my
WERONIKA KMIEC
CHRISTMAS
With potato and cheese, sauerkraut and mushrooms, or
beef and pork filings, pierogi are a filled
dumpling that many Polish families enjoy during
the Christmas holidays. “Pierogi is one that’s really
traditional; worldwide a lot of people like
to eat it,” no matter whether served with a
fruit-based filling or something savory, said
freshman Michael Perlak. Perlak also enjoys
his mom’s homemade pierogi with
a special Christmas sauce. “Pierogies are
a meaningful tradition for me during
Christmas because we eat them with this
type of sauce which is really good.”
In Serbia, the finding of a silver coin
in the heart of a decorated loaf bread is
a key part of Serbian Christmas traditions.
Česnica, the traditional bread, is made to
Česnica, a decorated loaf of have special designs on the top. As per tradition,
whoever finds the coin in the bro-
bread, is served as a key dish in
Serbian Christmas traditions. ken bread “will have good luck and wealth
for the upcoming year,” said junior Ksenia
Peric, president of Balkan club. The lucky winner also gets to partake in the eating of
delicious bread. “It’s very good, delectable, if I may say so myself,” Peric said.
Sometimes common dishes taste even better during the holidays. Peric likes to
enjoy sarma — meat and rice stuffed in cabbage leaves — during the holiday season
and year round. Her grandmother’s recipe for the Serbian dish brings the whole family
together during the holidays. “It [the recipe] is just getting passed down through
all of our generations. My grandma died in 2016, so it’s just like a nice way to think
about her and remember her,” Peric said.
Juicy, well-seasoned lamb is often found on the table during Christmas in many
different homes. Junior Haven Wallgrenlemmerman passionately declares, “I’m sorry
if you do not like lamb, and I would never eat a baby lamb, but I’m telling you: lamb
is delicious.” Along with being delicious, lamb is often eaten during holidays like
Christmas and Easter because of its religious symbolism. To Wallgrenlemmerman,
eating food like lamb during the holidays evokes feelings of gratefulness. “We’re very
fortunate to be able to have the luxury of eating foods like lamb and having not just
a potato, but mashed potatoes.”
EASTER
In Indian traditions, Easter Sunday begins with feasting on appam, a pancake-like
dish made with coconut milk. “It’s a classic,” said junior Alona George. “One
of the times that we eat that is when we have breakfast
together, or at our church on Easter
Sundays.” Appam is usually
eaten with another dish like
beef curry. The day before
Easter, George’s
churchmates all gather
together to make the
appam. “It’s just a food
that brings people together.”
Another classic Easter
dish is Polish white
barszcz, a soup that is
made with hard boiled eggs,
sausage, and other ingredients.
“It’s the food
that you take that got
blessed by the church,
and we eat it the next day,”
explained freshman Michael
Perlak. Traditionally, these
blessed ingredients have special religious meanings;
for example, the eggs symbolize hope in a new life or rebirth.
ONAM
Feasting on a multitude of dishes, celebrators of the Indian cultural festival of
Onam have plenty of good foods to look forward to. “Onam is another time that
people gather together, sit together, have food with their families,” said junior Alona
George. It typically falls in August or September and ends with a large feast featuring
a delectable variety of vegetarian foods. One of the main dishes, thoren,
is a mixture of chopped vegetables fried in a pan. “My
mom is known as the thoren chef of our house,”
George said proudly. “But, I learned that when
she first came to America she did not know
how to cook very well. And apparently, she
made thoren where the beans weren’t even
fully cooked, and it was just like solid beans
with lettuce!”
The feast culminates with the sweet dessert
payasam, which is a type of milk based
pudding with tiny noodles and other mix-ins
like cashews and raisins. It tastes especially
good after a long feast of spicy foods and the
sweetness helps to cool down the eye-watering
spices. George likes the feast because
it causes people to forget their arguments
and unite over the food. “Those are the
dishes that bring people together,” George
said. “They just work harmoniously!”
Thoren, a traditional Indian vegetarian
dish, is served on special
occasions, such as Onam.