Spring Holidays
April 13, 2009
Did you know......It takes twenty minutes for our bodies to register when we are full.
What are spring holidays about? No more snow! Warm sunshine and warm family gatherings, often featuring traditional foods related to the seasonal theme.
My friend Kim, who is of Swedish descent, makes an Easter bread — a braided wreath dotted with colored eggs. It's hard to miss the fertility-and-renewal symbolism of that delicious specialty. Many cultures include lamb, the creatures that are born in the spring. Or how about the festival of Navruz, which is celebrated in many Central Asian countries? In this spring holiday, the featured food is a mixture of flour and wheat sprouts — literally eating the new growth.
We learn with all of our senses. Foods engage us through sight, taste, touch, and smell. (Some even make noise.) So, as we gather with our families, let's take a deep breath and inhale the new season. And then, let's eat.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.