Foods to Add Some Flavor to Your Holiday

By: Krinal Prajapati '22

(Image courtesy of 3brothersbakery.com)

December is the month filled with fun and joyful holidays such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa! Now whenever a holiday comes up, food is always important. Keep reading to get some food ideas that can make your holiday amazing.

First we will start with Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Festival of Lights. During this holiday, candles are lit on the menorah, games are played, gifts get exchanged, and traditional foods are made. One is known as latkes, which are like potato pancakes. They are traditionally best served with applesauce or sour cream. Another option is brisket, which is also enjoyed during other holidays such as Passover or Rosh Hashanah. Brisket is a type of meat cooked in an oven and served as tendered. Last is sufganiyot, which is an essential dessert for Hanukkah menu items. Sufganiyot is a round jelly doughnut that is deep fried in oil, filled with jam, and sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.

The next holiday is our favorite, which is Christmas. Christmas is celebrated almost worldwide so there are varieties of traditional food. When Christmas comes to mind, the only food I think about are baked cookies and hot cocoa. We can't do Christmas without some home baked cookies with milk and sips of hot cocoa with marshmallows in it. But there are traditional foods that are always made during Christmas, such as roast goose, turkey, roast potatoes, fruitcake; the list is so long that half of us wouldn’t even know what the items are.

The last holiday is a festival for African Americans called Kwanzaa. This festival lasts for a week and is a celebration held in the U.S. to honor African American heritage. During this week a feast is held and gifts are exchanged. Traditional foods that are made during Kwanzaa are seasoned beans and rice mixed with veggies as well as different types of meat. Other foods that are made are catfish, collards, mac n cheese, jerk chicken, gumbo, accras, and feijoada. Gumbo is a soup filled with meat, celery, bell pepper, and onion. Accras are Carribean fritters that are made with salted fish, shrimp, or beans. Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef or pork. Since this holiday is celebrated with a feast, there is a variety of dishes made during this holiday.

Hopefully these dishes gave you some ideas of how to be festive or traditional during these holidays. Remember to spend your holiday and festivals with your family. Enjoy the holidays!