This spring, the holidays have brought many of us together with family, friends, and neighbors, perhaps for the first time yet this year. Between Holi, Nowruz, Ramadan, and this weekend’s confluence of Passover and Easter, the observance of these holidays weaves a global tapestry of faith and ritual from across the ages. While each holiday is steeped in its unique meanings and own histories — including the personal histories we weave into them along the way — one of the threads they share is a tradition of gathering together around food.
Often, there are rituals around the preparation and enjoyment of holiday meals. Within these spiritual and spirited feasts, even a single ingredient has the power to hold a millennia of meaning and history. Dates, for example, are consumed throughout Ramadan to break a fast as a way to nourish the body, per prophetic guidance. Whereas a plate of unleavened bread at the Seder table is a reminder of liberation. And preparing fish on Good Friday, as opposed to a land-based protein that might otherwise grace a holiday table, is a way to recognize and respect eternal sacrifice.
At the very core, the ritual around food over any deep-rooted holiday is simply to gather with our loved ones and our community around one table, for a meal that is just a little extra. Extra abundant. Extra nourishing. Extra meaningful, and in turn, especially memorable.
During holidays, I usually take the extra time to make a proper meal, one that gives everyone at the table ample time to share stories and be a little more immersed in the generational and even epoch-spanning narratives that have shaped our lives. I find comfort and hope in the fact that we all seek inspiration and community in our own ways around the table.
For those of you who will be celebrating at sundown tomorrow and saturday around the Seder table, honoring a history of freedom and rebirth, Chag Sameach.
For those of you whose coming weeks are guided by the rise and fall of the sun, gathering for iftar and suhoor in a spirit of purity and reflection, Ramadan Mubarak.
For those of you who are winding down an observance of Lent, in reverence to singular compassion, forgiveness, and eternal hope, Happy Easter.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A spread of matzo crackers, piled high with Cold Smoked Sockeye and classic, complementary accouterments. An 8-ounce pack of Cold Smoked Sockeye is just one part of our current Member Special, the Alaskan Spring Sampler. The Alaskan Spring Sampler is a seasonal selection of fish that we’ve hand-picked to help introduce you to what are perhaps a few new-to-you items, to give you extra inspiration in the kitchen this spring.
