There are seven continents, 195 countries, and thousands of religions worldwide, but one thing brings us together—food. We all have: special holidays with a special meaning, bliss, and meaning in life.
As these celebrations begin, traditional food is made all over the world. With different spices, and stories behind them, their significance is unique to each individual. Students around campus share their distinctive cultures and traditions. Karin Tsumura shares Japan’s exciting, fascinating traditions, together with family traditions during Christmas and New Year’s.
“A lot of families do different traditions but for my family, we all line up in front of the temples, and then the second it’s 12 and the New Year starts you have to get your wish in,” Tsumura said.
Traveling now to Mexico where another unique tradition is celebrated, accompanied by flavorful and delicious food.
“We usually celebrate la Virgen de Guadalupe’s birthday,” Fernanda Aguilar said. “Traditionally we make Posole, tamales, or moole.”
An ongoing trend among all cultures is their passion for the sense of connection to their foods. These foods bring comfort, meaning, and joy to life. Keeping the traditions even after being thousands of miles away from home is the key to continuing culture even after migration.
“In Nigeria, we eat pepper soup, although it’s not common here in the United States, my mom tries to make it for us,” Lilybeth Mokelu said.
On the other hand, Serina Ho’s family has a different perspective on their cultural foods.
“In China, the longer the noodles symbolize how your life will be, and dumplings symbolize wealth,” Ho said.
Although the enjoyment of traditions and cultural foods is essential for the world, not everyone understands these feelings. Some people make assumptions based on their perspective of such cultures, restricting the enjoyment of diversity, and leading to cultural distancing.
“When I found out that people eat hard shell tacos here in America I was like ‘what?’” Aguilar said.
Even people within a culture have different ways of seasoning their food.
“People usually associate Indian food with butter chicken all the time, but there’s a lot of other stuff you can try,” Aditya Ayyappan said.
Nevertheless, it’s not just about food and traditions. Personal connections and the creation of memories are what attach people.
“It’s more about the experience of making it with the people you care about, and since I don’t like the addition itself, I just enjoy making it and spending time with my family,” Vanessa Sanches said.
