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'1991 Shafer Hillside Select' by Thomas Hawk

Maybe Abby has it right.

A year or two ago, I mentioned to friends that I was getting tired of using food as an event. It seemed that every time there was a special occasion, we would celebrate by eating something. The meal was usually dinner, and we were usually eating out at a nicer or unusual restaurant.

It's not that the food wasn't good, or the company wasn't good, or the setting wasn't good - What bothered me is that every time we were doing something, a big deal was made about food.

I think it's weird that everyone eats, and we mark our festivities with feasts. Listen to that sound: "Feast" vs. "Festive". Are these things supposed to be related?

The holidays become a dreaded affair with food. First comes Halloween, with all of the candy that Abby (and soon Riley) brings home, and the candy we have left over from feeding the neighbor kids. If we're lucky all of the candy is gone before Thanksgiving, with its huge Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, and other starchy foods. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the onslaught of holiday cookies and other goodies. And by the time you work your way around to Christmas dinner and even New Year's dinner, can you even fit any more?

But it's not just those holidays that are cause for the food occasion. Birthdays are usually our ticket to the buffet line. It's not just the dinner out, but cake and ice cream, too!

I've had special dinners for new jobs and promotions, pregnancy announcements, and all manner of other "special" occasions. Who has a Superbowl without some kind of meat and cheese tray or nachos? It's just assumed that there will be food at these events.

What if we all went for a jog instead? "Hey, it's your birthday! Let's all go out for a jog!" Is that any more or less appropriate?

Comments

Comment by miklb on .
miklb
http://asymptomatic.net/2006/02/23/457/food-culture#comment-5310
I would disagree to a point. Perhaps the real problem is our culture's disconnection from food on a intimate level. So much is commercialized, prepackaged, homogeneous, that most forget the effort and delicate nature of growing/raising the items that grace our plate. So we have continued, albeit a bastardization of, the tradition of breaking bread, celebrating the harvest, nurturing our bodies and souls, but lost the connection to why celebrations and food intertwine. So maybe a picnic with a potluck, or a barbeque, and then the jog, rather than the buffet might help regrow that connection.
Comment by mo on .
mo
http://asymptomatic.net/2006/02/23/457/food-culture#comment-5313
I think it’s weird that everyone eats, and we mark our festivities with feasts. Listen to that sound: “Feast” vs. “Festive”. Are these things supposed to be related?"
Ummm.. Yeah. I agree with bits and pieces of everybody here (never a good sign). ;) The connection part seems very true. So much of the traditions have to do with the justifications for communal affairs. And the specific acts of catching/preparing/eating the food get intertwined because there were so few alternatives. Can you imagine the "first Thanksgiving feast" (if there ever was such a thing), re-imagined as the fist Thanksgiving swim? So I get the intimacy thing, and I agree. I also see where you're coming from, Owen. It's morphed into something whereby the predominant preoccupation is the food, and not so much the event. Like can you imagine that same birthday party with NO cake? Not even a nod towards a sweet? Perhaps Halloween is an even clearer example... Right this second I'm late for a "meeting" at work where the principal justification is food and team-building. Like I need to combine any more eating and sitting on my butt. But it's really Valerie's note that make me smile. I personally love the idea of eating as event. There is a lot to be said for the shared experience in finding a new cool place to go and dine. I think that fits the "festivity" definition as well. Maybe we all simply need to add back some basic physical activity to our lives. Is this even saying anything we all don't already know?