Our Stories
Last week I had a wonderful opportunity, to co-present at the Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network annual symposium at Temple University with a professional folklorist teaching the workshop We All Eat At The Same Table: Food Connects Us. The workshop was interactive with participants filling out a simple worksheet asking them questions about the four basic pillars of folklore based upon their personal ethnicity and cultural background as a point of reference.
- Oral Traditions—narratives of memorable events or customs, music, games, dances and jokes
- Material Culture—handmade crafts, natural remedies, the process and knowledge of making
- Family Life & Foodways—long held recipes for foods distinct to a specific group of people
- Festivals, Rituals & Celebrations—seasonal events, rites of passage, body language
Around the world, there are 74 recognized holidays—both religious and secular—in December alone. Nowhere is this more evident than at Central Farm Markets with our diverse group of customers and vendors.Here’s the best part about tradition and folklore—it’s not set in stone. Nowhere was I reminded more of this than several years ago when luck would have it the Kosher bacon vendor was placed directly across from me. At first, I thought it was some kind of bad joke, but as the weeks of market rolled by, we rapidly became friends over our shared love of great food.As the Chanukah drew closer, Chaim began eradicating much of my ignorance about Jewish holidays which had previously been explained to me as they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat. He also clued me in on the pronunciation of both the holiday and his name.Although the menorah was a familiar symbol, I had little understanding of its significance until my market neighbor was kind enough to answer all my questions. “It’s a minor holiday with little religious significance,” he told me, “A celebration of miracles.”I joked with him that with some of the miracles that had occurred in my life maybe I, too, should be celebrating Chanukah. The next week Chaim showed up to market with a small silver menorah and a box of candles for me just in time for the first night.Chaim no longer goes to market, having moved on to his Tripping Kosher project which chronicles Kosher Americana, but I still have the little silver menorah that I light every year. Is it cultural appropriation? To some, maybe, but for me it was a kind gesture from a fellow vendor that has ingrained itself into my own folklore as people enter my home at the holidays, their eyes darting between the candelabra and the Christmas tree trying to figure out what’s going on.As a goat farmer, my customers have long been referred to as “ethnics” which only intensified my curiosity for cultures and religions different that my upbringing in white Protestant central Pennsylvania. Throughout the years so many colors, flavors, aromas and perspectives have been woven into the tapestry of my life. Thanks to others willingness to share their folklore and traditions, I wouldn’t think of roasting a goat without the skin on as is done in practically all subsistence cultures in which goat meat is a staple. I celebrate Eid which I have dubbed the new Thanksgiving (the food is better and there is no drunken fighting), and I will totally rock a saree for an Indian party. Chinese New Year is always a favorite when it comes to parades and superstitions about luck and prosperity.At the same time, I hold on to my own folklore such as Fastnachts on Shrove Tuesday (PA Dutch Mardi Gras), pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day, and my personal favorite, Groundhog Day.No matter your faith, culture, ethnicity or identity, this year as you gather with your family and friends throughout the holiday season, consider your own folklore. Talk about traditions with family elders and listen to how often the common thread of food binds all of us together.