Pictured here: one of the many beautiful centerpieces that Logan's mother designed (and sold) for Christmas.
Here is the seventh guest author, Tanna Nguyen, from Robin's Somers' writing class at UCSC, "The Meaning of Food." Her students are offering up their memoirs of childhood food, and it's my pleasure to publish them here.
Robin writes:
Tanna Nguyen, a sophomore a UCSC, recalls family gatherings that honored ancestors on the anniversary of their death by offering special foods—crab soup, red rice, sliced pig. This poignant story of Vietnamese tradition underscores the importance of food not only in the here and now, but in the afterlife, as well.
A Scrumptious Memory
by Tanna Nguyen
It is ten o’clock in the morning, and I am awake. Not from the bright sun beaming onto my face, but from the clanging of pots and pans downstairs. My mom is preparing food for the family function and the aroma of different foods mixing together tickles my nose.
“Get up! We are going be late!” yells my mom as I stumble out of bed.
I am familiar with this routine now since about every month my family comes together at my uncle’s house to eat lunch. Not only is this a chance for everyone to be together but it is also a cultural tradition. In the Vietnamese culture, each family has a gathering when the death anniversary of an ancestor comes around to remember and pay tribute to their lives.
We go to my uncle’s house because the eldest son of the family has to carry the altar that represents the lives of the ancestors. The altar is decorated with bells, candles, and pictures of the ancestors from all different generations. These gatherings usually occur on Saturdays and together we enjoy delicious food and reminisce about the lives of our loved ones and just sit together as a family.
Since this has been a tradition in my family, I have been attending these gatherings from the time I was born. When I was younger, I did not understand the real meaning behind why we got together every month, but the one detail that did stand out in my mind was all the food we always had.
These days were the only times I got to see my family together besides the big holidays. It may seem that these occasions would be sad and solemn but it was the exact opposite. Yes, we had moments of silence to remember the reason why we were there, but overall it was more like a celebration of the lives of our elders.
As a kid I remember running into my uncle’s house, and being met by the arms of my family members and the sensuous smells of the food that waited inside. But, before I could settle down and eat the massive lunch that lay before me, I had to make a pit stop at the altar to pray.
I was always amazed at the sight of the altar as it stood against the wall nearly from floor to ceiling. It was decorated with yellow and red, and on the top shelf are pictures, candles, and incense. Under all of this was the food.
When setting up the altar, certain foods that are mandatory for the occasion. The food acts as supply for the ancestors who we believe need fuel for their journeys in the afterlife. Although there are many candles, the smell from the food overpowers it all. The first smell is the crab soup that sits on the sides of the altar. Fresh from the stove with its warm flavor rising, the crab soup sits in two separate bowls on the side of the table. Next to the soup is the red rice that has a vibrant color and taste of red gummy bears. Directly in the middle is a fruit plate that towers above everything else. It is stacked with pineapples, mangos, grapes, bananas, and many other fruits. Another dish on the altar is the sliced pig. In our culture, the pig symbolizes good luck and it always makes an appearance at important events. Then there are two plates of crunchy egg rolls on the sides that always make your mouth water. Rice soup is also an essential, and although simple, its warm nature warms your heart.
Whenever I see one of these dishes I remember my elders and the memories I had with them. Although I have never met some of the ancestors, I have heard stories, and seeing the food and the altar pictures reminds me of what they meant to my family.
After all the prayers have been completed, the best part comes. My whole family and I gather around to eat. We storm the buffet style kitchen counter and grab all that we can. As a kid my little arms could not reach the top of the counter where the food waited, and my dad would hoist me up so I could grab whatever my heart desired. There were shrimp dumplings that looked so perfectly circular that you didn’t want to eat them. The chow mein glistened with flavor and was one of the main dishes that sat next to the window. Barbeque beef was always a favorite of mine and there was no magic involved when it would disappear after five minutes. My aunt’s famous teriyaki salmon was popular as well since she knew the perfect combination of sauce to make the fish so moist. I never felt so happy in my life when my family and I finally sat down at the table to eat. Food never tasted so good and the smile on my face was never as wide as it was on these occasions where we were all together.
When looking back at these family gatherings, it makes me realize the importance of these events. Not only is it a way to remember the ancestors and all they have done for us, but it is also a way to bring the family together and what better way than over food. Now that I am older, I recognize the significance of these events but when I was young I just remember being happy to spend time with my family. What I also realized is that food can be used in so many ways rather than just a form of survival and energy. For years and years now, food has had so many social meanings. People have used food as a form of celebration and in both times of happiness and sadness. Food is also important for bringing people together on special occasions, such as families gathering around a turkey on thanksgiving or people barbequing together on the fourth of July. Food can even bring people together on more simple occasions like how sometimes dinner time is the only time of day where a family can be together and enjoy a meal and talk with one another.
Another important tie that food has is its religious and cultural importance. Many religious traditions require specific foods in its rituals. It may be something small like bread and wine during mass. Or in my case, it could be the importance that pig meat has on the altar. Having food to bring families together, helps to keep these special cultural traditions alive and can bring some light into events that may be sad. Food serves as an effective symbol and that it is why it is so big in culture and religion. Each culture has its own special foods that have their own special roles either for a celebration or for other reasons. Food is a factor that makes each culture unique and that is why this memory of my family getting together for lunch to remember my ancestors is so important to me.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "You don't really need modernity in order to exist totally and fully. You need a mixture of modernity and tradition." — Theodore Bikel
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