Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of North American Eating & Drinking Traditions, Customs & Rituals

Encyclopedia of North American Eating & Drinking Traditions, Customs & Rituals

1 volume: Illustrations, Appendix: Eating and Drinking Traditions, Customs and Rituals by Category, Bibliography, Index

This highly entertaining encyclopedia covers topics ranging from after dinner drinks to zucchini bread, describing along the way a multitude of topics relating to the various eating and drinking customs found across North America. It covers types of food: crème-filled sandwich cookies, lutefisk, hush puppies, salsa; holidays when special foods are eaten and drunk; not only the traditional Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter but those of other cultures and religions such as Diwali (Hindu), Oban(Japanese), Ramadan (Islam), and Passover (Jewish). It also covers different life cycle events, births, marriages, Prom night, Spring Break, and death. Other topics include different types of places ranging from brew pubs to soup kitchens, and the foods, beverages and traditions of many ethnic and national groups. So if you want to know why those of Swedish extraction eat lutefisk, those of Polish descent break an oplatki among the family at Christmas or how to celebrate the Chinese New Year or the Mexican Dia Los Muertos, look in this book. There are many see also references at the end of entries to refer you to more information as well as references to different sources for more information.