I’m back after a brief illness-induced break, and while I’m not up to teaching yet, I am definitely here to celebrate! How much do YOU know about Diwali? I knew basically nothing but the name until I put this episode together. This is the final day of Diwali, and isn’t it our good luck that they celebrate with food? Listen to learn about the holiday and its meanings, its means of celebration, and for some delicious recipes for sweets and savories from Indian cuisine. These recipes come from Nevada and New Jersey newspapers published in 2005 and 2006, and feature a story written by a woman whose childhood in India was steeped in the traditions of the Festival. I hope you enjoy the episode, and come back for the next one – Thanksgiving from 19th-century Boston! ALSO: The podcast is now on iHeartRadio. Listen from your Roku box!
Hello, and welcome to bonus Episode 4 of From Paper To People’s own Family Cookbook. All holiday season long I’m looking at newspapers com for historical perspectives on holidays recipes. This week, we’re doing it slightly differently, because the holiday we’re examining doesn’t have deep roots in US newspapers, but I think you’ll like what I’ve found for you nevertheless.
Now, If you’ve been tracking in the Facebook group, on Patreon or on Twitter, you know that I was hospitalized in August and that I have been ill ever since. I want to thank everyone for their love and support, most specifically the 125 members of the FPPP Facebook group who are helping one another, sharing photos and questions and answers and jokes and all in all, a great time. You all have kept my spirits up and I appreciate it greatly.
We have a bit of quick housekeeping, as well: thank you, Marisa Kolka, for joining my Patreon Army with monthly financial support; in case you were wondering, there are 12,738 episode downloads as of this moment; and there’s an AncestryDNA sale going on in the US, $59 from now until November 21st, so jump in there and get a few if you can! That’s $40 off the regular price. Also, and this is big news for many, Germany now has access to AncestryDNA. For those of us with German roots, I think this will open many doors to transatlantic cousin-finding possibilities. I know that I am excited about the possibilities for my Weisner, Pechtel, Hinzey and other German lines.
Finally, I have a new microphone! Can you hear the difference? I replaced my $25 mic with a $60 mic, a Samson Q2U, and I think it’s less tinny. We’ll see whether you can hear the difference. On to business.
I apologize for checking out a bit. I’m not up to full-blown teaching episodes yet, but I certainly want to stay involved with a few holiday food episodes. So, I’m back to keep moving with November holidays. I thought I’d just be concentrating on Thanksgiving, but I was wrong!
One of my people came over on the Mayflower. I can’t even remember which – he basically got here and died a few months later – but I was taught to think of November as that month in which we talk all about how happy the Native Americans were to see the Europeans, and how they gave us food because they were so nice and we were so nice and everything was perfect…the usual nonsense. Now, I know a lot better, and though I owe my life and my Americanness to countless ancestors who came here, took things that didn’t belong to them and didn’t play nicely with others, I still celebrate the classic Thanksgiving holiday. But I don’t do so in the way I used to. Now, I use it as a day to celebrate food, family, good fortune, and to remember the true history of this country. And it’s really a LOT about cooking together with family. And somebody always complains about the way the potatoes are made. Last year it was me, so I ended up making the potatoes, but my sister the control freak thought I wasn’t doing it fast enough so she and my niece took over from me and used all of my expensive garlic butter…it’s always a bit of a scene. But, it’s always fun too. And it’s only once a year.
Overall, I like to think of November as a month for gratitude and hope, for looking forward to things. Personally, I love the dark and moody fall and winter, the clouds, the snow, the cold and gloomy rain. It all gives me a reason to stay inside where it’s warm, have a fire, hang out with friends, watch movies with cats bundled up next to me. It’s cocoa, herbal tea and rooibos chai weather, and that can’t be bad.
As it happens, Wednesday was the start of Diwali Puja or Diwali, the Hindu holiday. It ends on Saturday. It’s called the Festival of Lights, or Lakshmi Puja because it celebrates the goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and purity. The main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. Diwali symbolizes the victory of good over evil. The lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope. Diwali is one of the most popular holidays in Hindu countries. If you’ve seen a building lit for Diwali, you know just how elaborate and beautiful the celebration is.
I decided to dive into newspapers.com to find some recipes for it, and I am so glad that I did! Here’s what I found – and if you love Indian food, you are really in luck. First, I found a narrative from 2005 and a brief paragraph from 2006. These ought to explain things better than I did.
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Thank you so much for listening, and for sticking with me patiently. Stop by the redesigned website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com for links to all previous episodes, all my social media incarnations, Patreon, where you can sign up to financially support what I’m doing. The podcast is now available on iHeartRadio. I’ll talk to you before you know it with some amazing Thanksgiving recipes from the 19th century. Until then, Expect Surprises!
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