Parvati Magazine January 2014 | Page 16

NUTRITION COMFORT, COMMUNITY AND LOVE The Importance of Feasting NUTRITION most common invitation for a social gathering and ideal meeting ground for almost any get-together, no matter the person or place. Do you want to go for coffee? Can I take you to dinner? Would you like to go back to my place for a drink? Weddings, Christmas parties and even funerals can bring out our best when it comes to feasting. In times of celebration, happiness and even grieving and loss, we can always count on food to be there for us. American Feasting E ating is one of the most basic forms of human connection and bonding. Food and feasting create a valuable form of social integration and an opportunity for people to come together, perhaps, even those who normally would not. The offering of food and hosting events focused around a feast can be used as a means to bring strangers and family together. Feasting can strengthen communities, turn foes to friends and create a positive space for peace and giving thanks. Offering food to others just might be considered one of the greatest forms of showing love and appreciation. Feasting Brings Comfort As a nutritionist and foodie, I often think of food as the pinnacle of parties and focal point when it comes to bringing people together. You can bet that the usual meeting spot or unspoken designated area for any celebration or party is almost always the kitchen. The kitchen, a common gathering ground for social activity, draws us in with its familiar comfort of warming food and drink. Take away feasting at these times of special celebrations, and I really question how much effort people would make to get together. Think about it. Food and drink are really likely the I recently experienced my first ever (in fact I had two in one day!) American Thanksgiving feast, in the state of sunny California. All that I had heard about the celebration of this holiday in America was true. Americans take pride in their food and do not mess around in the kitchen when it comes to the holidays. Feasting is their forte. I was told this Thanksgiving feast would be an all day event filled with good company, delicious homemade food and even games, postdessert. They weren’t lying. It was as if they were actually trying to mimic the original Thanksgiving as celebrated by the Pilgrims, a feast that once lasted three days. Feasting For Community Like the purpose of most feasts and social gatherings focused around food, what I noticed most about this celebration, was the emphasis of community, hospitality, the importance of friends and family. The integration of not just family but strangers. These people didn’t know me from a person on the street, but they welcomed me into their home to participate and take joy in the feasting festivities. My first American Thanksgiving experience solicited the same feelings I felt when I used to work in a community health center. At each holiday we would host a free open house feast to feed the homeless. Feasting For Love There was so much love and sense of community in this one room I couldn’t help but to feel connected to even these strangers that I barely knew. What an amazing experience it was to see people from all walks of life, races, sexual orientations, genders and religions join together to enjoy this feasting of food. Foo