As December 25th looms in New Zealand, I wonder about traditions: about this invisible baggage that’s so often heavier than the backpacks we carry – and a thousand times more valuable than every personal possession inside. Do we empower our strict customs by dragging them to the farthest corners of the globe? Or are they […]
Holidays & Celebrations
Recipe For Hogmanay: The Original Scottish New Year’s Eve
Pinks and blues explode over the crowds in Edinburgh’s Prince’s Street. Up north, the good folk of Aberdeenshire prepare to set alight handmade fire balls. Steak pies cook in Glasgow’s kitchens, and special cakes bake in the ovens of St. Andrews. Around the country, locals hold true to the same Scottish new year’s eve traditions […]
How to Make Holiday Traditions When You’re Far From Home
Several years ago, I and a group of international volunteers scrambled together a Thanksgiving meal in Manchester, England. We represented the United States, Zambia and Syria, and thus our multicultural dinner featured tabbouleh with turkey, and Scottish tea cakes along with the customary pumpkin pie. Efforts to recreate the original holiday quickly became muddled up […]