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March 2007 |
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At the gloomiest and coldest time of the year, we all need a ray of sunshine and warmth; a primal need of hope at our darkest hour. It is no coincidence the same mid-winter celebrations are held all over the world under different names. These celebrations all share overindulgent partying perhaps to offset our precarious existence. In New York City we celebrate all the guises of this mid-winter bacchanal: Italian Carnevale and St. Joseph's Day, Jewish Purim, Chinese New Year, New Orleans Mardi Gras and Irish St. Patrick's Day. We are always up for a good time! I have personally been celebrating Carnevale for the past 32 years (see my Blog) and truly believe in Carpe Diem. And oh, I left out St. Valentines Day and Ground Hog's Day! I think of these holidays as a marker, a covenant or reminder not to despair. The sun will return, the flowers will bloom and the sheep will fold. And the bunny will hop at Easter.
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As the saying goes, everybody is Irish on March 17, St. Patrick's Day in New York City. Millions of revelers watch the parade as the bands and politicians march up Fifth Avenue, which is painted with a Kelly green traffic lane line down its center. Every bar, pub and grill is bursting with noisy revelers dressed in every conceivable form of clothing in green - hats, coats, shoes, painted faces and I imagine, underwear! Irish beer and whiskey is the fuel of choice. Is another throwback to our ancestors who needed a kick to keep warm in the bitter cold winter night? Other cities may have their St. Paddy's Day but how can they compare with the Empire State Building (celebrating its 75th anniversary), bathed in glorious Ozian emerald city green.
Donovan's
in QueensMoran's
in ManhattanRiverdale
Steakhouse in the Bronx|
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March 19th is St. Joseph's Day. This springtime feast day is celebrated by generations of Italians and Italian-Americans. The tradition of St. Joseph's Day began in the middle ages, during a severe drought in Sicily. During a drought in desperation, they prayed to St. Joseph, their patron Saint, for help. They made a promise that if the rains came, they would prepare a great feast in his honor. Legend says that these prayers were answered and the Sicilians kept their word, set out huge banquet tables and invited the poor people of Sicily to join them at the feast. These are known as St. Joseph's Tables to this day. One of the most famous pastries on that table is zeppole (one) or zeppoli (many). Zeppoli are fried or baked Italian bread dough that are filled with a sweet custard or cannoli cream and candied cherries.
Italian Pastry Shops:
Settepani
in HarlemEgidio's
in the BronxVillabate
in Brooklyn|
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Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance from Haman's plot to annihilate all the Jews of the Persian Empire as recorded in the Bible. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, giving mutual gifts of food and drink, giving charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal; other customs include drinking wine, wearing of masks and costumes - a sort of a Jewish Halloween! During Purim it is traditional to serve triangular pastries called homentashn ("Haman's pockets") in Yiddish and oznei Haman ("Haman's ears") in modern Hebrew. A sweet cookie dough is rolled out, cut into circles, and traditionally filled with a sweet poppy seed filling, then wrapped up into a triangular shape with the filling either hidden or showing.
Jewish Bakeries:
Mendy's
Royal Bakery in Queens
Moishe's
In Manhattan
Yossi's
Sweet House in Brooklyn
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Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4705 begins on Feb. 18, 2007. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. 2007 is the Year of the Pig. In China, the pig is associated with fertility and virility. At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck.
Chinese Restaurants:
Shun
Lee Palace in Manhattan
Mr..
Tangs in Brooklyn
Gingers
in Harlem
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