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Religion and food
choice
Religion around the world
Around the world, people follow different religions. Food is an
important part of religious observance for many different religions.
Religions which have particular food restrictions or celebrations
involving food include:
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Christianity;
Islam;
Hinduism;
Judaism;
Sikhism;
Buddhism;
Seventh-day Adventist Church;
Rastafari Movement.
Roles of religion in food choice
These include:
• to communicate with God (e.g. saying thanks and
blessing);
• to demonstrate faith through following religious rites
concerning diets;
• to develop discipline through fasting.
Judaism
Jewish people only eat food that is kosher – this means it
meets their dietary laws. Dietary laws include:
• No pork or shellfish;
• Animals must be killed in a kosher way;
• Meat and dairy cannot be consumed in the same meal or
prepared with the same utensils.
Judaism
There are a number of Jewish festivals which have particular
associated food customs.
• Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) - sweet foods are eaten to
symbolise a sweet new year, e.g. apple dipped in honey and honey
cake. The traditional plaited challot is replaced by round ones, to
symbolise the cycle of a the year.
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - a day of fasting.
• Pesach (Passover) - no leavened food (food which contains yeast)
can be eaten for the week. A special unleavened bread called
matzah is eaten.
Hinduism
Hindus who come from certain areas may be
vegetarian and not eat meat, fish or eggs. However
some Hindus now eat meat. The only meat they will
not eat is beef as the cow is considered to be the most
sacred animal.
The religious festival Divali marks the end of the Hindu
year and the start of a new. Special divali sweets are
eaten.
Islam
Muslims do not eat pork or any pork product. Other meat
that Muslims eat has to be killed in a particular way, making
it halal.
The following Islamic occasions have certain associated
food rituals:
• Ramadan - a month of fasting from dawn to sunset.
• Eid – Eid-ul-Fitr – day celebrating end of Ramadan
Eid ul-Adha – day that celebrates the end of the
Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).
Eid can be celebrated with special foods shared with friends
and family, such as Eid sweets.
Sikhism
Sikhs cannot eat ritually killed meat. There are
no other restrictions on what Sikhs can eat.
Sikhs believe in sharing food. Every gurdwara
(place of worship) has a langar (common
kitchen). The congregation eats together here
after the service.
Sikhs also celebrate the festival Divali. For Sikhs
it is a festival marking the time when the sixth
Guru was released from prison.
Buddhism
Buddhists believe in avoiding killing and being kind
to all living things. Some Buddhists choose to be
vegetarian or vegan because of this. However this
is a personal choice. Many Buddhists are not
vegetarian.
Wesak is a festival celebrating the birth,
enlightenment and death of Siddhartha (who some
people believe to be Buddha). Foods such as eight
treasure rice can be eaten on Wesak.
Christianity
Christians do not have any restriction over what foods they
eat. There are a number of occasions in the Church year
where special food may be eaten. This includes:
• Christmas – a day celebrating the birth of Jesus;
• Easter – celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead,
three days after he was killed.
• Shrove Tuesday – Shrove Tuesday is the Tuesday prior to
Lent, the 40 day period leading up to Easter, where
Christians remember the time Jesus fasted in the desert
and often give up certain food themselves during this
period. Shrove Tuesday was traditionally the last chance
to use up the foods Christians would not be eating during
Lent (e.g. eggs, fats).
Do you recognise the following foods? Which ones are eaten at Easter?
Which ones are eaten at Christmas?
Religion and food traditions around Europe
Religious occasions are celebrated differently across Europe, with different
traditional foods.
France – Christmas
• In some parts of France (North and North East), Christmas begins on the
feast day of Saint-Nicolas, December the 6th when Father Christmas (le
Père Noël) brings small gifts and sweets for children.
• In other parts of the country, children place their shoes by the fire and
awake on Christmas day to find them filled with presents from le Père
Noël and the tree decorated with fruit, nuts and small toys.
• After Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve (which is less attended nowadays)
people gather for a feast called le réveillon, either in a restaurant or at
home. This usually consists of oysters, snails, seafood, smoked salmon, or
caviar as a starter, followed by goose, or some other roasted bird for the
main course. Wine and champagne are served as drinks.
Germany – Christmas
• Similar to France, Christmas starts on the night of December 5th
– 6th (Nikolaustag - St. Nicholas Day) when children leave their
shoes or boots outside the front door. If they have been good,
Santa Claus, Nikolaus, visits and fills them with chocolates,
oranges and nuts.
• The Germans often have special baking evenings for making
spiced cakes, cookies and gingerbread houses. The German
Christmas tree pastry, das Christbaumgebäck, is a white dough
which is moulded into shapes and baked to make tree
decorations.
• On Christmas Eve, there is an evening feast, generally of carp
and potato salad - meat is avoided for religious reasons.
• Christmas day dishes include suckling pig or roasted goose,
white sausage, macaroni salad, and regional dishes. Sweet
foods such as der Christstollen (long loaves of bread with nuts,
raisins, lemon and dried fruit), der Lebkuchen (ginger spice
cookies) and Dresdner Stollen (a moist, heavy bread filled with
fruit and marzipan) are also consumed.
Poland - Christmas
• Early on in the day of Wigilia (Christmas Eve), the women
of the family start preparing the meal, which traditionally
consists of twelve meatless dishes, and includes many
kinds of fish, beet or mushroom soup, various dishes
made from cabbage, mushrooms, or potatoes, pierogi,
followed by dried fruit compote and pastries for dessert.
• When the first star, gwiazdka, appears in the night sky,
the meal can finally begin. A prayer is said first and then
the ancient and beloved Polish Christmas tradition of
sharing the Optalek (the Christmas wafer).
• The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. The
head of the house starts by breaking the wafer with his
wife and then continues to share with everyone at the
Wigilia table. Wishes for peace and prosperity are
exchanged as the wafer is shared.
United Kingdom – Pancake Day
Shrove Tuesday is the day preceding Ash
Wednesday, the first day of Lent. In the United
Kingdom, it is traditional to eat pancakes on this
day. This is because traditionally, pancakes were
made to use up all the eggs, milk and butter
before the start of the Lenten fast.
Poland – Fat Thursday
Poland start their festivities almost a week
earlier than the UK, on the Thursday prior to
Shrove Tuesday.
The most popular tradition in Poland on Fat
Thursday is the making and eating pączeks, a
filled baked good in a round shape, fried in
fat. There are a wide variety of possible
fillings including plum butter, marmalades
and whipped cream.
Iceland – Sprengidagur
In Iceland the day is known as Sprengidagur
(Bursting Day) and is marked by eating salted meat
and peas.
Denmark – Fastelavn
Fastelavn is celebrated on either the Sunday or
Monday before Ash Wednesday. Eating
fastelavnsboller which are buns made from pastry
dough and decorated with icing, commonly marks
the day. Children beat a barrel which is filled with
sweets (similar to a piñata).
Scandinavia - Saint Lucy’s/Lucia’s Day
Although celebrated in other parts of the world, Saint Lucy’s day is especially
celebrated in Scandinavia (e.g. Sweden). The 13th of December is the feast day of Saint
Lucy. A popular food eaten at Saint Lucy’s day are Lussekatts (St Lucy's day buns)
which are buns flavoured with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for
breakfast.