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By Melanie Bayly


A holiday we all look forward to. Putting aside the religious aspect, we love to have almost a week off to celebrate the end of summer. One should plan ahead and try to travel to Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Huancavelica or any town that celebrates it on a large scale. I still haven’t been able to do this, hopefully next year.

There are some people that fast during these festive days, but we are talking about food. The main rule is to not eat meat on Good Friday, since meat symbolizes the Body of Christ. However fish is allowed and the most common fish eaten during this holiday is cod; salted or fresh, it has become a symbol.

The Spanish brought the tradition of eating it with recipes like Cod a la Vizcaína, a traditional recipe made with cod, tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic and bell peppers. With the mixture of cultures we have in Peru there are plenty other ways of cooking this fish, from adding it to salads to making soup and delicious main courses, such as chick peas with cod and cod with potatoes. We should add that it has a low fat content and dense white flesh; its liver is processed to make cod liver oil, since it has high levels of Vitamins A, D and omega 3 fatty acids, a remedy for easing the symptoms of arthritis and given to children as a nutritional supplement. I believe this is why when we mention eating cod there is a slight reluctance to trying it. So if cod is not your thing I suggest you try a delicious and typical chupe de pescado or if you are in the mood, how about making sushi rolls this Good Friday?

Easter Sunday

Moving on to the main event: Easter Sunday. There are neither rules nor regulations, just a huge buffet table and loads of food. Everyone celebrates differently; some eat roast pork, some eat roast beef, some glazed ham, some leg of lamb. The fun part, the one we all look forward to, is the Easter Egg Hunt. Who could forget going out into the garden looking for hidden chocolate eggs, trying to outrun and outwit your siblings.

You might not know this but there is some history to it. Anglo Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a lavish festival commemorating their goddess Eostre. So when the Christians came to convert the tribes of northern Europe they noticed that the resurrection of Jesus coincided with this festival, so they allowed them to continue celebrating it but with Christian meaning.

The Egg

During Lent, forty days before Easter, eggs were forbidden. Therefore eggs laid during this period were preserved and then served in Easter meals. They were also given as gifts for children and servants. Coloring them just made them more attractive. Adding to the symbolism, the egg represents new life and therefore fits perfectly on this day.

The Bunny

How does the rabbit enter into the equation? Well rabbits and hares often symbolize fertility and good luck. It is a German tradition to bake sweet Easter bread in the shape of a bunny. There is also a European legend which says only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their hats and bonnets before Easter. This comes from confusion between hares raising their young at ground level and the finding of Plovers nests nearby, abandoned by the adults to distract predators.

Reminiscing

On a more personal note my mom used to make gelatin eggs. We used to make small holes on either sides of the egg and blow into one of them so the inside would come out, then after thoroughly washing and boiling them with colorful dyes they were filled with gelatin and placed in the fridge. The next day they were hidden in the garden and eaten with pleasure.

I’ll be looking forward to this Easter Sunday surrounded by family and good food, hoping the Easter Bunny shows up!