Food and Faith

by Reuben, Susan; Pelham, Sophie

• ISBN13: 9781845079864
• ISBN10: 1845079868
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-22
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Summary

Food has always been central to religious practice. From fasting at Ramadan to feasting at Diwali, from the laws of kashrut to the taking of communion, a great deal can be learned about a religion through an understanding of its link with food. Six children from six religions tell their stories through words and photographs. The text is in the first person with each child speaking directly to the reader, making an engaging and visually appealing introduction to this important aspect of religion. The book covers six major religions: Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism and looks at celebrations, rules, fasting, and food and drink in rituals. Also included are authentic recipes for pancakes, honey cake, pakoras, coconut barfi and puris. All the children featured are from the respective religions and cultural background. The book has been developed with the help of expert consultants from each religion.

Author Biography

Susan Reuben has been an editor since 1997. A Cambridge University graduate, she was Commissioning Editor at Frances Lincoln, then Senior Publisher at Egmont books before starting Baobab Editorial and Design with Sophie Pelham. She is co-editor of the Ultimate Book Guide series, the first of which won a Blue Peter Book Award. Susan also works as a ghostwriter and copywriter. She lives in London. Sophie Pelham has been a graphic designer since 1992. A graduate of St Martins School of Art, she became a Senior Designer at Frances Lincoln Ltd. Since 2000 she has been working as a freelance designer and paper engineer, and in 2006 she set up Baobab Editorial and Design with Susan Reuben. She is also co-author of the innovative pop-up book Counting Creatures, published by Simon & Schuster both here and in the U.S. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction to the Children and their Faiths

Christian – Francesca’s Story
* Christmas
* Christmas Day
* Shrove Tuesday
* Good Friday
* Easter Sunday

Jewish – Jacob’s Story
* Shabbat
* Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur
* Chanukah
* Purim / Passover

Muslim – Aneesa’s Story
* Ramadan
* Eid Ul Fitr
* Eid Ul Adha

Buddhist – Francis’ Story
* Preparing Lunch
* Dana
* Vesak

Hindu – Akhil’s Story
* Worship
* Diwali
* Holi

Sikh – Tavleen’s Story
* Preparing the Langar
* Krah Prashad / Langar
* Vaisakhi

Recipes
Glossary
Index

Excerpts

Jacob’s Story

Food is extremely important in the Jewish religion. We have traditional dishes for each one of our festivals and strict rules about what we can and can’t eat every day. Eating together with family and friends is one of the most important parts of our culture.

Food that Jewish people are allowed to eat is calledkosherfood. We buy our meat from a kosher butcher and we’re not allowed to eat any meat that comes from a pig.

We’re also not allowed to eat meat and dairy products as part of the same meal. We have two sets of pans, plates and cutlery – one set for dairy meals and the other for meat meals. In my house, orange is for meat and blue is for dairy.

Our Sabbath, orShabbat, is the most important part of the week. We rest and we do no work for a whole day. We don’t watch television or paly music either, and our house feels very peaceful. Shabbat starts on Friday night as soon as it’s dark. Mum lights two candles and says a prayer. Then a blessing is said over a cup of wine. Everyone has some wine – even the children.

Next we all go and wash our hands using a two-handled beaker kept especially for Shabbat. We say another blessing as we dry them.
Then the final blessing is said over two plaited loaves, calledchallahs. That’s always my job. When I’ve said the blessing, I tear off a bit of challah for each person, dip it in salt and pass it round the table, piece by piece.