Storm Days Playing with Food and Time

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Diane Tye

Abstract

Folklorists have explored the many ways that food connects us to the past and how it articulates family, ethnic and regional identities, but what of its temporal connections to the present? Unlike holidays that have long histories of very particular food rituals associated with them, such as turkey at Thanksgiving or fruitcake at Christmas, storm days—those days when schools and offices are shut down because of a snow storm—are connected to a variety of foods rather than codified by a particular dish. The foodways which characterize storm days highlight procurement, consumption, and most significantly, preparation.


In this research note I reflect on twenty-four people's eating experiences during a storm day in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on March 7, 2012. I ask what the food prepared and eaten on storm days signifies and in particular what it tells us about the relationship of food to time.

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Research Essays, Notes, & Queries