Sharjah24 – AFP: A mix of meat, vegetables, pasta and the squash for which it is named, Haitians enjoy joumou soup every January 1 to celebrate the new year and their country's independence.
Before it became a symbol of Haiti's freedom, the soup was one of oppression.
The enslaved Haitians who grew the 'giraumon' or turban squash, the key ingredient, were forbidden from eating the dish. It was reserved solely for the French plantation masters.
But on January 1, 1804, when the first black-led republic was born, Marie-Claire Heureuse Felicite -- the wife of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a leader of Haiti's revolution and the independent nation's first ruler -- chose to serve the soup.
Traditionally, serving the dish is also a time of reunion for families. But for many, 2022 will be different.
The richly historied soup has just received international recognition, with UNESCO designating it as part of the "intangible cultural heritage of humanity."
In Haiti, cooking joumou soup, a custom that dates back more than two centuries, is a way to honor the country and its past.
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