Sunday, October 12, 2008

A Holiday Book in Review – Death Warmed Over

Book Count: 83

Holiday(s): Halloween, All Souls’ Day, Day of the Dead, etc.

Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World By: Lisa Rogak
Non-fiction: cooking, holidays/customs 151 pages 2004

This book has a short listing of many different peoples funeral and/or death customs along with a recipe either of a food eaten during funerals or relating to the custom. It starts with African Americans and ends with Zoroastrianism. Along the way it talks about many groups including: the Amish, Buddhist, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gypsy, Haiti, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Judaism, Lutheranism, Mexico, Mormon, New Orleans, Poland, Scotland and Tibet to name a few. This gives you an idea of all different people from all over the world and many religions way of dealing with death. It also causes the author to have to generalize customs. For example, the section on Protestant funerals (American) it talked about the funeral dinner being boring food and mostly serving baloney and cheese sandwiches on Wonder Bread. And having attended a fair number of them it seams that the sandwich has changed to mostly being ham or turkey and cheese on white or maybe wheat bread; except in Dutch churches where it is ham on hamburger buns. (No, comment on the excitement of the rest of the food.) This book also that small bit throughout the book with quotes, interesting information and jokes relating to death and funerals. All and all it was interesting to read.

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