8/19/2019 Hallacas, – A Christmas Tradition in family
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Hallacas – A Christmas Tradition in family
Hallacas are a traditional Venezuelan Christmas food and usually
cook aspecial dish in December. This dish is made of ground corn,
meat, andvegetables. The meat can be pork, beef or chicken.
Everythingthe
corn, meat, and vegetablesis !rapped in banana leaves. The
origins of the !ord, comes from the "uaran# dialect, in !hich
$ayua%or $ayuar% means to mi& or stir something together, and
$ayuaca% is themi&ed 'thing( that you get. Then this became
$ayaca%, latter $Hayaca%,and )nally $Hallaca%.
Hallacas are a Venezuelan tradition that dates back to the time
of colonization. *ith an indigenous name and a number of
ingredients thatare a crossbreeding from our Venezuelan aborigines
and the Europeansettlers, Hallacas are the perfect symbolization of
the mi& of our culture.
The hallaca is also considered one of the most
representative icons of Venezuelan multicultural heritage.
Hallacas start !ith a ste!+like base, a mi&ture of chicken,
beef and pork,or a combination of each family(s preference. lo!
cooked !ith onions,peppers, garlic, spices, raisins, olives -
capers. Those are the stapleingredients but it(s really hard to say
for sure !hat(s all in it becauseevery region of the country makes
them dierently and every family hastheir o!n secret recipe that in
most cases only lives in the head of themaster of the family,
meaning grandma.
/ut Hallacas are so much more than that to any Venezuelan.
That(s !hy0 !ant to talk about it. 0t is a tradition that brings my
family and friendstogether this time of year. That(s right, !e only
make them duringChristmas time and !e !ait all year long for that
)rst bite that 1ustbrings us back to childhood memories, and 2avors
that remind us of theloved ones that are long gone but that !ill
forever live in this tradition.
The reason that my family get together to make this
delicious andcomplicated dish for Christmas is because of the labor
involved. Everymember of my family helping. That(s right, all the
duties are sorted out3Cleaning the leaves, making the dough,
preparing the ste!, assemblingHallacas, tying !ith kitchen t!ine,
boiling them and )nally everyone(s 1ob to en1oy a great meal
after all the hard !ork.
0 think this tradition is amazing and funny opportunity to spend
the day!ith a family and share !ith them. 0 love these days because
makingHallacas is that it is truly a day for the !hole family and
the preparationis a reason to come together and celebrate !ith
music and drinks.
8/19/2019 Hallacas, – A Christmas Tradition in family
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4lso, making this food reunites all my family members at
Holidays time.Ho!ever, the most important part of
$hallaca+preparation% is that itrepresents one of the strongest
Holliday family traditions in Venezuela,comparable perhaps to
Thanksgiving in 5nited tates, as it is embracedby all cultures,
religions, and social strata.
6inally 0 hope this tradition still continues in my family and
sharesomeday !ith my kids and they cherish and carry on this
tradition.
