Bringing in the New Year...Haitian Style!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that everyone enjoys 2010! Wow, i cant believe its 2010! A fresh new decade has just begun!

Anyways, If you all don't already know, I'm Haitian American. In the Haitian culture, we have a yearly tradition as to how we celebrate the New Year. In my house, my parents never like to go into a brand new year with a dirty house, so we clean the house from the ceiling to the floor, and throw away all the things we don't need. The laundry is done, everything is clean and the environment just feels stress-free.

One Haitian tradition adopted by ALL Haitian families is drinking "Soup Joumou...pronounced [joo-moo]". The purpose of drinking this soup dates back to the slavery times in Haiti. As you already know, Haiti is the first independent Black country. We gained our Independence on January 1, 1804. We celebrate our Independence by drinking Soup Joumou. Soup Joumou was originally a soup for the rich Frenchmen that tried to take over our country. My mom said if a slave was ever found drinking this soup, he/she would get killed on the spot. The slaves fought for their independance and drove the French out of our island. Now, every New Year, its a tradition that all Haitians drink Soup Joumou as a sign of freedom.

I've been drinking this soup since I was born. And we only have it once a year. Its mostly made out of Squash. It also contains carrots, celery, cabbage, beef, pasta...its really good, and an awesome dish to start off the year. My mom makes it, and its really good!