A PA Eats Editorial By Lisa Yoder
For families across the globe, holiday traditions are a powerful anchor to hold on to as the years pass. Things may change, both for families, with new members joining and babies growing up, and in the world at large. Each culture has its unique customs and foods to mark the holidays that serve as a profound way to connect with one another and celebrate the season. All across Pennsylvania, PA Dutch families like mine preserve and carry on our own special traditions, generation after generation.
At the center of it all is food: a holiday table laden with homemade dishes, a place for us to gather and feel the warmth and stability of breaking bread and being together.
Traditional PA Dutch holiday foods reflect the melting pot-nature of our regional culture, melding German, Amish and American flavors into our own cuisine. Different PA Dutch families may have their own versions, but there is always the common thread of hearty comfort foods, which prize deeply satisfying flavors and eschew wastefulness.