My parents are both Haitian and have spent most of their lives in Haiti. My siblings have lived in America for most of their lives but have at least spent their childhoods in Haiti. On the other hand, I was born in America and have only spent two weeks in Haiti. My whole family can speak Haitian creole while at best I can only comprehend a few simple words. Any knowledge about Haitian culture has sparsely been told to me since my parents were always working and my siblings were busy with school during my childhood. This lack of knowledge about Haitian culture has made me feel disconnected to Haiti. I always knew that I was Haitian, but I just did not know what being Haitian meant. I neither have the language nor the culture engrained into me, so whenever I met a “real” Haitian and told them that I was Haitian, I felt that in some way I was lying to them. I thought I could never truly relate to other Haitians because I did not think that there was any common ground between us. However, it turns out that there is one thing that I do have in common with all Haitians and can relate to them with no matter the age or gender, and that is food.

While others’ main connection to their culture was by a common language or known history, mine was by taste, and through food, I began to realize it connected me to other aspects of my culture. For example, of the minority of words that I know in Haitian creole, an abundance of them are in some way food related. You did not have to ask me twice if I knew what griot (fried pork) or bannann peze (fried plantains) was.

However, out of all the Haitian food I have tasted, there is one that outshines all the rest. Not only due to its taste but also due to its historical significance. It is the one food that every Haitian across the world eats as a collective whole on every New Year’s Day and it is called Soup Joumou. I remember the first time I was told of its significance by my father as we sat down to eat it. He told me that the reason the soup was so important to Haitians is because, when Haitians were still slaves, we were not allowed to eat it. Soup Joumou was reserved for the slave master to eat, so, when Haiti finally gained independence on January first, Soup Joumou became the edible representation of freedom in Haiti. This is why Haitians everywhere eat the soup on that day.

Soup Joumou is the most important food I have eaten, because it has become my strongest link to Haitian culture and represents the most important victory for Haitians everywhere.