A Midwinter Feast

Bread is life. It’s therefore no wonder that bread plays an important role in festival events and seasons. This isn’t exclusive to the Low Countries. Celebratory decorative loaves are a part of the culture of feasting in many countries; their shapes often associated with religious, symbolic or superstitious beliefs. Bread can be shaped like bundled babies, animals, saints and eternity symbols, or peculiar shapes where the meaning is lost in time. Festive breads most often appear around New Year and Easter, but also at the feasts of certain saints and heroes.