November and December are my favorite months. I love the smell of cinnamon and other spices, the twinkling of Christmas lights on a real Christmas tree, and the relief of the (finally) dropping temperatures here in Texas, And, of course, it’s gift-giving season.
Most of us love gifts, but I personally love a shared experience more than anything that will be stashed on a shelf, which is why I especially love edible gifts. A gift of food is tangible — it scratches the want to give a gift that can be unwrapped — but gifting food is also an experience! We all must eat to nourish and fuel our bodies, so there’s no concern that the gift may not be “useful.” And sharing a culinary treat can introduce the recipient to a new culture, a new place, or a new flavor they haven’t had the opportunity to experience.
Sharing a favorite food or a food that has a cherished story or history can enrich the gift-giving experience even more. For me, gifting honey from your own bees is the ultimate gift-giving experience. In sharing yours and your bees’ hard (and slow!) work from the past year, you’re gifting the opposite of the quick consumerism that can define the season.
Though at Two Hives we sell honey year-round, during the holiday season I love to flex our creative muscles and create some new fun products just for the gift-giving season. But we are far from the first to recognize the significance of and cherish the gifting of honey. In fact, honey is one of the very few foods that has a storied history of giving all around the world. This month I want to share some of these traditions, and then share some unique ways you too can gift your honey to your loved ones.
A monkey and an elephant walk into a forest ….
The Honey Full Moon Festival (Madhu Purnima) is a Buddhist festival celebrated by the people of Bangladesh and Thailand in August and September. The day honors when Buddha visited the Parileyyaka forest to bring peace to two warring groups of people. A monkey and an elephant brought the Buddha food — the elephant bearing fruit and the monkey bearing honeycomb. The monkey was so excited when the Buddha accepted his gift that he began excitedly jumping around and fell from the tree to his death. On this day, the quarreling stopped and the now peaceful people visited the Buddha to take a vow of unity. Today, the day is honored by Buddhists who bring gifts of honey and fruit to shrines and monasteries.
Oh, and that monkey? Don’t worry about him. He was rewarded by being reborn as a god in Buddhist heaven, known as Tavatimsa.
Cheers to a sweet year!
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is one of Judaism’s holiest days, falling in September or October each year. Observant Jews use Rosh Hashanah as a time for prayer, good deeds, and making amends with others. Today, one of the most popular customs during Rosh Hashanah involves eating apples and honey. Ancient Jews believed apples had healing powers and enjoying honey represents the hope for a sweet new year …
