The Changing Culinary Mores of Celebratory Life within Soviet Society

Abstract

This article analyzes the transformation of Soviet celebrations through the lens of culinary mores. The author shows how a system of culinary mores within the Soviet state was eventually created with the participation of the government and became a mechanism of social control. The author’s analysis is based off an examination of culinary books and publications in the pages of Soviet women's magazines. The author’s analysis of these publications reveals that the Soviet government initially tried to exclude any sort of culinary idea from the system of festive culture. The main forms of celebration were to be rallies and demonstrations. Even so, the culinary side of Soviet holidays continued to exist in private. By the 1930s, progress in the food industry stimulated the return of festive food to the idea of the Soviet holiday. Banquets became a compulsory element of the life for the Soviet elite. The first edition of the Book about Tasty and Healthy Food propagandized the success of the Soviet food industry. By the 1960s, culinary mores had returned to the system of agitation. At that time the Soviet government began to pay more attention to everyday life of the people. The Soviet magazines Woman Worker and Peasant Woman started to publish collections of recipes before the holidays. Meanwhile, the Book about Tasty and Healthy Food now gave advice on how to organize a holiday dinner. The author substantiates the thought that eventually Soviet life created a special system of holiday meals and culinary mores. The deficit of food products also created a specific set of recipes for festive meals. This set was repeated every holiday and in every Soviet family. Such culinary mores even helped to preserve the memory among of the people of religious holidays.