Culinary Traditions
There are a number of Catalan culinary traditions, some of them coincide with a religious festival, like cooking a big Christmas Day meal on December 25 which includes escudella i carn d'olla. St. Stephen's Day on December 26 is a holiday in Catalonia. It is celebrated right after Christmas, with another big meal including canelons stuffed with the ground remaining meat of the previous day. These events are usually celebrated along with kin and close friends.
Other religious event related foods include the Panellets sweets eaten on All Saints' Day and the Bunyols de Quaresma puffy little buns eaten to celebrate Lent.
One of the most representative Catalan gastronomy-centered events is the Calçotada. This is a group event where a certain type of tender onions (calçots) are barbecued outdoors, among much feasting and merrymaking with family and friends.
Similar occasions may be the Costellada and the Botifarrada, where mutton ribs or botifarra sausages are barbecued. Sometimes people also get together to roast pine kernels or chestnuts; the latter is known as "Castanyada", and it is a favoured event in the fall.
The Vermut is a tradition, now much in decay, of having a light aperitif with olives and potato chips before the Sunday meal (formerly after going to church) together with family and friends.
An important tradition in rural areas of Catalonia is the pig slaughter (Matança del porc). Although it has declined in importance owing to strict sanitary European Community rules and public sensitivities, it is still celebrated in certain villages, like La Cellera de Ter, Artesa de Segre, Vall-de-roures, Passanant and La Llacuna.
Read more about this topic: Traditions Of Catalonia
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