Bònn ane. Happy New Year. Happy Independence Day.
For most of the world, January 1st is just the start of a new calendar year. For Haitians, it is the most significant day in our history: the anniversary of the declaration of independence in 1804, when Haiti became the first Black republic in the world.
And on this day, every Haitian family makes Soup Joumou.
Under French colonial rule, enslaved people in Saint-Domingue were forbidden from eating joumou squash soup - it was reserved exclusively for white colonizers. It was considered too fine, too luxurious for the people doing the work that made the colony wealthy.
On January 1, 1804, freed Haitians made themselves a pot of Soup Joumou and ate it together. It was the first meal of freedom. Today, UNESCO recognizes it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Every family makes it differently - with beef, with vegetables, with malanga and plantain - but the feeling is the same. It tastes like your grandmother's kitchen. It tastes like belonging. It tastes like the courage of people who refused to accept their own enslavement.
We made the Soup Joumou Facts shirt because we believe every Haitian should know this history, and every conversation it starts is worth having. Whether you're making a pot today or just repping the culture, Happy Independence Day from all of us at TeeCherie.
Shop the Soup Joumou Facts Men's Tee and the Soup Joumou Facts Women's Tee.
Ayiti chérie.
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