Feast of the same-aged spouses

January 5, 2024 8:20 AM

For a few weeks during the year my spouse and I are the same age. It has been a difficult year for both of us and in addition to celebrating our actual birthdays with normal birthday stuff (e.g., nice dinner out) we were joking about having a "feast" or some sort of silly celebratory ritual to celebrate the time of the year (which overlaps with the winter solstice) when we are the same age.

Our initial thought was trying to track down foods that are the same age as we are as the focus for a small feast. However, upon investigation this is actually quite tricky as we are over 30. I tried looking up bottles of wine that are 30+ years old but they are both expensive and difficult to ship. Scotches that are older than 30 years go for big bucks, so that's also out.

I'm now trying to think of some fun traditions, rituals, or celebratory activities that are in the theme of being the same age.

Bonus points for ideas that are in the theme of feasts, rites, solstice, creative numerology, celebrations that evoke the spirit of medieval traditions a la Festivus.

posted by forkisbetter to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Best answer: This sounds like a lot of fun.
Nuts and seeds are symbolic of the solstice, especially pomegranate seeds which evoke the myth of Persephone and Demeter at the change of seasons.
I would make a ritual of counting out loud in unison the number of pomegranate seeds that corresponds to your age and placing them with tweezers decoratively onto a cake as you chant the number, or plopping them dramatically, as you count, into a glass of champagne which you then share.
posted by little striped mule at 8:30 AM on January 5, 2024 [2 favorites]

Best answer: What about collections of food that add up to your age? "37 years of cheese plate," "42 years of drink flight," etc.
posted by teremala at 9:10 AM on January 5, 2024 [3 favorites]

Find some food brands launched during the year of your births? (This was what I thought you meant when I read the first part of your sentence “Our initial thought was…” so maybe it would work?)

A related idea: find a recipe published during the same era by a chef with a career covering the relevant year? (With the age range you mention, in the UK Delia Smith would be the candidate for this.)
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 9:25 AM on January 5, 2024 [2 favorites]

What if you pulled up some lists similar to this one: food trends of 1991 or 13 Foods That Were All the Rage in the '90s, except for your birth year specifically, and pick some attainable cool stuff from there. At the very least there's got to be one especially trendy Wolfgang Puck recipe for every year of the late 80s and early-mid 90s.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:31 AM on January 5, 2024

Best answer: I would split the dates of the birthdays and look up the list of relevant saints for that particular date in Jan or Dec. For example, a few years ago I calculated that certain marks atop a prominent glacial erratic on the hill above our house align with the point of Sunrise on 16th Jan - St Fursey's Day! Every year since I yomp up the hill to witness that Sunrise. But I'm in the process of fleshing out the ritual for that date: St Fursey often appears with two oxen, so I might have make a rib-eye sandwich for breakfast; St Fursey died in Picardy so flamiche for starters and gâteau battu for dessert. That menu will scale up for two. Hair shirts, champagne, optional.
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:52 AM on January 5, 2024 [1 favorite]

You might think of classic food pairs - bacon & eggs, spaghetti & meatballs, fish & chips, avocado & toast, etc. and do a meal that is all focused on food pairings.
posted by brookeb at 11:56 AM on January 5, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Croquembouche with the appropriate number of cream puffs? Gets slowly grander each year!
posted by the primroses were over at 4:25 PM on January 5, 2024 [2 favorites]

(I have no ideas but want to second little striped mule's idea for pomegranate seeds in champagne, as that is very festive and celebratory. Also, this is a fabulous question - thank you for posting it, and Happy Birthday | Happy Birthdays | Happy Birthday! )
posted by kristi at 5:11 PM on January 8, 2024