How beans feature prominently in a Christmas tradition, along with some unique peeks into their long history.
“Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.” Sound ironic?
Ellen has been busy learning about what a family run seed company is like with packing seeds, pulling orders and helping us prepare for “seed season.” She has also been engaged in learning and writing about the varied history of several varieties of seeds and their uses.
Today we share her article about beans with a unique twist, in how a bean features prominently in a treasured family tradition and makes the day for a lucky person. Enjoy!
Beans (Phaselous vulgaris)
When I was young, Christmas season marked its appearance with a yule log, the traditional cake of the holiday season in France. I remember looking in awe at the “bûche de Noel” covered in chocolate frosting, shaped to look like it had bark, covered in chocolate shavings or powdered sugar and dotted with marzipan mushrooms.
My favorite part of this holiday tradition was the hunt for the bean that was baked somewhere in the length of the log. Whoever found the bean was the Queen or King for the day, and everyone had to do as they said. In some places, a tiny statue of Christ is tucked into the cake batter in place of a bean. I found the bean once, and as the youngest in the family, enjoyed being Queen of my two older brothers and my parents.
In France, the bûche de Noel is served on the Twelfth Night and is the edible representation of the single log (oak is common) that is traditionally burned from Christmas Eve till New Years Day. It is said that burning the yule log ensures a plentiful harvest in the upcoming season.
The symbolism of the bean takes us back to the time of our ancient ancestors. In Ancient Egypt, the dead were buried with beans to ensure their return from the afterlife. The bean field was the place where the souls of the dead awaited reincarnation. The legumes were an offering in wedding ceremonies, wishing the bride and groom a male child who could carry the line of the ancestors. Beans have been seen as a potent symbol of the embryo and of growth in many societies.
It is interesting to note that beans and peas are both members of the pea family (Fabacea). Each has its distinct growing habits–most notably that beans love the heat, whereas peas prefer colder weather. Beans take on two growth habits, that of the bush bean which grows just as you would imagine, and pole beans, those that have a climbing tendency, winding and trailing their way up stakes, porches, railings–whatever is around.
Wild beans exhibit bush, climbing, and sprawling habits and disperse their seed once pods are dry. The pod splits at the bottom and spirals outward as it opens, dispersing seed. I have yet to see this method of seed dispersal with agricultural dry beans so I suspect humans have bred this trait out of the bean for ease of harvest. It is much easier to pick beans in their pods than to search the ground for them!
Dry beans should be harvested once the pods have turned yellow and dried, and the seeds have matured from green to their mature coloration. If you have never grown dry beans, there are hundreds of beautifully colored beans to choose from, mottled purples and browns to white speckled beans each with their own shape. Beans have a distinctive life cycle, beginning with the sprouts that emerge from the ground with triumph, pushing soil aside almost defiantly. All green or “string” beans will mature to dry beans if left on the plant long enough. The process of deciding when it is time to harvest is an opportunity to watch seed mature and transform.
In the Americas, beans are traditionally cultivated with squash and corn, a trifecta of beneficial relationships known colloquially as a Three Sisters garden. The beans’ nitrogen-fixing capability provides nutrients to corn and squash plants, while squash leaves provide shade for plant roots, and corn stalks provide trellis for climbing beans. Some say that squash’s large prickly leaves make it difficult or uncomfortable for animals to raid corn plants.
Current gene bank counts of beans are as high as 40,000 varieties, although just a few handfuls of them are widely cultivated. Bush beans are preferred over pole beans today for mechanical harvest because of their clusters of straight pods that are low to the ground. This large number provides us the luxury of picking a bean that is suited to the climatic uniqueness of the area we cultivate. Growing regionally-adapted varieties, such as the tepary bean in our area around Prescott, Arizona, is a hands-on learning experience; a way to see how plants have adapted to thrive with climatic stresses. Here, our most notable stresses are intense sunlight and an average 10 inches of rainfall per year. There are many varieties that have become accustomed to this weather and thrive in it! Some varieties to try are the Anasazi bush bean, the tepary bean, and any of the cattle beans.
There’s a popular info-graphic floating around Facebook that says, “Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.” Sounds a bit ironic, doesn’t it? Sadly, it is all too true.
This year we don’t have to wait until the next day for the sport of standing in line, pushing, shoving and trampling others that get in our way of that penultimate prize, the super-sale item that is so hot right now. We can start the festivities on Thanksgiving Day, while we are still full of cheer from our festive meal!
So why do we, as otherwise intelligent and thinking people, engage in this idiotic behavior? A large part of the reason is founded in our modern culture of consumerism. This culture was largely founded by the partnership of mainstream media and corporate marketing and says that in order to be happy, we must buy stuff. It doesn’t really matter what we buy, only that we must buy or we simply cannot be happy. Or successful. Or whatever else is important in our lives. This is the sum of our economic system today: buy things. This is the foundation of the ridiculousness that is Black Friday.
Compounding this is the marketing messages we are subjected to: buy things at this wonderful sale or you will lose out. If you aren’t in line at 11pm Thanksgiving night for the midnight opening, you won’t ever be able to buy at this price again. Never mind that you just might not need what is being sold; you will be a loser if you’re not there. Ignore that fact that the sale is false – 60% off of a 300% markup on something that will be broken, out of date or out of fashion in 3 – 6 months, if not sooner.
What to do about this conundrum? Very simple; don’t participate. Yes, I know, how in the world will you live another moment knowing that you weren’t one of the first in line for half off Blu-Ray players, or buy one get one free cargo shorts? After all, it very well might bankrupt you to pay regular sales prices the very next day! Abstaining from participating in the madness might do a few things for you. It might give you some time to sleep in, have a relaxing breakfast and spend some time with your family or friends. You know, those people that you text, instant message, Pin to their boards with recipes and ideas for the bathroom, along with “like” and comment on their walls. Those people.
Another option that has been ignored until lately is shopping locally. If you absolutely just have to get out there the day after Thanksgiving and spend money, then go see your friendly neighborhood Mom and Pop store. They will most likely also have some sales on things that can’t be found at the big box stores, along with a smile and a warm welcome.
The online world will also be patiently waiting with no lines, shoving or trampling. There might be the same junk on sale, but there are also some jewels to be found. Sure, you might not be able to take your plunder home right now, but you won’t have cost some employee their holiday, and you will get to enjoy your treasures twice; once when you buy them and again when they arrive at your door in a few days, with no lost sleep or black eyes.
Staying away from the malls and Wal-Marts will give you the smug satisfaction that you haven’t been instrumental in forcing someone to give up their holiday in order to ring up the must-have worthless material purchases that are killer deals for today only. It validates the idea that there are some things that are more important than consumerism and material stuff, things, toys and gadgets. Opting out of Black Friday may give you more than just a few more hours to enjoy some quiet time with your family. It just might give you a little more humanity.
Black Friday
A Short History of Beans
How beans feature prominently in a Christmas tradition, along with some unique peeks into their long history.
Hate Black Friday? Don’t Participate!
“Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.” Sound ironic?