Happy National Marzipan Day!

Today is National Marzipan Day! The sweet almond paste is thought to have originated in Persia (modern day Iran) and introduced to Europe by the Turks. Italians traditionally make painted marzipan fruit and vegetable candies for Christmas and All Soul’s Day. In Toledo Spain, at the Covent of St Clement, nuns in the 16th century are credited with making marzipan from almonds during a time of famine. Lubek Germany is considered the marzipan capital of the world going back to the 15th century. In fact, on this National Day, my husband and I are enjoying some German Christmas stollen bread with marzipan baked in the center. Thank you very much, Aldi!

I am no stranger to marzipan. Growing up, my mom always bought a marzipan pig at Christmastime. She got them from the local Scandinavian store. A Norwegian tradition is to hide an almond in rice porridge (risgrøt), the person who finds the almond in their rice pudding on Christmas Eve, wins the pig as a prize. I’ve carried on the marzipan Christmas pig tradition with my family. We make our own and compete to see who can make the best pig.

In medieval Germany, having a lot of pigs on the farm meant you were lucky, thus, the marzipan pig, Marzipanschwein, is a symbol of good luck. I was in Germany last year and noticed that even on New Year’s, the local stores sell marzipan pigs with a four-leaf clover. So, happy National Marzipan Day today, and I wish you “Viel Gluck,” good luck in 2025; I have the feeling, the way this year has started, we’re going to need it.

Lauri Cherian

Lauri Cruver Cherian is a poet and an author from the Pacific Northwest.

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