our minds the recipes that have marked our lives. But what happens when we can't get the food we seek; what happens when a recipe must be adjusted to what can be achieved. These restrictions diminish our hope for the coming year and undermine our traditions.

The rites around food are part of our nature as human beings and of our social construction. It is not just the fact of feeding ourselves, it is what is woven from the selection of recipes, the purchase of products, the preparation of food and, of course, sharing with the people we love.

Each family has its own rites, customs and even very special recipes that are saved for these celebrations, so when personal conditions or crises endanger the festivities, despair is inevitable , even more so when it comes to dates like Christmas. and the New Year where a cycle is completed and hope is placed on a new beginning.

And it is that rituals also provide us with great psychological benefits that can serve as a relief, at least momentarily, from the stress of everyday life, even more so in festivities such as Christmas that have a particular flavor. For this reason, in contexts of generalized economic crises, despite the difficulties of access to food, people try to rebuild with what the rites associated with these dates have within their reach. But, it is not only a question of eating, nor a commercial matter, but rather it is about the social , family and even personal meaning that we give to food.

In countries like Cuba where it is currently almost impossible to access pork due to its high cost, families will have to replace their diet with the consequent emotional and social blow. And even when there is no longer the restriction of the celebration of Christmas, imposed in 1969, the festivities continue to be marked by the economic crisis and the barriers to access to food.

Although some families are seeking to substitute chicken for pork for the celebration or come up with some other dishes, this is not just about the consumption of any food to satisfy hunger, it is the breaking of traditions and rituals that are of the utmost importance for the mental health and especially on this date when the table is accompanied by the renewal of the spirit and the belief that a better future is possible. The beginning of a new year brings with it the hope that perhaps this new year will change everything.