Holiday feast customs subject of next lecture in DeKalb County History Center series

SYCAMORE – The December hybrid Brown Bag Lunch and Local Lore series at the DeKalb County History Center will feature a lecture on holiday feast customs.

The free lecture will be at noon Dec. 5 at the history center, 1730 N. Main St., Sycamore.

During the lecture, Culinary Historians of Northern Illinois Vice President Bruce Kraig will discuss how the holiday feast customs are based on 19th century stories. The lecture also highlights stories by Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore and Sarah Josepha Hale.

“Connecting celebrations and traditions we love with their contexts is a fun way to build one’s understanding of history,” DeKalb County History Center Executive Director Michelle Donahoe said in a news release. “This is just one example of how we are creatively exploring topics connected to our exhibit ‘FOOD: Gathering Around the Table.’”

The “Dickens and Holiday Food Traditions” lecture is part of Brown Bag Lunch and Local Lore, a free lecture series offered as part of a collaboration between the DeKalb County History Center and the Ellwood House Museum.

Brown Bag Lunch and Local Lore is funded in part by the Mary E. Stevens Concert and Lecture Fund.

For information, visit dekalbcountyhistory.org or call 815-895-5762.