A traditional Haitian celebratory dish was flung into the internet spotlight at the beginning of December when Ethiopian-Swedish celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson published a recipe for what he described as “soup joumou”, a soup traditionally prepared and consumed each New Year’s Day to celebrate the anniversary of Haitian independence. After a large uproar from Haitians, the recipe has been renamed on the website, but many non-Haitians are asking: what is soup joumou? And why is it a traditional New Year’s Day treat? The Haitian Times published an article on Monday about the history of the dish, including a link to a Medium article discussing why Samuelsson’s interpretation was so controversial. The article can be found here.