How to celebrate?

Or is it ridiculous and unkind to fight for the symbolic “two hours for the family” in a world where pandemics, economic crisis, wars and, last but not least, new technologies, every now and then turn the table at which we sit? Nothing could be further from the truth. There is something in which artificial intelligence will not be matched by humans any time soon. It’s empathy and the ability to bond.

Every year the Two Hours for Family | for Man campaign needs a new motto precisely because there is no single scheme that can express the complexity of human relationships. We have already described them with dreams, passions, movies, sports or travel. This year it was the turn of flavors.

Flavors through the generations

“Through the stomach to the heart” – proclaims a Polish saying, and we must admit that there is something to it. This is characteristic of Poland in particular – the language of culinary unites generations. Pierogi with cabbage from grandma or yeast cake from a friendly elderly neighbor from the first floor. The lollipop that the saleswoman in the store gives as a free gift to the puffy child of a regular customer. The nineteenth addition of dinner at a partner’s family home. Tastes are about feelings, and feelings are about tastes. At least in some cases.

Here are some ideas on how you can initiate valuable time with loved ones, starting with flavors:

• Prepare and eat something together! So simple, so obvious!
• What flavor are you today? Sour lemon, sweet caramel, or maybe umami like a cherry tomato? Ask your loved ones this question. Ask them to explain why they feel that way today.
• Sit all of you together and try to recall the earliest flavors you remember as a child. Was it the tenderness of a madeleine, like Proust’s, or was it the bitterness of a potted flower you threw all your two teeth at in infancy?
• Choose one “victim” (can be a volunteer), blindfold her and give her a taste of various delicacies. Have her not only guess what she just ate, but also tell you what her most vivid memory associated with that taste is.

How to start a good conversation? 

Talk about your dreams and passions:

• What superpower would you like to wake up with tomorrow?
• Do you like to eat in company or rather in solitude? Do you know why?
• Do you have your favorite family dish? What is it and how did it become one?
• Do you know a grandparent’s childhood dream? Or any other close elderly person?
• What did your grandmother or an older acquaintance collect when she was in elementary school? Or do you collect something?
• What do you think the phrase “taste of life” means? Do you know people who “taste life”? Or maybe you do it yourself? Tell us about it.
• A joyful party for many people, or a quiet conversation until the morning with a person close to you? Justify your choice.
• What will you ask the goldfish to do? And your mother or another person close to you?

ASK ME – created by the Humanites Institute, this game contains cards with sets of questions that will help you get to know your family or group of friends better. Do you think you know everything about them? And do you know what cartoon character is the most inspiring to your Mom, what it means to your Dad to be a happy and fulfilled person, what life failure turned out well for your Grandmother? Reach for the ASK ME cards and discover the secrets of the people you think you know very well!