Consumption culture and its effects on changing ceremonial food perception: A Gaziantep case study

The perception of food is not only related to the satisfaction of a biological need for societies. Although food is essentially a biological necessity, the social consumption of it is totally different in each society. It can transform and adapt to the culture of an era when the society exists. The changing consumption habits and culture of societies lead to a change in the perception of ceremonial foods as well. Especially in the new age we live with its science and technology, societies consume fast, which causes a mass perception on the ceremonial foods that are consumed socially. That change in ceremonial foods – with the way they are served, the places they are organized, and the way they are consumed- can be observed concretely when the culture which is shaped by the consumption habits of societies is considered. In previous eras, the traditionally home-prepared ceremonial foods which used to be served at home are recently replaced by the ones that are produced by the increasing number of catering and event planning companies with their readily-prepared packages suitable for designed locations. In this thesis, the effect of consumption culture on the perception of ceremonial foods basically including birth, circumcision, wedding and funeral ceremonies in Gaziantep is studied, and throughout the thesis ceremonial foods refer to the foods for the birth, circumcision, wedding and funeral ceremonies and it is aimed to enlighten the future studies in the area.