Soup joumou is the Haitian dish traditionally eaten on Haiti’s Independence Day.
The soup is made from pumpkin or squash, meat, vegetables, pasta, and spices. Haitians eat it on 1 January, the anniversary of Haiti’s declaration of independence from France in 1804. Its history gives the dish particular symbolic importance: during the colonial period, enslaved Haitians were reportedly forbidden from eating the soup, which was associated with French colonists.
After the Haitian Revolution, soup joumou became a symbol of freedom and equality. Sharing it on Independence Day connects the meal with the creation of the world’s first independent Black republic. In 2021, UNESCO added Haiti’s joumou soup to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The dish is sometimes called pumpkin soup in English, but “soup joumou” is the specific Haitian name. It should not be confused with ordinary squash soup, which may lack the meat, pasta, and cultural history of the Haitian preparation.