Some things are just seasonal. Pumpkins in Autumn because that's when they're harvested, unlike so much produce which can be grown through much of the year, especially if it travels well. Same with cranberries.

There are foods associated with particular holidays. In England, according to friends, Shrove Tuesday is called "pancake day", and when they were young it was the only time they ate pancakes. A former member here told about how sfinci (fried ricotta pastries) are specifically for St. Joesph's Day, though I learned about them for Hanukkah, when we eat all kinds of fried treats as a fun way to remember the miracle of one day's worth of consecrated oil lasting eight days. My Mexican friends only make buñuelos (fried flour tortillas or pancakes with cinnamon sugar) for New Year's Eve. We eat dairy treats for Shavu'ot (feast of weeks), and charoset and matzah for Passover. For Rosh Hashana we have sweet and round things: apples dipped in honey, challah extra enriched with dried fruit or other sweet, and shaped in a circle, honeycake made in a tube pan. For decades, the birthday of one of our group was celebrated with Polynesian pu'u pu'us (tidbits).

I think that last one is the only one not dictated by the general culture which we do.

We've always had ham for Easter and always served homemade scallop potatoes as a side for this dish.

Must have pickled herring on New Year's Day - don't know why except my mom's friend Dee from New Orleans brought it every year "for good luck". I love it but somehow forget about it the rest of the year. She also brought black eyed peas and collard greens. I don't like either but ate them then (only on that day) because she was so good to me as a child. She's been gone for many years and I won't eat them again but I see them in a lot of local NC diners and just smile at the words on the menu.

I must - must have cake at weddings but then, I'll eat cake any day without a reason OR occasion.

For us, Easter dinner usually includes a plate of devilled eggs because you gotta do something with those eggs, right? LOL. Summer BBQ's mean watermelon, corn on the cob, cole slaw and iced tea. But other than those and the afore-mentioned cranberries I don't think in our family there are any must-haves for certain celebratory/holiday meals.

We always have a tourtière on Christmas Eve.

Turkey is truly ONLY on Thanksgiving or Christmas. As are a lot of the sides. Sweet potato anything,cranberries and stuffing/dressing. I don't serve them on any other occasion.

I think of herring as a Christmas Eve thing, with pumpernickel or rye and sour cream and dill, and vodka, and never have it otherwise. Cornish game hens was our New Year’s Day dish for years, never had them any other time. Well, maybe an occasional dinner for family.

Cranberries, well, I make the classic chicken dish (in every fundraiser community cookbook ever) often, we really like it. But making my own cranberry relish is just for the holidays. And I make really good mashed sweet potatoes when I make pork any time.

There is a cake that is made only for DH’s birthday. It calls for, among other things, 9 count ’em 9 separated eggs. So yeah, once a year only.

Beef stew is definitely a seasonal thing, starting on Halloween.

bpath what is the classic chicken dish that is served at every community function?

Candy corn / Halloween

Now that I think on it, I only fix English trifle, mincemeat tarts and truffles for the Christmas holidays, And I keep pumpkin stuff for fall. But everything else - cranberries, turkey (and trimmings), ham, yams/sweet potatoes can and do show up on the table any time the mood strikes!!

Like other posters, I only have black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. We usually serve it with savory cornbread, not the caky kind of cornbread.

oyster stew on Christmas Eve