Sharing Traditions and Red Food for Juneteenth

Commemorating the holiday may include red foods that carry meaning, memory and cultural pride

Sheeka Sanahori,

AARP

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Published June 17, 2026

a polaroid style photo of writer Sheeka Sanahori and her son Amir enjoying watermelon is superimposed on a checkered picnic table style background

The writer’s childhood included eating watermelon in the backyard of her parents’ home. Now, she’s planning on incorporating watermelon into her Juneteenth traditions, which she shares with her son, Amir.

AARP (Courtesy Sheeka Sanahori; Getty Images, 3)

Key takeaways

There is no single way to celebrate Juneteenth, but understanding its meaning is central.
Backyard watermelon rituals shaped family memories and are tied to Juneteenth celebrations.
Red foods like watermelon symbolize resilience and joy in Juneteenth celebrations.

I spent many youthful summers in the backyard of my parents’ house in Stone Mountain, Georgia, perfecting my watermelon-seed-spitting technique as my dad, brother and I took turns seeing who could reach the edge of the concrete patio and into the backyard grass.

Watermelon is my father’s favorite fruit, and he taught us early about the rituals taken before enjoying the summertime snack. After purchasing it from the store, the melon must be refrigerated for at least 24 hours — he likes it cold. Next, the adults cut the watermelon into half circles and quickly take it outside. Then, the prized moment: first bites of the sugary fruit with juice dripping down my hands while my tongue fishes for seeds to launch.

My father would occasionally salt his melon, explaining that was the way the elders ate it. I remember him saying it brought out the fruit’s flavor. As a 10-year-old, I was unnerved at the sight of him eating lightly salted fruit but shrugged it off as the quirky customs of our predecessors.

Eating watermelon in the backyard became a core memory of those 1990s summers, but its presence was a constant on many occasions. It was the fruit of choice for gatherings, a side dish at cookouts and a snack while we visited relatives who lived in the North. Little did I know at the time that watermelon and other red foods and drinks have been staples of Juneteenth celebrations. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, red food and drinks such as strawberry soda and red velvet cake represent resilience and joy. Watermelon is more than a resilient crop; it’s an enduring symbol of our liberation.

When the U.S. first recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021, many Americans received a first glimpse of a celebration that’s been a long-held tradition in Texas. The federal recognition raised awareness of Emancipation Day, and over time, the way people celebrate has evolved as celebrants made it their own. Many families, including mine, were left wondering: How should we commemorate Juneteenth as newcomers to the holiday? What traditions, if any, should we create for our families to pass down?

According to AARP research on the power of grandparents in shaping younger generations, 62 percent of older adults believe it’s extremely or very important that families remember life experiences and stories. That opinion is higher among African American adults, with 82 percent finding it important. The same 2025 study notes that grandparents see their legacy as “emphasizing their ability to teach family values, resilience and essential life skills.”

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The most important element to a Juneteenth celebration should be recognizing what the day means, says Jarred Howard, CEO of the forthcoming National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, which is scheduled to break ground in the fall.

The story of the first Juneteenth is often misconstrued as the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation, but that’s not entirely true, he says.

“They were fully aware of their freedom once the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law,” Howard says. “In fact, they were aware of the impending nature of the Emancipation Proclamation before there was an Emancipation Proclamation.”

Juneteenth commemorates the day Union soldiers enforced the liberation of enslaved people — an element that he says is crucial to understanding the day. To him, it’s important to recognize what the wait for enforcement meant and to have accurate information about the holiday.

Other than fully recognizing the meaning of Juneteenth, there’s no right or wrong way to celebrate, Howard says, even though many Black cultural celebrations — from family reunions to cookouts — tend to have similar elements.

The familiarity of June summers spent with loved ones brought me back to the watermelon. The fruit has a long, complicated history in Black culture. After emancipation, it, too, represented liberation and financial freedom as Black farmers grew and sold watermelons, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In response, the watermelon was used as a racist stereotype to detract from the financial gains made by Black entrepreneurship.

Black people are reclaiming the watermelon and its meaning today, says Nicole A. Taylor, author of Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.

“Yes to Black people loving watermelon again and attempting to either consume it in some kind of way or [developing] an interest around how it’s grown,” Taylor says, noting some of her neighbors are growing watermelons in Brooklyn’s community gardens. “People want that old taste too. They’re searching for that old taste. That old taste has to do with their parents or grandparents or whoever they get watermelons from. They were growing certain types of heirloom watermelons.”

One day, I’ll host my own Juneteenth cookout or picnic, but for now, I’ll do my part to reclaim ownership of the watermelon. I’ll start by amplifying what the fruit means to my family — how we use it to celebrate our gatherings and nourish us under the summer sun. We’ll make a tradition of enjoying watermelon on the porch and spitting seeds. As a mother in my 40s, I hope it makes the same joyous impression on my 9-year-old son as it did on me when I was his age.

I’ll honor all parts of my father’s watermelon ritual, with one exception. I won’t buy the fruit from the grocery store but from the watermelon man, selling melons from the bed of a pickup truck at his neighborhood stand. And maybe this year, I’ll throw a little salt on my fruit.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Sheeka Sanahori is a freelance travel journalist and video producer. She writes about family travel, ancestry travel and the South.