Definition: gasterea

... The goddess's festivals equal the number of days in the year, for she never ceases to bestow her blessings; but among these days there is one that is especially dedicated to her: it is the twenty-first of September, known as the great gastronomic halel.
On this solemn day, the queen city is surrounded by a cloud of incense from early morning; the people, crowned with flowers, walk the streets singing the praises of the goddess; the citizens call each other by the most affectionate titles of kinship; all hearts are moved by the sweetest feelings; the atmosphere is charged with sympathy, spreading love and friendship everywhere.
Part of the day is spent in these effusions, and at the hour determined by custom, the crowd moves towards the temple where the sacred banquet is to be celebrated.
In the sanctuary, at the foot of the statue, stands a table for the college of priests. Another table with twelve hundred place settings has been prepared under the dome for guests of both sexes. All the arts have contributed to the decoration of these solemn tables; nothing so elegant has ever appeared in the palace of kings...
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, in The Physiology of Taste - Meditation XXX - Bouquet (excerpts).