Vasilopita

Vasilopita is the New Year's cake. It is cut after the change of the year and also for some period after New Year's Day.
Konstantina will tell me more about Vasilopita.

Filled with sweet or savory ingredients, traditionally decorated with the year written in almonds or walnuts (now frosting) on top, and sometimes accompanied by ‘Χ’ and ‘Π’ standing for Xronia Polla, it has a gold coin (now a euro coin or button wrapped in gold or silver foil) or flouri baked into the pita crust or filling, depending on the region of Greece.
The eldest person of the house cuts symbolic pieces for Christ, the Virgin Mary, Ag. Vassili, the church, the house, the poor and then a slice for each family member by age from eldest to youngest. Some also cut two additional slices for animals and Sparta, and some say there’s a slice for the business. Whoever gets the coin or flouri is said to have extra good luck all year.

The slices for Christ, the Virgin Mary, Ag. Vassili and the church are usually given to visitors to the home or the poor, in order to share good fortune with others. Many homes also have a special Christopsomo (Christ’s bread).

Story of the Vassilopita

In the 4th century, Ag. Vassili was the Archbishop of Caesarea, an area of Cappadocia. A local tax collector came and demanded that all the citizens of Caesarea hand over their valuables, which caused them to pool everything together in a panic and give them to Ag. Vassili. When the tax collector saw the worried look of the Archbishop, he collected nothing and took his leave.
Ag. Vassili found it difficult to return all of the valuables to their rightful owners, so he asked parishioners to bake a lot of sweet breads, inside which he placed one valuable each. When he passed out the sweet breads the next day, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find the valuable inside belonged to them.

Traditional Vasilopita's recipe

 Ingredients

• 250g margarine
• 2 teacups of sugar
• 6 eggs, preferably organic, separated
• 1 teacup of milk
• ½ k of self-rising flour
• 1 wine glass of brandy
• 1 orange (grated zest)
• ⅓ teaspoon of vanilla essence powder
• 2 teaspoons mahlab, bashed
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teacup of almonds, blanched, roasted and coarsely chopped

 Instructions

Sieve the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk the margarine, sugar and salt together, until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one by one and then add the grated zest, mahlab, vanilla, milk and brandy.
Whisk the egg whites to a thick meringue. Fold it gently to the mixture, a little at a time, alternately with the flour, with the help of a spatula. Then add the almonds and combine everything gently.
Grease with margarine a 30cm baking tin and empty the mixture in. Add the traditional coin and, if you wish, sprinkle with flaked almonds.
Bake at 180ºC, in a preheated oven, for approximately 55 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then, remove the cake from the tin and place it on a rack to cool. You may sieve some icing sugar on top.

New Year's customs

After i have finished singing kalanta with Thomas i have to learn more about New Year's customs. I think tradition here is a bit different than the other countries. So, i have asked Yiannis, Dimitris, Anestis, Konstantina, Sofiana and Anastasia to tell me how they spend and what they do on New Year's Eve and day.
I was right! Things here ARE different!

The Greeks call father christmas Ayios Vasilis (Saint Vasilis), the saint's name day celebration is on the 1st of January. The first of January is celebrated as the first day of the year and the day that all children accept their presents.

For the Orthodox Christians Santa Claus dates back to Basil the Great (Ayios Vasilis), who lived in Cappadocia which is the capital of Caesarea (an ancient city of the Byzantine years) he spent almost his entire life helping his fellow man and is in world history as the initiator and first author of organized philanthropy. According to tradition, St. Basil the Great was a lanky, with black eyes and a white beard.

The kids here write their letters to Ayios Vasilis asking him to bring them the gifts they want.  All presents are given on the New Year's Eve midnight. Children wait for Ayios Vasilis to visit and to leave their presents underneath the christmas tree. Rarely he brings presents for the older members of the family! Usually they exchange presents they have to buy alone!!! According to the tradition they do this in memory of the gifts the three magicians brought to the new born Christ. 

Late at night families gather to welcome the new year together and partake in a number of traditions all having to do with good fortune, health/longevity and prosperity for a new stage of life.

In addition to a dinner of lamb, roast pork or turkey, with an extra place set for Ag. Vassili at the table, everyone plays cards or other games of chance to not only pass the time until midnight, but also because it is considered a lucky night whether you win or lose.

Before the stroke of midnight, the lights are turned off to cast darkness on “the old” and all family members exit the home. A person considered lucky is selected and handed the pomegranate, which had been hanging either on or above the door since Christmas.

When the new year turns, the pomegranate is smashed on the floor in front of the door or on the door itself to break it open and reveal an abundance of seeds symbolizing good fortune and prosperity (the more seeds, the more luck), the lights are turned on to cast light on “the new,” and everyone wishes each other “Kali Chronia” or “Chronia Polla.”

The same person, or another considered good or lucky — usually a child because their hearts are innocent and without malice — then steps into the home using the right foot (Kalo Podariko in Greek or good foot), thus giving the family an omen of good luck for the new year. All other family members then follow, also entering with the right foot.

After that everybody starts looking if Ayios Vassilis has come with the presents!

New Year's carols (Kalanta)

Today, with Thomas, i will learn the New Year's kalanta! Like in Christmas, kids go out and sing from door to door on New Year's Eve, usually in the morning hours.

The New Year's Kalanta say:
First of the month and first day of the year, my tall christmas tree
And the beginning of the new year Church with the holy throne.
In the beginning, when Christ appeared as a holy saint to walk upon the earth and to welcome us with his heart.
 
Santa Claus is coming-land lords do you realise that-
From Caeserea You are the land lady of this house
He is holding a picture and a paper, a shaped piece of rock (candy)
a paper and a quill Look at me, a young man
 
The quill wrote, he was writing about his fate and the paper speaks for its self Saint Vasilis (Father Christmas)

Christopsomo (Christ's bread)

With Vayia we are gonna make Christopsomo (Christ's Bread).

Christopsomo is the bread that shaped themselves housewives for the Christmas table. On its surface formed the shape of a cross and put a nut in the middle. On the day of Christ, the landlord takes the Christopsomo, makes the sign of crosson it, cuts and divides it for all his family and to those who attended the Christmas table.
Ingredients
2 pounds hard flour
2 tablespoons of yeast from the oven, dissolved in a some water
Warm water
1 tablespoon of salt
1 cup chopped walnut kernels
1 whole nut with the housing

Instructions
In a bowl add the dissolved yeast, flour and begin to knead a little bit by throwing water. When the dough is ready, add the walnuts and mold the loaf .
Place it in a greased deep bowl. Cover well and leave to double in volume, about 1 hour if you are in a lukewarm point or about 1 ½ hours if on the bench. Then take it out on the bench. Cut a piece of an apple size for the decoration. Place it in a greased baking dish. Then press gently to straighten the surface. Knead the small piece we kept in two wicks and place crosswise over the bread. Put a nut in the center and around nuts as many as the family members. Cover the Christopsomo and leave to go up again and cover the entire surface of the pan. For 35-40 mins if it is in warm place, about 1 hour if on the bench.  
Bake at 160oC in resistors for 50 mins to 1 hour to brown and swell.

Melomakarona and Kourabiedes

Christmas time without sweets is not good! So, i need to learn something about the greek traditional sweets for this period. The girls will tell me about them and tech me how to make them!
The most known traditional sweets for the Christmas and New Year time are Melomakarona (small honey cakes) and Kourabiedes (sugared buns).
Marina and Stella gave me the recipe. So, lets make MELOMAKARONA!

Ingredients

1 ½ cup of olive oil

½ cup of butter

1 ¼ cup of sugar

grated orange peel (1 orange)

¼ cup of brandy

¾ of a cup orange juice

a teaspoon of baking powder

a teaspoon of powder soda mixed with flour

flour as much as it is needed to be a little tough

Spices: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of clove

Instructions

We mix all the ingredients together till it becomes an even mixture. This mixture should be neither soft nor tough. We take in our hands a small amount of the pastry and we give it an oval shape.

We spread some oil on the baking tray and then we place them on it.

We bake them at 180^o C for 30-40 minutes.

When they are ready we let them get cooler and we prepare the syrup.

Ingredients for the syrup

2 cups of honey

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

some drops of lemon juice

We boil the syrup for 5 minutes. Then we dip the honey cakes in the syrup for a few seconds.

When they are ready we lay them on a big plate and we put some grated nuts on them.

Some people prefer them covered with chocolate!!! Yummyyyyyyyyy!!!

Fotini and Vasiliki will teach me now to make the other traditional sweet, KOURABIEDES!!!

Ingredients

½ kg fresh butter

1 egg

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

some grated orange peel

1 teaspoon of vanilla spice

1 cup of chopped nuts or almonds

8 cups of flour

½ kg powder sugar

Instructions

We blend butter and sugar together. We add the egg, the grated orange peel, the nuts/almond, the vanilla spice, the baking powder and finally the flour. We mix together till the mixture becomes even.

We give oval shape and put them on the baking tray after we have spread some oil on it.

We bake at 180^o C for 30-40 minutes.

When they are ready, we let them get cooler and finally cover them with the powder sugar.

I thought we had finished with sweets but... It's always good to have MORE sweets! Argiri will teach me to make DIPLES!!!

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 10 eggs
• 1 kg all-purpose flour
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tot liqueur or ouzo
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the syrup:

• 1 lt water
• 1 kg sugar
• 1 kg honey
• 2 tbl oil

For the topping:

• 250g walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1)Egg mixture:...

The Carols (Kalanta)

I'm with Yiorgos today and he will tell me about the Greek Carols. Here, they call them Kalanta!

The carols is a Greek custom undiminished even today with the children go around from house to house, 2 or more, and sing carols accompanying their song with the triangle or even guitars, accordion, lyres, or harmonicas.

The children go from house to house, knocking on doors and asking: "Shall we say? ". If the response from the landlord or landlady is positive, they sing carols for a few minutes ending with the wish "And next year. Seasons Greetings." The households reward them nowdays with some money and in the past offered them melomakarona or buns.

Carols are sung on the eve of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany and are different for each celebration.

Here are the lyrics for Christmas Carols:
Good afternoon lords
and if it's your command
the holy birth of Christ
may I say in your house
Christ is born today
in the city of Bethlehem
the skies get serene
the entire firmament rejoices

in the cave is born
in the stable of the horses
the king of the skies
and creator of everything
numerous angels sing
the "Glory in the highest"
and significant is
the faith of the shepherds

from Persia arrive
three magicians with the presents
a shining star leads them
without missing nor for a moment 

The Goblins

Today Rozalia and Vasiliki will tell me about the legend of the Goblins

The goblins are an old tradition in Greece. And in every place, and mostly villages, there are a thousand legends and traditions about them. They appear every Christmas. Some say they are spirits, other good and other bad. Others think they are strange beings, hairy and sneak home from chimneys. The nights they go and steal the food they find and mostly figs because they like them a lot. When they finish eating them, they begin to dance.

All the villagers when approaching night, are afraid to go out of home, especially young children, until the Epiphany, when they throw the cross in the water and goblins disappear.  

They go and live under the earth and start cutting again the tree that holds the earth. But they never manage to finish cutting it because in Christmas time they stop working to come up, so the tree grows up again. They appear again next Christmas.

In many villages toss coals in the wells, for them not to be spoiled by the goblins.