How to make Christmas Bread – Traditional Recipe (Amateur Translation)

 

Christopsomo is the name of the bread that Greek housewives make 2-3 days before Christmas, especially for this great celebration. Its decoration is rich with all kinds of embroidery.

These shapes symbolize the sorrow and the dream of the Greek peasantry. A capital B symbolizes the plowman's yoke.

On the other half of the surface of the Christmas bread with a "pile" of dough, the "stack" (the haystacks) is represented, framed with vine and olive leaves, the expectation, the dream for the summer to come.

Also, the house to which the happiness of the year will come is often depicted, a special significance that is also emphasized in carols:

"In this house where we came, may not a stone rot,

and may the owner of the house live a thousand years"

This bread is dedicated by the Greek family to the Nativity of Christ.

Ingredients:

300 g hard flour

1 sachet dry yeast

½ teaspoon sugar

Juice and zest of 1 medium orange

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons anise

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon ground cloves

1 heaping tablespoon honey

For the garnish:

5-6 tablespoons of flour

A little salt

A little water

Walnuts - Cloves

Instructions:

Mix the yeast with the sugar and a little lukewarm water, leave it covered for 15 minutes, until bubbles form on the surface.

Dissolve the honey in the orange juice, mix the flour with the salt, anise, cinnamon, cloves and zest, add this mixture to the yeast mixture and begin to knead by adding the orange juice and a little lukewarm water (about half a cup) until we achieve a soft and elastic dough that will not stick to the sides of the bowl.

Wet a sheet of parchment paper, wring it out and spread it in a medium round pan, spread our dough on top, making sure it has the same thickness everywhere. With the extra flour, salt and a little water, we make a dough that we divide into equal parts and with it we create a cross on our bread.

Garnish with the walnuts and cloves and leave the bread, covered, in a warm place, for at least 1 1/2 hours, until it rises and doubles in volume.

Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes.

We cut it on Christmas Day and enjoy it on the festive table!

From January 2 to January 6 — Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ.

Forefeast is one or several days preceding some major Orthodox holidays. They kind of prepare believers for the celebration of the holiday. Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ begins on January 2 and lasts for five days. This is the longest period of the forefeast, thus the Church shows the significance of the event.
The pre-feast of the Nativity of Christ is, first of all, an internal preparation for the general joy - the coming of the Savior into the world. At this time, prayers dedicated to the Nativity are read in the church during the service. The main meaning of all the services of these days is that the miracle of the Incarnation is an act of God's condescension to people. The idea is that the Son of God, having become the son of Man, from the first days of His earthly life enters into a struggle with the forces of evil. The first innocent sufferers for Christ are remembered - the Bethlehem babies, who were exterminated by Herod. On the days of the pre-feast, fasting is intensified. It reaches its greatest severity on Christmas Eve.

Forefeast of the Nativity, Troparion, Tone IV —
Make ready, O Bethlehem!/ Open unto all, O Eden!/ Adorn thyself, O Ephratha!/ For the Tree of life hath blossomed forth from the Virgin in the cave./ Her womb is shown to be a noetic paradise,/ wherein lieth a divine garden,/ eating from whence we live,/ not dying like Adam.// Christ is born to raise up His image which before was fallen.

Kontakion of the Forefeast, Tone III
Today the Virgin cometh to give birth ineffably/ to the preeternal Word in the cave./ Dance, O world! And having heard this,/ with the angels and shepherds glorify// the preeternal God, Who is to appear as a little babe.

How the Olive Tree was blessed.

The night Christ was born was very cold. The cave was cold and the Virgin Mary did not know what to do.

Then Joseph thought of lighting a fire to warm up a little, but he could find no wood anywhere. He goes out of the cave, takes a walk, but nothing.

He goes back inside, takes some straw from the manger and lights a fire. As soon as she saw them, the Virgin Mary wept and said that they should always be golden.

But after a while the haystacks were extinguished. The cave froze again. Joseph came out again, and his feet became tangled in a dry branch. It was rosemary.

Joseph lit it and the Virgin Mary wished to smell and decorate the icons of the Saints. But the fire lasted a while and the frost grew stronger.

Then Joseph heard voices through his bag saying:

Go Joseph, to our mother the olive tree above the cave and tell her that Christ is in danger. She will be very sad that we knew about it and didn't tell her anything.

It was a handful of olives that he had stored along with some bread in time of need.

Joseph went to the olive tree and she began to break pieces of wood from her old trunk and push them towards the entrance of the cave. All night the fire burned and warmth spread around the newborn Christ.

In the morning the tree was nothing but a root stump. When the Virgin Mary saw it, she wept, bent down, stroked it and said:

My wish that you never dry out. May your oil nourish and illuminate people. In the evening, light the candle of Christ.

So it happened. By evening the olive tree became big again as it was before.

Since then, the olive tree does not age. It dries, but from its roots it sprouts again and feels again.

On Christmas Eve

 On Christmas Eve

God sent a little Angel to the earth:
“How will I go through the spruce forest,”
He asked with a smile, “
Cut down the Christmas tree, and the little one who is the kindest
on earth,
Give to the most affectionate and sensitive
, as a memory of Me.
And the little angel was embarrassed:
“But to whom should I give it?
How to find out which of the children
will have God's grace?
“You will see for yourself,” God replied.
And the heavenly guest went.
The moon had already risen, the path was bright
And led to a huge city.
Festive speeches are everywhere,
Children's happiness awaits everywhere.
Throwing a Christmas tree on his shoulders,
the Angel walks with joy.
Looking into the windows
there is a great celebration!
Christmas trees glow with lights,
As happens at Christmas.
And from house to house the
angel hastily began to move,
To find out to whom he should
give the Christmas tree of God.

And he saw many beautiful and obedient children. 
Everyone at the sight of God's tree,
Forgetting everything, were drawn to it.
Who shout: "I'm standing on a Christmas tree!"
Who reproaches him for that
“You cannot compare with me,
I am kinder than you!”
"No, I'm worthy of a Christmas tree
And more worthy than others!"
The angel listens calmly,
looking at them sadly.
Everyone boasts before each other,
Everyone praises himself,
At the opponent with fear
Or looking with envy.
And out into the street, drooping,
the Angel went out. “My God!
Teach, to whom I could
give Your priceless Gift!
And on the street the
Angel meets the little one,  he stands, looks around the
Christmas tree of God, 
And the eyes burn with delight.
"Christmas tree! He clapped
his hands. "It's a pity that I'm
not worthy of this Christmas tree
And it's not for me.
But bring it to my sister,
Who lies sick with us.
Make her such a joy.
She is worth the Christmas tree!
Don't cry in vain!"
The boy whispered to the Angel.
And with a smile, the Angel
handed the Christmas tree to the child
And then, by some miracle, the
stars broke from the sky
And, sparkling with an emerald,
They dug into the branches of the Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree sparkles and shines.
It is given a heavenly symbol; And the amazed little boy
trembles with delight. And knowing such love, 

the Angel, moved to tears says

""I brought a tidbit of good tidings of God,

As a priceless gift!"

Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

Christmas trees

Many families set up Christmas trees for Christmas. This custom is based both on the words of the prophet Isaiah about the Savior: “And there will be a branch from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his root” (Isaiah 11: 1), and on the words of church hymns in honor of the event of the Nativity of Christ: “Christ is a branch from the root of Jesse, and from him you grew the flower from the Virgin. "

Decorating cut branches of Christmas trees with candles, lights and sweets shows that our nature is a barren and lifeless branch, only in Jesus Christ - the source of life, light and joy - can bring spiritual fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, mercy, faith , meekness, abstinence (see: Gal. 5, 22-23).

Forefeast of Nativity of our Lord

January 6 - The Eve of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas Eve)

Dear brothers and sisters, very little is left before the feast of the Nativity of Christ! I wish you bright joy in your heart and peace!

As St. Paisios the Athonite said: "May your heart become the Holy Manger and may the Blessed Infant of Bethlehem give you all His blessings."

We Make Melomakarona

Kourabies ... is a characteristic sweet widely spread throughout Greece that is classified in the traditional sweets such as melomakarono and that is usually prepared at Christmas. 
Its name is due to the Turkish "Kurabiye" cake made of flour, butter and powdered sugar. The basis of its success is the pure butter and the elaborate beating.

In the old days, before the mixer was invented, chocolate cakes needed a lot of work to be done because they were made by hand and they took a lot of effort. So this was not a dish that they would make at all hours but they made it on special occasions like weddings, christenings or other special occasions. They were traditionally flavored with rose water or flower water and later vanilla. They used local pure butter that they produced in each area and sometimes put roasted almonds inside. After baking them round or on a crescent moon, after baking, after cooling, they were sprinkled with rose water and then wrapped in powdered sugar, something that is not common nowadays. Over time, as everything evolves, other ingredients have been added such as brandy, mastic, ouzo. The most modern variations now include other non-traditional ingredients, such as rum, chocolate, pistachios. Melomakarona or melomakarouno is a Greek dessert made mainly from flour, oil and honey. 

It is classified like kourabiedes in the traditional national sweets that are considered essential in every Greek home, especially at Christmas time. Melomakarona in English is called "small honey cake".

Typical ingredients of melomakarona are flour and semolina, sugar, zest or orange juice, brandy, cinnamon and other spices, oil, honey and water.

Melomakarona

Materials:

For the dough

3 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon orange juice

1 cup of brandy tea

1 teaspoon cinnamon cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

Flour as they rise

For the syrup

1 glass of sugar water

1 glass of honey water

1 glass of water

For sprinkling

Roasted almonds

Grated cinnamon and sesame

Implementation:

Beat the oil well with the sugar, orange juice, baking soda, brandy and cinnamon cloves.

After beating well, add the flour little by little until the dough is soft.

Shape the melomakarona into various designs and bake them in a medium oven. Make the syrup by boiling all the ingredients together for about 5 minutes. After removing the melomakarona from the oven, pour the boiling syrup over them in the pan and leave them until they absorb it.

Sprinkle with coarsely chopped almonds, cinnamon and sesame.

Source: Crete Cities and Villages

Blessing of the Christmas Tree

 

When you've just finished decorating your Christmas tree, why not have it blessed by the father of the family? Here is a simple and beautiful ritual, which we perform every year in Combermere. Psalm 95/96 can be recited by a reader or two readers alternating:

Antiphon: Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy, for the Lord has come.(All repeat antiphon)

O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless His name.
Proclaim His help day by day,
tell among the nations His glory
and His wonders among all the peoples.
(All repeat antiphon)
The Lord is great and worthy of praise,
to be feared above all gods;
the gods of the heathens are naught.
It was the Lord who made the heavens,
His are majesty and state and power
and splendor in his holy place.
(All repeat antiphon.)
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power,
give the Lord the glory of His name.
Bring an offering and enter His courts,
worship the Lord in His temple.
O earth, tremble before Him.
(All repeat antiphon.)
Proclaim to the nations: "God is king."
The world he made firm in its place;
He will judge the peoples in fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice.
All you trees of the forest, shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
He comes to rule the earth.
With justice he will rule the world,
He will judge the peoples with His truth.
All: Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
All repeat antiphon.

The symbolism of the tree is then explained, and the tree is blessed:

After the fall of our first parents, the earth was bare and desolate; the world stood in the darkness of sin. But when the Savior was born, our earth shone with a new brightness; the glory of the Almighty Father had renewed the world, making it more beautiful than before.

This tree once stood dark and empty in a cold world. But now glowing with lights and ornaments in its new glory, this Christmas tree reflects the new beauty God brought to earth when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." By a tree the whole world has been redeemed, and therefore, with great joy we celebrate the glory of this tree.

We beseech Thee, O Holy God, Father Almighty, to bless this tree, which we have adorned in honor of the new birth of your only-begotten Son, and may you brighten our souls and bodies with the richness and beauty of your grace. Then inwardly enlightened by your splendour shining in this tree, may we come like the wise men to adore Him who is eternal Light and Beauty, the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

- From Donkey Bells, available from MH Publications