CHRISMAS IN CYPRUS

Traditional food

•Stuffed turkey: A turkey stuffed with minced pork, rice, nutmeg, parsley and pine nuts. It is cooked in the oven.

 

The traditional souvla: Lamb, chicken or pork cooked on the traditional Cypriot BBQ over charcoals.

 

Lemon and egg soup: It is usually served on Christmas morning

  after church.

Traditional sweets

   

Melomakarona: Honey cookies with walnuts
Kourabiedes: Small almond

cakes coated in icing sugar

Traditional biscuits: Flour,

butter, sugar. The cookies are of

different shapes like a star or

a Christmas tree.

                             

Vasilopita: Santa Clause cake or New year’s cake.

 

•Gennopita or Christ’s bread: a
kind of bread which is made on
Christmas Eve. It is a traditional
Christian custom. The main
characteristic of the bread
is the cross that lies on it and it
is made of dough.

•Christmas cake: A cake with
sweets and almonds

 

Traditional recipes

New Year's or Santa Clause Cake  - (Vasilopita)

 

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 3/4 - 2 glasses sugar
1 1/2 glasses vegetable shortening, half melted
4 glasses self-raising flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
some mastic
1 1/2 glasses milk at room temperature or lightly boiled
1 glass almonds, blanched and cut into small pieces or coarsely ground some almonds, blanched and halved.

Method

ØLine the base of a 28-30 cm round cake tin with foil. 

ØGrease and flour. Pound the mastic with 1-2 teaspoons of the sugar.

ØSift the flour and add the baking powder and pounded mastic. 

ØWhisk the eggs very well. Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until creamy.

ØBeat in the shortening and alternately the milk and flour.

ØUsing a metal spoon, stir in the almonds.

ØPour the mixture into the prepared tin and create numbers by arranging the blanched halved almonds on its top, to denote the new year, pressing in lightly.

ØBake in a preheated, moderate oven (150 °C) for about 1 hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note: For the sake of tradition, wrap a coin in a piece of foil and press it into the mixture before baking. The one that find's the coin, has good fortune for the year.

 

Melomakarona

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

2 oranges, juiced

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon ouzo liqueur

3 cups self-raising flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/3 cups walnuts, finely chopped

Syrup

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1/2 lemon, juiced

Method

ØPreheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 flat baking trays with baking paper.

ØUsing an electric mixer, beat oil, sugar, 1/2 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice on high speed for 10 minutes or until thick and creamy (see tip). Add egg yolk and ouzo. Beat for 5 minutes. Sift flour and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over oil mixture. Fold gently to combine (mixture should be a light, doughy texture).

ØUsing hands, roll tablespoons mixture into oval shapes. Place on prepared trays. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch. Allow to cool on trays.

 

ØMake syrup Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 4 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly.

ØUsing a slotted spoon, dip cooled biscuits, 1 at a time, into hot syrup for about 30 seconds, turning over often until well coated. Return to trays. Combine walnuts and remaining ground cinnamon. Sprinkle over biscuits. Allow to cool.

 

 

Kourabiedes - Almond Cookies
(Festive Cookies)

Ingredients

1 1/2 glasses vegetable shortening
1/2 glass oil
6 tablespoons icing sugar
1/4 glass brandy
1/4 glass rose water
1-2 glasses almonds blanched,

roasted and cut into small pieces
4 3/4 - 5 glasses self-raising flour
icing sugar to coat Cream

the shortening until light and fluffy.

Method

ØBeat in the oil, icing sugar, brandy and rose water. 

ØAdd by hand half of the flour, the almonds and
then add the remaining flour, or as much as
needed, to make a fluffy dough. 

ØGive the Kourampiedes the shape you prefer. 

ØPlace them on an ungreased baking tray and bake in a preheated, cool oven (140oC) for 30 minutes or until their bottom side is golden brown. 

ØAs soon as they are baked, remove from oven,
and lift off. After 10 - 15 minutes and while they are still warm, coat them in icing sugar.

Christmas & New Years Day
 In Cyprus

Christmas is preceded by fasting. The season begins on December 6th, the Feast of St. Nicholas and ends on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany. Christmas is celebrated as a religious holiday. On Christmas Eve many children go from house to house singing  carols or "kalanda" which have been passed down from Byzantine times. On Christmas Day people go to church very early in the morning.

Christ’s Bread or Gennopita (the pie for the birth of Christ), made on Christmas Eve with religious reverence by the lady of the house

 

 

•Children get their gifts on New Years Day since Father Christmas is "Agios Vasilis" or St. Basil who is celebrated on New Years Day with the special cake "Vasilopita." Mothers leave a piece of the cake and a glass of wine for him to drink, try the cake and then leave the gifts. Most people now exchange and receive presents on Christmas Day. The cake is not very sweet but has one gold coin in it - whoever gets the piece of cake with the coin in it is said to have good luck all year.

 

Traditional Music

Cypriot Christmas Carols

Good evening noblemen
If this is your will,
Christ's holy birth
May I sing in your noble house
Christ is being born today
In the town of Bethlehem
Heavens rejoice
All of nature is happy.

Inside the cave (He) is being born
In a manger for horses
The King of all the universe
The Creator of everything.

A crowd of angels are singing,
"Ossana in excelsis",
And holly is
The faith of the shepherds.

From Persia three magicians arrive
With their gifts
A bright star shows them the way
Without any delay.

In this house we have come
May no stone ever crack
And the landlord
May live for many years.

Epiphany Day

•The 6th January is the Epiphany Day, which is the last of the twelve days of Christmas. The word ‘Epiphany’ derives from the Greek word ‘Epiphania’ which means ‘to show’ or ‘to reveal’. Also known as the ‘Feast of Light’, Epiphany celebrates the revelation of the Son of the God as a human being in Jesus Christ.

•Religious Events take place around the coastal cities of Cyprus. After early morning church services, religious processions take place at the harbor for the ceremonial baptism of the Holy Cross into the water, and the blessing of the sea. The bishop will throw the cross into the water and people will jump in to try to catch it and return it to him. Usually the person who returns the Holy Cross is blessed with good luck throughout the year. Often, doves

are released into the air during the ceremony, and local fishermen will bring their boats forth to be blessed.

Kalikantzari

•Goblin-like and mischievous little sprites known as "kalikantzari"  are said to prey upon people causing mischief during the 12 days of Xmas. People "protect themselves" by wrapping a sprig of basil around a cross and then sprinkling it with holy water.

•People prepare loukoumades (Greek honey puffs) for the kalikantzari to eat and leave.

Have a Merry Christmas
and a prosperous
and wonderful new year
from Cyprus!