Comenius 2011-2013, project: An extra place at table or know each other through food, The fifth meeting in Bulgaria, topic: Special food for special occasions, presentation made by Cypriot team from Apsiou School, Coordinator: Vassilis Papastavrou

1. SPECIAL FOOD FOR SPECIAL
OCCASIONS
CYPRUS PRESENTATION

2. RELIGION FEASTS
• A) CHRISTMAS
• The food that is honored in every
feast, in every cypriot house is
Souvla. Souvla is our traditional
grilled barbequed meat. Souvla is
placed upon hot burning charcoals
and constantly turns round with the
help of a special machinery.

3. • Decades ago Cypriot families
would raise in their garden a
piglet so as to have meet in
special occasions. At Christmas
the man of the house invited the
butcher so as to kill the pig. The
whole think was like a ceremony.
• When the pig was dead, they
washed it with hot water, take
off their skin and cut it into
pieces.
• They also removed its urine
bladder and gave it to their kids
who blow it and used it as a ball.

4. • Christmas table is very rich and usually has a
lot and different kind of food.
• Starters
Greek salad
Olives
Yogurt

5. • Main course
Souvla
Koupepia
Makaronia tou fournou (pastitsio)
Keftedes (meat balls)
Kleftiko (roast meat)

6. • Desserts
Spoon sweets
Loukoumades
Dachtila (sweet fingers)
Pourekkia (Small pastries stuffed with anari
cheese)

7. • Traditional sweets that are mostly served on
Christmas holidays are
Melomakarona (Honey cookies with walnuts)
This is an oil-based cookie recipe that produces
moist cake-like cookies flavored with orange and
brandy that are bathed in a sweet honey syrup
and topped with chopped walnuts.

8. • Kourampiedes
These are sweet cream butter cookies that are
dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

9. • New Years day
• On New years day, after the traditional lunch, we
usually cut and share a special pie that is dedicated
and named after Saint Vassilios (archbishop of
Caesarea in Cappodocia-- hence its name "Vasilopita"
meaning "St. Basil's Bread." ). A coin is baked in the
cake, and the person who finds the coin in their slice
is has good luck for the year!!!

10. • One year, during a time of terrible famine, the emperor levied a
sinfully excessive tax upon the people of Caesarea. The tax was such
a heavy burden upon the already impoverished people that to avoid
debtors' prison each family had to relinquish its few remaining coins
and pieces of jewelry, including precious family heirlooms. Learning
of this injustice upon his flock, St. Basil the Great, the archbishop of
Caesarea, took up his bishop's staff and the book of the holy
Gospels and came to his people's defense by fearlessly calling the
emperor to repentance. By God's grace, the emperor did repent! He
canceled the tax and instructed his tax collectors to turn over to St.
Basil all of the chests containing the coins and jewelry which had
been paid as taxes by the people of Caesarea. But now St. Basil was
faced with the daunting and impossible task of returning these
thousands of coins and pieces of jewelry to their rightful owners.
After praying for a long time before the icons of our Master Christ
and His All-Holy Mother, St. Basil had all the treasures baked into
one huge pita. He then called all the townspeople to prayer at the
cathedral, and, after Divine Liturgy, he blessed and cut the pita,
giving a piece to each person. Miraculously, each owner received in
his piece of Vasilopita his own valuables.
• http://www.antiochian.org/node/18684

11. • Loukoumades (honey balls)
• On 6th of January we celebrate the baptism of
Jesus Christ. During that day we serve
loukoumades (sweet honey balls).
• There is another tradition linked to Loukoumades.
It is believed that once a year during Christmas,
black creatures named kalikantzaroi, come out
from the underground to try to mess with mortals.
Cypriots bake Loukoumades and then throw them
on the roof of the house saying “Eat and go”. It is
believed that If kalikantzaroi eat and are satisfied
then they will go back deep to the earth and not
make any harm.

12. • EASTER
• During the holy week before Easter, cypriot
landladies usually prepare a special chease pie
named “Flaounes”.
• Flaounes - Easter cheese pies - can only be
found in Cyprus. It's our number one Easter
treat.

13. • According to tradition, they're baked on Holy
Friday to be enjoyed on Easter Day and the
days to follow since this Holy Week is also a
time to fast and prepare our body for the Holy
Communion on Thursday and Saturday.
• So we smell there beautiful smell BUT we can
not taste them until Easter day that our fasting
period finally ends!

14. • Tsoureki (tsoo-REH-kee)is the traditional bread
of Greek Easter. Tsoureki is a rich yeast bread
flavored with orange and a delightful spice
called Mahlab (also called Mahlepi) that is
ground from the pits of wild cherries.

15. • On holy Saturday midnight we usually go to
the church so as to hear the message from the
Holy Gospel that Christ is raised upon death.
After that Cypriot families, before night sleep,
usuall enjoy a hot plate of lemon – egg soup.

16. • FASTING DAYS (FORBIDDEN FOOD?)
• Before Chistmas and Easter religion feasts, our
Greek Orthodox Christian church urges us to
prepare our selves for these Great religion
feasts by fasting.
• The aim of the fast is to make us capable of
controlling our bad habits in the sense that by
trying to say No to delicious food then you will
be able to control your sins and be a better
human.
• We have to say that there is no meaning If you
just avoid eating meat and yet you still do all
the bad things you do.
• Not all Cypriots fast.

17. • Fasting periods are
Every Wednesday and Friday
40 days before and until Christmas
50 days before and until Easter.
15 days before and until Virgins Mary Death
day.
More or less half of the year days is our fasting
period.

18. • Our Church urges us not to eat anything that
derives from animal meat, dairy and eggs on
fasting days.
• Especially on Green Monday, the start day of
Easter fasting period, we only eat bread, olives
and vegetables. We may not eat anything
cooked or fried neither drink alcohol.

19. • Tyrini week (chease week)
• This is the final week before the easter fasting
starts. During this week we may eat anything
dairy but not meat (during previous week people
can eat everything).
• So in this week dairy products are honored.
Especially ravioles. Ravioles is a Cypriot pasta
dish, similar to ravioli, having its roots probably
from the Venetian times. In Cyprus this pasta
dish is filled with aged halloumi and the pasta is
cooked in chicken broth.

20. • TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE FOOD
• Traditional marriages was a great feast for al the
village. All people helped with the food
preparation and the feast lasted for 3 days.
• The traditional food that is common to marriage
events is RESI. This is a traditional Cypriot
porridge of meat and cracked wheat that is
typically served at the end of a wedding party.

21. SPECIAL FOOD FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS
CYPRUS
THANK YOU