CHRISTMAS SWEETS BY THE PUPILS OF YEAR 5 (E1) A typical Christmas sweet is “Kourabies”. In a lot of regions in Greece they prepare this sweet for happy events such as weddings, a child’s birth or an anniversary. The white colour of icing sugar denotes the pleasant spirit of the festivity. It symbolizes Christmas snow. This sweet has simple ingredients: flour, eggs, butter, almonds, sugar.

RECIPE FOR “KOURABIEDES” INGREDIENTS METHOD 1 Kg flour Mix butter and sugar well, add eggs, ouzo, almonds and soda. 2 eggs 150 gr icing sugar Mould in small balls and bake at 180 degrees C for twenty minutes. 500 gr butter 200 gr almonds Afterwards sprinkle with icing sugar and vanillas. 3 vanillas 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon ouzo

THE STORY OF NEW YEAR’S CAKE by Grigoris Theodosiou It was 1500 years ago in Caesaria, Cappadocia in Minor Asia. There lived Basil, bishop of Caesaria that afterwards he was declared Saint. There was a time when a general asked Basil to give the treasure of the city. Basil refused and the general was very angry so he attacked them. The Bishop asked the poor people to offer whatever piece of jewellery had. He prayed to God all night, asking for help. The city was saved in a miraculous way when the general changed his mind. How will now Basil return the jewellery? The wise Bishop asked women to bake bread that had inside a piece of jewellery. St. Basil passed them out to everyone so that they were all happy. This is why we put a coin in New Year’s cake. I wish this year you find the lucky coin.

THE CUSTOM OF NEW YEAR’S CAKE by Daggila Vivi It is a very old custom. It comes from the ancient festivity of Kronia-Roman Saturnalia. Afterwards, the Franks put a coin inside the sweet. According to the custom, the one who finds it is called “the king of the night”. Sometimes, they put a bean instead of a coin and the one who found it was called “King of Beans”.

In Greece New Year’s cake is cut with the coming of the New Year when the family gathers. The coin is the lucky one of the whole one who finds the New Year.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF NEW YEAR’S CAKE BY THE PUPILS RAPTOPOULOS AND SINAPALOS New Year’s cake is made in different ways, depending on the region it comes from. In Athens, the capital of our country, housewives make a pie that is a kind of the Easter cake which is called “tsoureki”.

In Macedonia in Northern Greece we make a pie for a New Year’s cake. In Central Greece we make a meat or vegetable pie and instead of a coin we put a straw, a nut, a vine branch depending on the region.

In certain areas of Greece they make a pie with a lot of dough sheets stuffed with nuts and syrup, a kind of “baklava”. Housewives design a big B after the name of St. Basil or an eagle, the symbol of the Byzantine Empire.

All pies/cakes are made of simple ingredients: eggs, flour, sugar, milk, spices, almonds.

Year 5 wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS,white and sweet as the Greek “kourabiedes”.