At Giannitsa the table is laid
for the special feast, complete with champagne flutes and crackers. Beforehand
the cousins, Dimos and Zissis, watch a video of Uncle Dimitris playing the
clarinet at a function in Koufovouno, their home area.
Here we’ve pulled the crackers, read the jokes and Dimos’ son and daughter, Christos and Kallia, sport their cracker crowns. Incidentally there seemed to be a prevalence of snowmen jokes this year:
- What do cool snowmen wear on their heads? Snowcaps
- Where do snowmen go to dance? Snowballs.
- How do snowmen travel? By icicle.
- Who is the snowman’s favourite relative?Aunt Artica. (I love that one!)
- What does a snowlady put on her face? Cold cream.
- What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes. And finally …….
- What do snowmen sing at birthday parties? Freeze a jolly good fellow. (Gerrit?)
Right, that’s enough – and
sorry, I couldn’t resist that little ‘diversion’!!
Eleni, our hostess, had surpassed
herself in terms of goodies offered. The menu contained, among many other
dishes, delicious coq au vin and osso bucco, accompanied
by tsipouro and a variety of wines from Dimos’ vines. I’m sorry you can’t see
the full extent of the spread but, since the meal began quite late in the
evening, we set about the food with such enthusiasm that to record it on camera
…. came very much as an afterthought!
On the stroke of midnight, a knock at the door announced the arrival of
our first-foot: a jaunty clarinet-player. Here are our hosts, Dimos and Eleni,
flanking the revellers: Zissis leading a Thracian jig. It’s hoolie time, folks!
Later the tone became a little more solemn as a musician of Pontic
descent took the floor. Playing the
traditional lyre, his music was both rousing and plaintive. Greek colonies were
known to have existed in the Pontus region, around the Black Sea from as far
back as about 1200 BC. Historic events
both in the Ottoman Empire and in Russia gave rise to waves of migration from
these areas. The Pontoi in Greece continue to uphold their traditions, keeping
their dialect and culture alive and thriving.
In Greece on January 1st we
celebrate the name day of St Vassilis, or Basil, so the year begins with the
cutting of the Vassilopitta, a close-equivalent- in role if not in recipe, to
the Scottish dumpling. Kallia
found the concealed coin in her slice, thus ensuring good luck for the duration
of 2016.
In my last post, I mentioned Guy,
our great great-nephew and stacked-pancake enthusiast, and I was remiss in not
including a picture of him. Here he is with his uncle, showing he has his angelic
moments.
Still in Durham and on the sweet theme, our
great great-nieceand sister of Guy, Neve, had made and decorated a
Christmas cake for the family celebrations, complete with marzipan Christmas trees
and reindeer in flight. Isn’t she talented?
.
Later her grandma - herself no mean cook and baker- arranged for her grand-daughter to have a lesson in making sugar-paste roses. Clearly we can see the very happy outcome, with Neve and Gran proudly displaying her piece de décor.
I leave you with a
close-up her nosegay, in keeping with the recent observation of St Valentine
Day.
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