TRADITIONS: Happy Greek Easter today

There is something to be said about everything. The celebration of Easter in the Greek home is one something can be said about. Work always fell on the Greek mother in the past. She died eggs dark red (to symbolize Christ's blood) and baked bread, trimming the top with dough in the shape of a cross with some red eggs buried in it. When cut, the bread always looks odd with red lining the holes in which the hard boiled eggs rested. By the time the bread was baked, they were REALLY hard boiled.

Women dyed and hard boiled many extra eggs because throughout the day anyone in a village could drop by to visit (life didn't have much to offer by way of self-entertainment in the villages a few years agfo) and the expectation would be that they would be served a red hard boiled egg and a cookie (koulouraki), tediously rolled into pencil thin rods, twisted, egg washed, sesame sprinkled on, then baked.
Since I made a batch tonight, I can say that 1 batch (3# flour worth) made 132 cookies and took 110 minutes to roll, egg wash, add sesame, then bake.

There are lots of hors d'ouevres, drinks, and one might think the meal was over, judging from the satiated tummies in the room rather than that the meal being about to start. People have struck the nose of their eggs against another until your egg's nose is broken. The winner will remain full of luck for the year. The final person lucky enough to have an egg with nose intact is declared the finalist.

Before the meal, since it is also a religious observance, as part of grace and thanking God for the meal, a special song is sung which acknowledges that Christ has risen. People can be heard saying to one another, "Christos Anesti", meaning Christ has risen. The answer follows: "Alithos Anesti", meaning indeed he has! The hymn sung with the same theme is lovely though a younger generation, at least in our house, has never been able to keep quiet long enough to hear the words or the translation. As I suspect with many ethnic groups, the first and second generation American-born, can try to hold on to some of the traditions but, inter-faith marriages and questioning the beliefs of the elders make the spirit of the day feel different than organized religion would wish.

Lamb or goat, barbecued or roasted with vegetables and potatoes, was typical. The USA does not provide mountain grown oregano sufficient to cut it while tender leaves and stalks are still growing, it can be cooked as a vegetable and the first boil water is drawn off, reboiled; it is delicately scented and an exquisite companion to the meat. The meat has been marinated in garlic and lemon, with dried oregano sprinkled on when nearly done. There are usually several entrees and no one leaves the table who can do more than waddle away.

Greeks are noted for their desserts and would make a dieter pale with the numerous offerings...all decadently caloric. In the past, stay-at-home mothers had many days to prepare for the feast. Life being what it is, many families no longer try to get everyone under one roof for a sit-down dinner. However, many still value family enough to go all out with their Holiday hospitality. It is not uncommon to hear we will be having 5 dinner guests and a stray. For Passover observants, the guest goes with the script.

Since the best of food is trotted out for these events, if you don't have your relatives to treat you, find someone in need of a guest, or just feeling charitable enough to share with you, and life can, usually, really be beautiful gastronomically.