Saturday 4 January 2020

Best Wishes

For the last two weeks every blogger has been wishing their readers and the readers their bloggers all the very best for the coming year.  It's a positive tradition, one which brings a flash of hope and joy in this uncertain world. 

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,
If  turnips were watches I'd wear one by my side

We need positive vibes and actions around this part of the world and having said that I could easily write ALL the world.  There  once was a saying 'the Balkans are boiling', well the *Balkans are still boiling,  and the Middle East,  and now the *Eastern med.  All far too close for comfort.

*Balkans, for those of you who don't know, and I bet there are many who have no clue about this part of the world,   are
those countries north of Greece, many part of the old Yuogslavia.  Greece is also often included in the Balkans.
*Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia (Skopje), Bulgaria, Slovenia and Romania

*Eastern mediterranean countries
Greece, Turkey, Cyrpus, Israel, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Jordan
You get the gist 

SO
Allow me to send a few more good vibes into cyber space by wishing and hoping for you all

First of all, good health.  Good health is the first wish on every greek's list on every festive occasion, and as you know there are many, many of those during the greek year.  I used to get tired of hearing 'good health',  'ygeia, ygeia' but as you get older boy do you realise how important is good health.  If you're healthy you can acheive just about anything.
And wealth.  Money can't buy health but it can certainly help.  
Money can't buy happiness either but it sure makes me happy when I can pay all my bills, dish out a few cents to the grandchildren, buy a few skeins of wool or a piece of fatty pork to cook for a family feast.
Finally, peace, whatever that means to you.  Personally I could do with a year of peace and quiet.  That's as likely to happen as world peace.

Health, wealth, peace and joy to you all

Good luck in 2020

In our greek family  each household bakes New Years bread and a sweet New Years cake, both of which have a lucky coin poked into them.  The person who finds the coin is supposed to have good luck for the rest of the year.  We still put real money into our loaves just like my mother in law did but many use a gold coloured coin-like token.  It used to be that the coin was put on display with the family icons and used to buy incense to burn in the home.   One euro will no longer buy any incense and not everyone has icons anymore. 






This is the New Yea's loaf I made to be cut at the family meal


Son in law, the man of his house cuts the loaf
The first slice is for the Virgin Mary
Second for the house
Third for the householder
Or if you have fields and crops the third piece is cut for the vines, the olives, the sheep and goats.
Then there is a slice for each memeber of the family, from oldest to youngest



The coin in this loaf went to Junior the dog


On New Years Eve after the drinking in 2020 with a bit of bubbly we cut the sweet cake.  The coin in this one went to the house and the head of the house.



This is the cake we made for our own house
The coin in this cake was between two slices and went to 2 of the grandchildren


As the church bells chimed out midnight my daughter and her husband went outside and broke a pomegranite on the doorstep and then entered the house right foot first.  All guarantees of a year of health and happiness for those that reside within



25 comments:

  1. Thank you for your best wishes Linda for the coming year. I wish you the same in return.

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  2. I also wish you and your family a wonderful year.

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  3. I love your cake traditions as well as the first footing tradition. My mother-in-law was born in Zagreb, former Yugoslavia, so we are aware of the Balkans, but have not been there. Someday I think it would be good for husband and I to go, so he has a better sense of his heritage. -Jenn

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    1. Oh you must go and visit. My neice went to Serbia this year with her partner whose family is there. They had a great time.
      Croatia is beautiful, and full of tourists from what I've seen. A lot of my family have visited and loved the place

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  4. May I also add my best wishes for the coming year, and new decade.

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  5. Best Wishes Linda. I saw Corfu on a Jane McDonald holiday programme last night. It looks incredibly beautiful.

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    1. Haven't heard of Jane McDonald . I'll keep a lookout for here. We've had Joanna Lumley there. She gets it right too. No spouting romantic rubbish

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  6. Oh yes, Health is first!!! The older we get, the more wisdom is seen, in this!

    Beautiful traditional bread and cake.

    Will the grandchildren carry on these lovely traditions? Hope so. Probably more so, if they stay on the Island. Maybe less, if they move to the mainland.

    Seems all we can do, is try to maintain Peace, in our own circle. And pray-wish-whatever, for it to come, to everywhere else.

    I can no longer dwell on the world. My focus is on my own circle. Don't have the energy now, to look beyond.

    Those younger, will have to do it now. -smile-

    Wishing Health, Peace, Joy, Prosperity, to you and to all...

    ⛄ 📕 ⛄

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    1. I can really understand that you concentrate on your own close world. Really it's all you can do. Keep yourself and family happy!
      These new year traditions are still kept by most . Special bread and cakes are available at bakers and supermarkets now and everyone, even my grandchildren school class will cut their own cake

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  7. Happy New Year, and here's to your family's health, peace, joy and wealth! We cut the cake on Wednesday at church (St Basil & all that), but I didn't get the coin (not that I expected to!!). On Jan. 12th I will get another chance to win a coin, but again, I'm not expecting to. Still, it's fun and supports St Basil Academy in New York (for children in need).
    Good luck to you and yours in 2020!

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    1. I think we be once got the coin in all these years. Quite happy about that.
      Cake cutting goes on until February here. Every organisation, business, club will have their own little ceremony . The kids live it. Searching through the slices can make make a big mess.
      Do you celebrate 6 January? It's a public holiday and we are all hoping for good weather so the kids can dive for the cross

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  8. I love the old customs. They may be old wives tales. Who’s to say. But they bring hope
    Yes peace would be lovely. May we all find some peace this year xx

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    1. Hope, yes. Hope for rain Australia for a start.

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  9. May the blessings of good health, comfortable wealth, family peace, and abundant joy be upon your household for 2020. Mxx

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    1. Oh thank you so much. Comfortable wealth. I like that! And family peace, not that we're at loggerheads but everylittle thing becomes a boiling pot. And then it's gone, poof. Ups and downs.

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  10. Happy New Year to you too, looks like the dog is going to have the best one.

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    1. Good old Junior. He's due for a snip in the spring but that will make him happier....

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  11. Here we eat a frangipane pie, with a small object inside. The finder gets to wear a crown (that always comes with the pie).

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    1. I've heard about your frangipane pies. All these curious traditions are very interesting. Hope you'll blog about it

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  12. You have some wonderful traditions there. Wishing you health and happiness for 2020. Yes, Health is the most important part. As I am sure you know a lot of Croatians settled here in the north.

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    1. Is it Dargaville that was settled by Croations. I'd love to visit it again

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