Project newspaper - issue 2

#Erast@gram+

Christmas
edition

Content

Traditions and Superstitions 4
Italy 4
Christmas in Italy 4
New years superstitions 5
Spain 7
Christmas superstitions 7
christmas traditions 7
Croatia 9
New Year superstitions 9
Christmas traditions 10
Lithuania 11
Christmas Traditions 11
Christmas Superstitions 11
Hungary 12
Christmas Traditions 12
Turkey 14
New Year’s Eve 14
Literature with some christmas 18
Italy 18
Spain 18
Croatia 19
Lithuania 20
Hungary 21
Turkey 23
Food recipes for christmas 24
Christmas Chocolate Muffins from Italy 24
Spanish roasted suckling pig 25
PAŠURATE from croatia 26
Turkish cuisine for New Year’s eve 27
Hungarian Christmas foods 28
Lithuanian Christmas eve dishes 31
Quiz 32
Solutions 38
Film and Book reviews 40
Love Actually 40

Charles Dickens: Christmas Carols 41

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016
Page 3

Italy

Traditions and superstitions

Christmas is an important festivity practiced in all the world and it is very important in Europe. In Italy there are a
lot of customs and traditions that are also common in all the world. The families on this day gather, exchange gifts,

play and cook a lot of things to eat.

A tipical Italian Christmas tradition is to stage the Presepe (Nativity) on 8th
December, the day of the Immaculate Conception and it is disassembled on 6th
January the day of Epiphany.There are different kinds of presepe, for example they
can be made of chocolate, wood, metal and wax and they can also be acted by
people, in fact Naples is worldwide famous for its living presepe. The word Presepe
is original of latin “praesape” that means “manger”, human races according to the
Bible. The Italian tradition dates back to St. Francis of Assisi who in 1223 made the
first representation of the Nativity. During the XV century was born the tradition
to place permanent statues in the bigger churches, only in the course of ‘700 then
presepe became popular in people’s houses like a great tradition: one of the most
important traditions was that of the Kingdom of Naples, the Neapolitans artists
decided to introduce in the Nativity normal people immortalized in the life of
everyday, especially during their routine activities.

.

Another Italian tradition is the dinner of Christmas Eve
(in italian Vigilia di Natale), the word “vigilia” comes
from latin and means “vigil”,characterized by the
fasting. The dinner is based on fish dishes, in particular
the fish “Capitone. On the Christmas day, instead, we
usually have a lunch pricipally based on meat dishes
like lasagne and lamb. Italian families also usually cook
(and obviously eat!) a lot during this period and there
are also tipical sweets like panettone, pandoro and
torrone.

Tombola is a traditional Italian game. The rules are very
simple: every player picks one or more folders with some
numbers and one player picks the table with all the
numbers from 1 to 90 and a sack with diskettes with all
the 90 numbers. Then this player starts drawing random
numbers and when one of the players has in his\her folders
two numbers in line makes ambo and wins the first little
prize, then when another player has three numbers in line
makes terno and wins the second prize and so on until the
cinquina with five numbers after which we have tombola.
You can get the tombola’s prize when you have your
folder full. There are different tombolas in the different
regions but the rulesare still the same, what changes are
the meaning associated to the numbers.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Italy

New Year’s Eve Superstitions

At midnight of the last day of the year, people all over the world wish a Happy New Year to their
friends and relatives.

Kissing at midnight

At midnight of New Year’s eve people are supposed to kiss someone they love. It means that their
love will last throughout all the coming year. Some people embrace their friends, hoping to make
their friendship durable.

The first guest

If the first guest to come is a handsome man or a pretty woman, he or she will bring good luck to
the house and its inhabitants. The first guest shouldn’t be cross-eyed, have flatfeet or have his eye-
brows united. He should bring some bread, fruit or wine as gifts.

The shoe throw

If a single woman wants to know if she is going to get married in the course of the following year,
she should throw her shoe towards the door at midnight. If the shoe that has fallen on he floor is
pointed towards the door, she will find a husband, meanwhile, if it is pointed somewhere inside
the house, she will remain single.

Idling all day long

On New Year’s eve one shouldn’t wash the clothes or the dishes, should avoid cleaning up the
house and taking a shower in order to avoid risk to keep good luck away. If one insists and cleans
up the house anyway, he or she is supposed to throw three large containers out of the window:
one must be filled with water, the second one with various things and the last one with dirty
clothes. In this way one throws away all bad luck and sadness of the passed year.

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Italy

Food tradition
The food you choose to eat on New Year’s eve has its meaning. Actually there are some kinds of
food that bring good luck.
- Grapes (twelve, exactly as the number of the months of the year): one is supposed to eat 12
grapes rapidly, expressing three wishes. It is believed that they will come true during the following
year.
- Lentils as well as the vegetables with green leaves that resemble coins attract money.
- Sparkling wine has to be opened at midnight so that it keeps bad luck away.
Clothing
One should wear at least a piece of red underwear. It’s an Anglo-Saxon tradition in order to keep
away the witches one can meet during the night of New Year’s eve. It is believed that these witches
wished bad luck to human beings. According to the Italian tradition, on the morning of the first of
January one should wear a new piece of clothing to keep bad luck away.
Being good to animals
On New Year’s Eve one should be gentle with animals, stroke them and use kind words speaking to
them. At midnight one is supposed to touch his pet’s paw.
The things one does on New Year’s eve, he will repeat all the coming year long
Example: if you sleep all day long, you are believed to sleep a lot during the course of the following
year. If you clean up your house on New Year’s eve, you will achieve your aims during the following
year. If you go to the gym on New Year’s eve, you will be fit and attractive all the coming year around.
Meanwhile in the past many people really believed in these superstitions, today they are considered
merely popular traditions and some people use them without knowing their history.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Spain

Christmas Superstitions in Spain

If you were in Spain on 31 December, did you have your 12 grapes at midnight (one with each
chime of the clock)? Apparently this tradition dates back around 100 years when there was a bumper
grape harvest. You’re also supposed to see the New Year in with red underwear. If you did neither, I
can only suggest that you start looking for a four leaved clover

Spain’s Christmas lottery is also surrounded by superstition and people will queue for hours at
some of the more popular places to buy their ticket such as La Bruixa d’Or in Lleida or Doña Mano-
lita in Madrid. Even though you can reserve your favourite number online, many still prefer to buy it
from a specific lottery vendor in the belief that this will bring them good luck. The owner of La Bruixa
d’Or says he doesn’t believe in luck, however they’ve sold over 30 major prizes since 1994, with three
of these being El Gordo (the first prize in Spain’s Christmas lottery).

Christmas Traditions in Spain

Christmas in Spain gets off to a rather peculiar and unofficial start on Dec. 22nd when children from
San Ildefonso School can be heard calling out the numbers and prizes of the Lotería de Navidad,
which is likely the most followed Spanish lottery during the entire year.

After the celebration of economic good for- Page 7
tune, Dec. 24th is Christmas Eve (Nochebue-
na in Spanish), which is a family celebration in
which Spanish people often gather around a
table loaded with exquisite food to have din-
ner together (and when we say family in Spa-
nish, the word suggests a great deal of peo-
ple). The annual family affair is a joyful event,
where the sumptuous meal and the high spi-
rits carry on until late at night. Many Christian
also attend the Misa del Gallo, offered at mi-
dnight on the 24th during which Christmas ca-
rols are sung  and accompanied by traditional
instruments such as the zambomba (a type of
seasonal drum), the carraca (a ratchet like noi-
semaker), the tambourine, and of course the
guitar.

Spain

Something of a new holiday tradition has been gaining in popularity in Spain for the last few deca-
des inspired by the popular culture of other countries; Santa Claus, known in Spain as Papá Noel,
brings gifts for children to open on Christmas Eve, which means that on Christmas Day parks and
plazas fill with children playing with their friends and showing them their new toys. In some parts of
Spain, you can find other types of traditional figures such as Olentzero (a coal vender who descends
from the Basque mountains to leave gifts for good kids and coal for the bad ones) and Tió de Na-
dal in Catalonia and Aragon, who deposits gifts and candy in the homes of children. These figures
also make appearances on Christmas Day, figures that can be considered natives to the region in
contrast to the more recent arrival of Papa Noel.

Another special day that comes around during Christmas time is Dec. 28th, the “Día de los Santos
Inocentes”, a day that originally commemorated the young victims of a massacre ordered by bibli-
cal-age governor of Judea, Herodes. The governor hoped to eliminate the future threat to his power
after prophets announced the recent birth of a new “king of the Jewish people”. The word inocen-
te in Spanish can also mean simple or naïve, and this day in Spain is celebrated in much the same
way as April Fool’s Day is in other cultures, meaning Dec. 28th is a day to watch out for tricks or “ino-
centadas” that pranksters are looking to play on people.

While Christmas Eve is a family celebration, New
Year’s Eve (called Nochevieja in Spanish) is a time
for partying with friends. It is a night for throwing
fiestas called “cotillones” or for gathering in town
squares under the old clock tower waiting in
anxious anticipation for it to strike twelve. Accor-
ding to tradition, observers must wolf down 12
grapes at this time to guarantee good fortune for
the New Year. Afterward, excited revelers often
offer toasts to the New Year with glasses of cava.
The festive spirit continues until the wee hours of
the early morning and January 1st is a day of rest
for those who have partied away the last night of
the old year.

On Jan. 5th, many make their way to their favorite bakeries to order a Roscón de Reyes (a ring shaped
cake eaten on Jan. 6th), which they will enjoy for breakfast the following day. Much more than a day
for sweet traditions, the main focus here is on the kids, as parades roll through town in which the
Reyes Magos (three kings) and their pages shower candy over delighted children. After all the high
emotions, nervous kids will have a tough time falling asleep that night, particularly because the fol-
lowing morning is the feast day of the epiphany, when the three kings will traditionally arrive from
the east to leave gifts for the well-behaved.

Christmas in Spain is a time of Christ-
mas carols, decorations, festive street
lighting, joy, and a festive atmosphe-
re –religious or secular- made evident
by the smiles on the faces of people
as they look around town for gifts for
their loved ones.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Croatia

New Year Superstitions

Superstition is a belief in the supernatural causality - that
one event causes another without any process linking the
events, such as astrology, religion and prophecies that con-
tradict natural science.

The Christmas holidays and The New Year, besides spen-
ding time with family and having fun, are tied to a lot of
superstitions. We have all probably heard of some super-
stitions, like the ones that probably everyone, or just su-
perstitious people do, like kissing at midnight, stocking up,
paying bills, wearing red underwear and of course not crying
because it brings unhappiness. While some of that people
actually do, the others sound absolutely absurd. For exam-
ple, there’s a superstition called “first footing” (by Hogma-
nay tradition) which says that the first person to enter your
home, usually a dark haired tall man, after the stroke of mi-
dnight, will influence your following year. There’s also the
one that says you should open all doors in your house and
let them stay like that until midnight, to let the ‘’last year’s
ghost’’ come out.

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Croatia

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is surely the most important and the most beautiful religious
holiday we can celebrate. It can warm up even the coldest hearts and awake
the child within us. It brings together families and fullfills our hearts with
peace and joy.

Every country has different traditions, and
sadly nowadays most of our traditions are
lost. However, we are trying to keep tradi-
tion alive and this is how we celebrate.

It all begins on Christmas Eve,
when the whole family is gathered
around the fireplace. The oldest
family member puts a piece of
wood in the fire after moistening
it with holy water, and the prayer-
begins. We pray for everyone, liv-
ing and dead, rich and poor, good
and bad...As you hear the fire be-
hind your back while saying good-
known words of prayers, you can
literally feel their power. When we
are finished, the table is filled with
amazing food.

As we eat we talk about normal,
usual topics but somehow every-
thing has a bigger meaning. Af-
ter the delicious dinner we go
to church and after midnight the
real celebration starts. Every-
body is singing, smiling, we con-
gratulate one another... and with
our hearts filled with joy of the
Christmas spirit we are headed
home to open our presents.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Lithuania

Christmas traditions

Every year there comes a time when we decorate our houses, listen to diffe-
rent music than usual, we wear warm sweaters and we spend our time with
our families. Yes, it’s Christmas time. Christmas is a magical time of the year.
All our relatives come together to celebrate this day. But before Christmas
is Christmas Eve and every country has their own traditional dishes on this
day. In Lithuania preparations for Christmas Eve take all day. The house is
cleaned, food prepared. Although official fasting no longer exists, we should
refrain from meat on Christmas Eve so as to preserve Lithuanian tradition. All
family members make an effort to come home for the Christmas Eve supper.

Twelve different dishes are served on the table be-
cause Jesus had twelve apostles. Al the dishes are
strictly meatless: fish, herring, kūčiukai with poppy
seed milk, kisielius ( cranberry pudding), a dried fruit
soup, a salad of winter and dried vegetables, boiled
potatoes, bread. A small plate with as many Christ-
mas wafers as there are persons is placed in the cen-
tre of the table. Everyone gathers at the dinner table
as soon as the first star appears in the sky. The father
takes a wafer and offers it to the family members
wishing a Happy Christmas. Then the supper starts.

On the Christmas morning people examined the weather. If Christmas was white, Easter would be
green. If the snow had not yet covered the ground at Christmas, it would certainly snow at Easter.
The Christmas season in Lithuania lasts until the Feast of the Epiphany. It is a perfect time for pre-
sents, joy and recreation.

Superstitions in Lithuania

In Lithuania are a lot of spells at Christmas, for example, those who sprinkle a mixture of wheat and peas in
the barn, will have good animals.

The most popular thing to do on Christmas Eve is to put a straws under a white tablecloth and all family
members have to pick one. Who will choose the longest will live the longest.

Also family’s girls have to pick Lithuanian traditional Christmas Eve food- Kūčiukai and if a girl gets an even
number she will soon marry someone. Or sitting with her back to the door, a girl throws a shoe over her
head: if the shoe lands with the toe toward the door she will will leave home that year. If the shoe heel fa-
ces the door, she will remain at home.

If you want to see your future, go into an empty room after the Christmas Eve supper, put a mirror against
the door, bend down and look at the mirror through your legs:you will see your future husband or wife.

At exactly midnight all animals were able to speak like humans. But to listen to their conversation was ex-
tremely dangerous because you could find out the day of your death.

You also could drip several drops of wax from a blessed candle into a glass of cold water and place the glass
by your bed. That night you will dream about your future life.

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Hungary
Hungarian Christmas traditions

Luca’s Chair
13th of December

In Hungary 13th of December, the day named after St Lucy has many
folk customs and traditions. Maybe the best-known tradition is the
making of Lucy’s chair. It is a wooden stool with three lengs and it
has a unique preparing process. The chair made of 9 different kinds
of wood and it is making for 13 days. If you want to make it you have
to use 13 piece of wood and every day (from 13th to 24th of Decem-
ber) you have to do only one procedure and add only one piece. The
legend sais that people brought this chair to the church and who
stood on it on the midnight mass, they could see the witches. Ha-
ving seen the witches you have to put the chair in the fire to get rid
of them, and you can also hear their cries as the wood is burning.
The people also took some poppy seeds with themselves and
scattered them because according to the legend the witches
couldn’t catch them while they didn’t collect all of the seeds.

Another famous custom is the Lucy’s wheat. On
Lucy’s day every family sowed wheat and if it grew
in thick and high by December 24th, it meant that
the family will be prosperous in the next year.

Hungary has so much more unique traditions
but maybe these two were the most interest-
ing. If you are curious now, let’s try out them!

The Bethlehem performance is a nativity play.
It tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The costumes and the manger are hand-
made, the choreography and the dialogues
may differ among performers who move from
house to house and act out the story for the
families. Naturally, the audience is very gra-
teful and give them some food and sweets.
Superstition about New Year

In Hungary New year’s Eve is called Szilveszter (after one of our saints). New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bu-
dapest and across Hungary include big festivities, fireworks and partying. New Year’s Day is celebrated with
eating traditional foods, visiting family and friends and wishing everyone a Happy New Year or ‘Boldog Új
Évet Kívánok’ (B.Ú.É.K.) in Hungarian.
We have some superstitions that we follow in order to have a lucky new year:

• On New Year’s Eve it’s customary to make a lot of noise to scare off the demons and the evil spirits.
• If you want to be lucky throughout the year avoid arguments, don’t do laundry and don’t sew on

New Year’s Day.
• Avoid seeing a doctor on New Year’s Day and you will stay healthy all year.
• Don’t remove anything from the house on New Year’s Day because according to this superstition

you will be penniless all year.
• If your first visitor is a man on New Year’s Day, you will be lucky, if it’s a woman you will be unlucky

in the upcoming year.
• You’ll be healthy all year if you wash your face in cold water early in the morning on New Year’s Day.

Adding a red apple to the water will increase your chances of staying healthy.
• According to an old superstition, the first person to get water from the well on New Year’s Day was

said to have a bucketful of ‘gilded water’ bringing luck in the New Year.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Lucky Meals
You can increase your odds of having a great new year
with a lucky meal. A menu of lucky meals in Hungary
consists of roasted pork, cold pork aspic (jelly), cab-
bage rolls (filled with ground pork) and lentil soup.
Pigs symbolize progress as they root themselves in the
ground before pushing forward. Traditionally in Hunga-
ry eating pork on New Year’s Day brings you luck. Len-
tils or beans symbolize wealth so lentil soup is another
must have dish on New Year’s Day. After a night of par-
tying on New Year’s Eve, korhely leves, a soup with cab-
bage, sausage and sour cream, is good for hangovers.
As for the gastronomy, we eat lots of lentils, be-
cause it is said that the more lentils you eat,
the more money you’ll have in the next year.
We are „not allowed” to eat chicken on this day, be-
cause it brings bad luck (they fear that the chicken
would sweep away the luck). On the other hand, we
should eat pork (because it finds and digs out the luck).
With which action you start January 1, it is
said that you’ll do that for the rest of the year.
For example we don’t do house chores in order to pre-
vent doing them all the time. We have some predicti-
ons too, like how to get to know your future husband’s
name. We write down boy names on several pieces of
paper, and we put them into raw dumplings. We cook
them at the same time, and the first dumpling that co-
mes to the surface of the water will include the name
of your „prince charming”. Not all people believe in/do
this kind of a prediction but it is fun and worths a try!
Int he past farmers made ‘onion-calendars’ by cutting
an onion in half and peeling off 12 layers. The layers
were arranged in order, each representing a month
of the year. Salt was then sprinkled on each piece of
onion and if the salt melted it meant a rainy month.

Page 13

Turkey
New Year’s Eve in Turkey

New Year’s Eve is one of the most popular holidays in Turkey. The New Year’s Eve traditions in this country
include a family dinner, a national lottery drawing and a countdown to midnight. New Year’s Eve falls on
December 31 in the Gregorian calendar.

What Do People Do?
Many people in Turkey start celebrating
New Year’s Eve with a large family dinner.
The main course is traditionally a roasted
turkey. Variety shows on television begin
in late afternoon and continue until early
morning of the next day. Many people play
games while waiting for the clock to strike
midnight. State TV channels announce the
winning numbers of a New Year’s national
lottery just before midnight. Many people in
Turkey try to buy a New Year’s lottery ticket
because it promises a large sum of money
to the winner. Many people also congra-
tulate each other, toast to a New Year and
exchange small gifts at midnight betwe-
en New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Hotels, restaurants and nightclubs offer spe-
cial entertainment programs on New Year’s
Eve. Most places require early reservations.
Some people go to city centers late on De-
cember 31 to watch the traditional fireworks.
New Year’s Eve ends with a countdown to an-
nounce the arrival of a new year, and celebra-
tions continue until the morning of January 1.

Public Life
New Year’s Eve is not an official holiday, although many workers get half a day off. Administration buildings,
schools and post offices may be closed in the in the afternoon of December 31. Supermarkets may also clo-
se earlier than usual. Many people celebrate New Year’s Eve in city centers, so traffic may be intense in the
evening of December 31.

Background
December 31 became the last day of a calendar year in Turkey in 1926 when this country started using the
Gregorian calendar. Turkey and the Ottoman Empire used a solar-based Islamic calendar (Rumi takvim) pri-
or to 1926. New Year’s Eve became a popular holiday in Turkey after the Turkish parliament made January
1 (New Year’s Day) an official holiday in 1935. Turkey has borrowed many of New Year’s Eve traditions from
western celebrations of Christmas and Thanksgiving during the 1920s and 1930s.

Symbols
The common symbols of New Year’s Eve in Turkey are:

 The New Year’s tree (a decorated fir tree).

 A roasted turkey.

 Images of Noel Baba (the Turkish name for Santa Claus).

These symbols can be seen on New Year’s Eve in Turkey.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Turkey

An expat’s guide to Turkish New Year traditions

Formun Üstü
Formun Altı

There are a number of New Year’s Eve traditions in Turkey expats should learn to celebrate to ring in the New
Year in Turkey

The New Year along with its promise of a fresh start holds much significance for many cultures, especially
Turkish culture. Although relative newcomers to the game, there are still a number of traditions and su-
perstitions surrounding the start of a new year that are unique to Turkey.

It was not until 1926 when Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar that Dec. 31 gained significance as be-
ing the last day of the year. In 1935, Parliament made Jan. 1, “New Year’s Day,” an official holiday; hence,
the popularity of celebrating New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31 was born. Parallel to the commercialization of Ch-
ristmas in the Western world, Turks and especially urbanites have embraced New Year’s Eve as a holiday
to decorate with trees and lights, exchange gifts, watch fireworks and celebrate in grandiose style.
In Turkey, New Year’s Eve is celebrated more visually in big cities with street decorations similar to Christ-
mas, Santa Claus imagery and trees adorned with fairy lights and gift exchanging among family and frien-
ds. Although Christmas may have come and gone, do not be surprised if you receive gifts on New Year’s
Eve. I would also highly advise to be prepared to reciprocate.
A very special and hefty New Year’s Eve Milli Piyango lottery drawing is broadcasted on the TV just before
midnight. Moreover, buying a ticket has certainly become a steadfast tradition and is the perfect present,
as the grand prize is TL 55 million ($18.8 million).
What to watch
All over the country, the evening traditionally starts with a big family dinner. Serving a roasted turkey is
becoming increasingly popular, and the Turks have their own style of stuffing the bird with currants, pine
nuts and rice. Variety programs have a wealthy lineup, start early in the evening and run until the wee
hours of the night. A new TV tradition is to watch famous personalities compete on “O Ses Turkiye,” Tur-
key’s version of “The Voice,” on TV8. Kanal D will have Bülent Ersoy ringing in the New Year on their im-
provisational show “Arkadaşım Hoşgeldin.” While ATV and Fox will have special episodes of TV series fea-
turing singers ringing in the New Year, TRT, Show TV and even NTV will have a long lineup of performers
and personalities to entertain until the countdown.
Where to go
The Turks also countdown the clock and at the stroke of midnight, Turkey and especially Istanbul beco-
mes alight with fireworks. A spectacular show is set off from the Bosporus Bridge, making neighborhoo-
ds such as Ortaköy and Bebek in high demand for its proximity; thus, they take on the atmosphere of a
street party. Any sort of popular strolling neighborhoods such as Nişantaşı, Kadıköy, Bağdat Caddesi and
of course Taksim can be completely overrun by the crowds and resulting traffic. Be forewarned, parking
will be nonexistent, public transportation will be crowded and taxis nearly impossible to find on the night.
So, be safe and start out early so you do not end up spending New Year’s Eve in traffic - an experience I
would wager that like me, many expats have endured in their time in Turkey. Therefore, the most popular
way to spend New Year’s Eve out in the city is to attend a pre-planned event. Hotels such as the Hilton

Page 15

Turkey

and the Conrad will be hosting Turkish pop stars, while nearly every restaurant in town will have a special
menu planned and reservations required. You will want to try to get tickets early because they certainly
can sell out on the night.
Some of the most popular venues hosting New Year’s Eve dinner and dancing for expats are the new and
impressive Babylon Bomonti, which will be hosting an “Oldies but Goodies” night with hits from the ‘80s
and ‘90s. The Hard Rock Cafe off İstiklal Avenue is also hosting a special rockin’ New Year’s Eve night with
DJ Nikki Wild, live music by Karma Band and a four-course dinner. Mama Shelter is also hosting a delici-
ous dinner and funky DJ beats by Yang and Pineapple Pop.

For a stunning venue and meal to match it, the regal Konsolos Istanbul in Pera will be hosting a six-course
dinner, and for a more laidback vibe in nature on the outskirts of the city, the Tuzla Yacht Club will be hol-
ding a special dinner with DJs in their bohemian-romantic garden.

Zuma and its fancy dinner offerings in Ortaköy is the place to go to be seen and see the view of the fi-
reworks show off the Bosporus Bridge, while Suada Club, the man-made island in the center of the Bospo-
rus, will have the best views in town and will host the popular Turkish rock group MFÖ. The only way to
beat these views would be aboard a boat, and there are many New Year’s Eve boat parties to choose
from. Gezi Makinesi, The Best Party Life and the Erasmus Student Network are all hosting parties promi-
sing to be packed and high-energy on the eve.

Traditions and superstitions

It should come as no surprise that the Turks have imparted their own special traditions for the night, mar-
king the start of the New Year. You may have noticed the wide array of red panties that are suddenly ever-
ywhere. Do not be offended if you happen to receive a pair as a gift because it is considered good luck to
don a pair of red underwear at the stroke of midnight for a fruitful and promising new year.

Another tradition involves smashing a pomegranate on your front door at the midnight mark, or there is
the less messy option of sprinkling salt on your doorstep - all in an effort to usher in prosperity and good
fortune for the year to follow. Opening the faucet at midnight and letting the water run is also believed to
bring good abundance and good fortune. To bring more money into your life, you are supposed to unlo-
ck a padlock at the stroke of midnight. And if it is travel that you seek, take a short stroll at midnight, as it
is believed this will bring journeys into your life.

New Year’s Day Observances
Formun Üstü

Formun Altı

Weekday Date Year Name Holiday Type
2010 New Year’s Day National holiday
Fri Jan 1

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016 Turkey

Weekday Date Year Name Holiday Type
Sat Jan 1 2011 New Year’s Day National holiday
Sun Jan 1 2012 New Year’s Day National holiday
Tue Jan 1 2013 New Year’s Day National holiday
Wed Jan 1 2014 New Year’s Day National holiday
Thu Jan 1 2015 New Year’s Day National holiday
Fri Jan 1 2016 New Year’s Day National holiday
Sun Jan 1 2017 New Year’s Day National holiday
Mon Jan 1 2018 New Year’s Day National holiday
Tue Jan 1 2019 New Year’s Day National holiday
Wed Jan 1 2020 New Year’s Day National holiday

Page 17

Literature with some Christmas
Italian Christmas Poem

FIOR DI NEVE SNOW FLOWER

Di Umberto Saba In the sky all the Angels
Dal cielo tutti gli Angeli Saw the bare fields
Videro i campi brulli Without any flower, with no frond.
Senza fronde né fiori They read in the kids’ hearts
E lessero nel cuore dei fanciulli Their passion for the white things.
Che amano le cose bianche. They shook their tired wings
Scossero le ali stanche di volare And then something came slowly
E allora discese lieve lieve down
La fiorita neve The flowery snow

Translated by Lorenzo Anagni, Lorenzo La Sorsa, Irene Moretti

Spanish Christmas Carols

El Tamborilero - Raphael Lyrics

Letra Come, they told me,
Pa rum pum pum pum
El camino que lleva a belén Our new born king to see,
Baja hasta el valle que la nieve cubrió Pa rum pum pum pum
Los pastorcillos quieren ver a su rey, Our finest gifts we bring,
Le traen regalos en su humilde zurrón Pa rum pum pum pum
Al redentor, al redentor. To lay before the king,
Ha nacido en un portal de belén el niño dios. Pa rum pum pum pum,
Yo quisiera poner a tus pies, Ra pum pum pum,
Algún presente que te agrade, señor. Ra pum pum pum
Más, tú ya sabes que soy pobre también, Ra pum pum pum,
Y no poseo más que un viejo tambor, Ra pum pum pum pum pum,
Viejo tambor, viejo tambor. Yeah I’m on the drum,
En tu honor frente al portal tocaré, Yeah I’m on the stand drum,
Con mi tambor. Yeah I’m on the beat ‘cause the beat goes dumb,
El camino que lleva a belén, And they only spare heat ‘cause I’m playing for the sun,
Yo voy marcando con mi viejo tambor. Playing for the king, playing for the title,
Nada mejor hay que yo pueda ofrecer, I’m surprised you didn’t hear this in the Bible,
Su ronco acento es un canto de amor, I’m so tight I might go psycho,
Al redentor, al redentor. Christmas time so here’s a recital,
Cuando dios me vio tocando ante el, I’m so bad like Michael I know,
Me sonrió. I’m still young but I go I go,
Stupid, stupid, love like cupid,
Other versions of this song : I’ma drummer boy so do, do
Little baby,
Pentatonix, 2012 Pa rum pum pum pum
Justin Bieber , 2011 I am a poor boy too,
Josh Groban, 2007 Pa rum pum pum pum (gather round the mistletoe real
quick)
Page 18 I have no gifts to bring,
(He he matter fact let’s gather round the fireplace while we
get hot here)
That’s fit to give our king, (Bieber what’d up?)
Pa rum pum pum pum, (yeah)
Ra pum pum pum, (yeah)
Ra pum pum pum (yeah) (I’m gonna get straight to it)
At the table with the family,
Having dinner, Blackberry on the hip and then the game a
little slicker,
Then it gave a lil’ flicker then
I took a look to see, before it activates the ringer
Came to realize the homie Bieber hit me on the Twitter,
Then I hit him back that’s right I had some food up on my
fingers,

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Sipping eggnog, with a little sprinkle of vanilla,
Even though it’s kind of cool I’m pulling on a chinchilla,
Bieber hit me back and said lets make it hot up in the
winter,
I said cool, cool,
You know I will deliver let’s collaborate and make the ho-
liday a little bigger,
Before we work I gotta get this off,
See the other family members and drop gifts off,
Then I’m headed to the studio ‘cause ain’t nothing stop-
ping,
How you know we about to turn it up and really get it
poppin’ now,
People everywhere and all our twitter followers,
Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, happy Hanukkah!
Mary nodded,
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time,
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for him,
Pa rum pum pum (yeah yeah yeah)
I played my best for him,
Pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum
If you wanna give it’s the time of year,
JB on the beat yeah yeah I’m on the stand,
It’s crazy how some people say they don’t care,
When there’s people on the street with no food it’s not
fair,
It’s about time for you to act merrily,
It’s about time for you give to charity,
Rarely to people don’t wanna even help at all,
‘Cause they wont bother buying getting toys getting dol-
ls,
Not thinking there’s a family out hungry and cold,
Wishin’ wishin’ that they had somebody they could hold,
So I think some of you need to act bold,
Can we give to a tribe let’s change the globe,
Ima drummer boy so do, do
Ima drummer boy so do, do
Ima drummer boy so do, do
Ima drummer boy so do, do
Ima drummer boy so do, do

Croatian Christmas Tale

SPECIAL GIFT the hallway until Dad told us everything was
ready. We rushed into the living room and let
I knew I was not supposed to be so excited. the wrapping paper fly. “Here’s another one for
I was too old for that. At age eleven I had to you,” said Mom as she handed me a package.
keep my cool. But every chance I got, when I I looked at it, confused. Having spent so much
was alone, I checked each present under the time examining the presents before Christmas,
tree. I read every tag and felt every package. I I recognized this one. But it had not been mine.
had examined each gift so often that I could tell It was my mom’s. A new label had been put on
which present went to which person without it, with my name written in my mother’s hand-
even looking at the tags. It had been a tough writing. “Let’s see what it is, honey. Hurry and
year for my family. Whenever my mom looked open it.”It was a blow dryer. Though this may
over at the tree she would sigh and warn us, seem but a simple gift, to me it was so much
“There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. more. Tears filled my eyes and I thought in dis-
Try not to be disappointed.” Christmas had tra- belief about how much my mom must love me
ditionally been a time for my parents to spoil to give up her Christmas so I could have a few
us. Getting presents was the whole point! It was more presents. I have always remembered that
the reason I couldn’t get to sleep on Christ- Christmas especially now when my mom is not
mas Eve. On Christmas morning, we waited in
here. It had such an impact on Pmaeg. Aes1a9n adult

with children in my life whom I adore, I can .:’Evo jedan poklon za tebe:’ kaže mama držeći

now understand my mom’s actions. I see that ga u rukama. Gledala sam je zbunjeno, odmah

she was not “giving up her Christmas” as I had sam prepoznala poklon, nije bio moj, već je bio

thought, but was finding an even greater joy in njezin. Nova naljepnica je bila na njemu, moje

her Christmas because giving truly is better than ime napisano njezinim rukopisom.:› Idemo

receiving. vidjeti dušo što je to , požuri, otvori ga. Bila je to

 POSEBAN POKLON  sušilica za kosu, možda se ovo čini jednostavnim
poklonom  ali za mene je to nešto više. Oči su

Znam da nisam trebala biti uzbuđena. Presta- mi bile pune suza u nevjerici koliko me mama

ra sam bila za to, ipak sam imala 11 godina. voli da se odrekla svog Božića da bi ja imala više

Kad god bi imala priliku, kada sam bila sama darova. Uvijek se sjećam tog Božića čak i sada

pregledala sam svaki dar ispod božićnog dr- kada mama više nije sa kraj mene. To je imali

vca. Pročitala sam svaku poruku i opipala svaki takav utjecaj na mene. Sada kao odrasla osoba,

poklon, pregledala sam darove toliko da sam koja ima djecu mogu shvatiti mamina djela.

mogla prepoznati čiji je koji poklon. Ovo je Vidim kako nije odustajala od svog Božića kako

bila teška godina za moju obitelj. Kad god bi sam mislila, nego je nalazila veći užitak u Božiću,

moja mama pogledala drvce uzdahnula bi i jer davanje jest uistinu bolje nego primanje.

rekla :’Neće biti puno toga za Božić ove godine,

pokušajte se ne razočarati:’.Inače je Božić bio

vrijeme kada bi nas roditelji razmazili. Dobi-

vanje poklona je nama bila najvažnija stvar,od

uzbuđenja na Badnjak nisam mogla spavati. Na

božićno jutro čekali smo  u hodniku, dok nam

tata nije rekao da je sve spremno. Potrčali smo

u dnevni boravak i ukrasni papir je bio posvuda

L C Cithuanian hristmas arols

Tyli naktis Silent Night
Tyli naktis, šventa naktis,,
Viskas miega, tik dar vis Silent night, holy night
Motinėlė ten budi viena, All is calm, all is bright
Kūdikis su meilia šypsena, Round yon virgin mother and child.
Ilsisi miega ramiai, Holy infant so tender and mild,
Ilsisi miega ramiai. Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Džiaugsmingų Šventų Kalėdų
Džiaugsmingų Šventų Kalėdų We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Džiaugsmingų Šventų Kalėdų
Džiaugsmingų Šventų Kalėdų We wish you a Merry Christmas
Ir metų Naujų. We wish you a Merry Christmas
Aušrinė žvaigždė padangę nušvies, We wish you a Merry Christmas
Maži piemenėliai ją sveikint skubės. And a Happy New Year
Good tidings to you
Page 20 And all of your kin

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Hungarian christmas poem and a novel

Attila József: The three kings of Bethlehem BETLEHEMI KIRÁLYOK
Translation by: Egon F. Kunz Adjonisten, Jézusunk, Jézusunk!
Jesus, Jesus, God greet you, God greet you! Három király mi vagyunk.
Three kings are we well and true. Lángos csillag állt felettünk,
Flaming star stood round our place, gyalog jöttünk, mert siettünk,
so we came on foot in haste. kis juhocska mondta - biztos
Little lamb said: never fear, itt lakik a Jézus Krisztus.
Jesus Christ is dwelling here. Menyhárt király a nevem.
I am Melchior, you see. Segíts, édes Istenem!
God be gracious unto me!
Son of God, good afternoon, afternoon! Istenfia, jónapot, jónapot!
No, we are not priests of doom, Nem vagyunk mi vén papok.
but we heard that you were born, ůgy hallottuk, megszülettél,
you the king of poor, forlorn. szegények királya lettél.
So we thought we would look in, Benéztünk hát kicsit hozzád,
heaven’s child, salvation’s kin. Üdvösségünk, égi ország!
My name, Casper represents Gáspár volnék, afféle
a king in some earthly sense. földi király személye.
Lord Saviour, God bless you, God bless you!
Far and warm lands crossed we through. Adjonisten, Megváltó, Megváltó!
All our bread and cheese is gone, Jöttünk meleg országból.
all our shining boots are worn, Főtt kolbászunk mind elfogyott,
but we brought you gold a lot, fényes csizmánk is megrogyott,
incense in an iron pot. hoztunk aranyat hat marékkal,
I am Balthazar, this means tömjént egész vasfazékkal.
the king of the Saracens. Én vagyok a Boldizsár,
Blushes, blushes Mary red, Mary red, aki szerecseny király.
happy mother bends her head.
Through the tears which fill her eyes Irul-pirul Mária, Mária,
scarcely sees her Jesus Christ. boldogságos kis mama.
All around the shepherds sing. – Hulló könnye záporán át
Time to feed the little thing. alig látja Jézuskáját.
Dearest Three Kings, kind and true, A sok pásztor mind muzsikál.
now good night, good night to you! Meg is kéne szoptatni már.
Kedves három királyok,
jóéjszakát kívánok!

István Örkény: BIG CHRISTMAS PRESENT SALE,
Translated by: Balázs Honfi, Márton Sisák
ONLY AT US! NOWHERE ELSE!

Novelties of our WATCH AND JEWELLERY DEPARTMENT:

Waterproof wristwatch
It functions flawlessly in steam, water and even at the depth of 500 meters in sea.

Punctual, elegant, reliable!
Surprise your drowned dear ones!

A reversely-going watch jewelled with 18 stones
Just arrived!Not only the hands go the other way round, but the clockface is also numbered reversely. (XII,

XI, X and etc.) This way, the clock does not only reversely show the time but its owner get younger with
every hour!

The same with an alarming system (Alarm clock)
It also goes the other way round. If we set the alarm for let’s say 6 am it will go off yesterday morning.

Page 21

SECOND-HAND THINGS MADE TO LOOK NEW

Today’s offer:

Re-frozen last-year snow

Once-eaten cholocate (with hazelnuts)

Cheap! Appealing! Tasty!

PETS, FISH, BIRDS

For making dog-keeping affordable we introduced cheerful, easy-to-keep, loyal houseflies. Our flies are

well-trained with the newest methods. They are only three months old but they already know their own

names, and after few weeks they will learn their keeper’s name.

They turn our calm and peaceful home into a cheerfully noisy place, for example as we are hiding, our fly is

chanting our names while flying all around in the room.

Have a fly and have social life!

TOY DEPARTMENT

Magician’s kit

Magic tricks for the whole night! Four complete kits! It is easy to learn with some practice!

1. The rabbit to disappear

The white rabbit- popular with magicians- is sold in a pair, one is visible and the other one is not, they come

in a cage.

2. Indian bed for fakirs

Comfy bed in neo-baroque style which comes with spikes instead of springs. As you lay down to sleep they

pierce your body. (You have to get used to it)

3. Sword-swallowing kit

Edible swords with various changeable handles, in two tastes (chocolate and strawberry)

4. The woman cut in half with a saw

It guarantees an unforgettable performance! The woman comes in two pieces, so the magician just needs

to imitate sawing.

The sensation of the BURIAL DEPARTMENT

Urn for multiple use

Black plastic container decorated with the silver monogram of the deceased, which is pierced – just like a

salt cellar – but there is a difference: the holes are not on the top, but on the bottom. This way the ash falls

out soon, and it comes with two advantages:

1. the urn is reusable with a quick change of monograms,

2. those left behind can easily get over mourning, self-pity and other uncomfortable feelings.

Widows! Orphans! Future dead!

Get your urn soon!

Our BOOK AND RECORD DEPARTMENT is waiting for you!

You don’t have to read any more!

We can become knowledgeable without ruining our eyes and getting tired, as we have managed to convert

the great works of world literature into a anal pill. Proust, Kafka, Joyce and other authors who are difficult

to digest can be quickly taken in through our bowels. Hungarian invention!

The complete works of Balzac

Made from pure cocoa butter, in a nice gift box with six pills!

Only at us! Nowhere else!

Page 22

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Turkish Poem about New Year

This is how celebrations go, but you might also want to celebrate someone´s new year in Turkish.
Below are some Turkish phrases that might be helpful for your new year´s greetings...
Happy new year!  Yeni yilin (yiliniz) kutlu olsun!
Happy new year!   Mutlu yillar! (Alternative)
I wish you many more happy new years.   Nice yillara.
I wish you happiness, luck and prosperity in the new year.   Yeni yilda mutluluk, sans ve zengin-
likler seninle (sizinle) olsun.
Happy new year, with my most sincere wishes.  Yeni yilini (yilinizi) en içten dileklerimle kutluyorum.
I wish you the best of everything in the new year.   Yeni yilda her seyin en iyisi seninle (sizinle)
olsun.
A NEW YEAR POEM

YENİLİĞE DOĞRU
Her gün bir yerden göçmek ne iyi,
 Her gün bir yere konmak ne güzel,
Bulanmadan, donmadan akmak ne hoş.
Dünle beraber gitti cancağızım,
Ne kadar söz varsa düne ait.
Şimdi yeni şeyler söylemek lâzım.

MEVLÂNÂ

Towards Novelty
How nice to emigrate from a place every day
How pleasant to flow without getting muddy or frozen
How nice to settle a place every day
How pleasant to flow without getting muddy or frozen
My sweetheart left along with yesterday
Now it’s necessary to say new things
Howsoever words pertaining to yesterday
Now it’s necessary to say new things..
Mevlana

Page 23

Food recipes for Christmas

Christmas Chocolate Muffins from Italy

INGREDIENTS:

Butter 40 g
Cocoa powder 25 gr

Chocolate 115g
Flour (00) 120 gr

Eggs 2
Sugar 100 gr
Yeast powder 1 gr

Mince chocolate and melt
down it,. Mix flour and co-
coa powder and yeast. In
a separate container put
butter and sugar and mix
them with a whisk, then
put into this also the
eggs and mix untill you
will have a light cream.

Then add to it chocolate and finally add mixed flour.

Let’s kick back in the fridge for one hour.

Put into the oven at 180 grades for 15 minute!
Let’s decorate it with Christmas pic!

Page 24 Let’s eat it!

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Spanish Roasted Suckling Pig

You will find this dish served throughout Spain, but
it is typically Castilian. Segovia, famous for its Roman
aqueduct, is also well known for its wonderful piglets,
or “piglets”, which many local establishments spe-
cialize in grilling to perfection. Across Castile, most
cities and even small towns also have restaurants
serving suckling pigs to the delight of residents and
tourists alike.

Ingredients for making roasted suckling pig

1 suckling pig / 4 or 5 kg suckling pig

Lard
2 garlic
Parsley
Fat salt
Pepper
200 ml of wine
200 ml of water
Bay leaves

How to make baked suckling pig

1.- We begin by pricking the skin of the suckling pig, this will not make us bubbles when grilling.

Crispy suckling pig

2.- We continue giving small cross cuts without being very deep.

The best roast suckling pig

3.- Crush the garlic, parsley, salt, and a few grains of pepper in a mortar. Once crushed we mix it
with lard.

To cook roast suckling pig

To cook in the oven

4.- Brush the baking dish and put a little salt. In the background we will put a pair of wet stick spo-
ons to support the suckling pig.

How to roast pig at home

5.- We anoint the suckling pig with the mixture of shortening and masaje and covered of fat salt.
Put a couple of spoons so you do not touch the suckling pig’s broth and put some wine and water
mixture in the bottom along with some bay leaves.

Roast suckling pig recipe

Home easy suckling pig

6.- Preheat oven 30 minutes to 180º. When we put it down the oven at 150º and put heat up and
down at a medium height. We will have it for 1 hour and 15 min. To make it crisp what we do is
raise the temperature to 200º for about 15 min and let it go toasted. Every 20 min we water a little
the suckling pig with the broth and ready.

Page 25

“PAŠURATE” from Croatia

Pašurate or Fritule are Dalmatian sweets which look like little donuts. They are usually flavoured
with rum and citrus zest, containing raisins, and they are topped with caster sugar.
Ingredients:
• 2l water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1-1,2kg flour
• 3-4tbsp sugar
• 1 cube of yeast
• 2 eggs
• 2-3tbsp rum
• 1dl brandy
• 10dkg raisins
• Peel of lemon and orange
• Sunflower oil for frying
Preparation:
Mix in all the ingredients for a few minutes to get a smooth mixture. Then make small balls above
the oil using two spoons. Fry that mixture in hot oil, but it mustn’t be too hot. When they are gold-
en-brown (and that’s really fast), turn them on the other side and let it fry on that side. In the end
while there are still hot sprinkle them with caster sugar.

Enjoy!

In the past people didn’t have money or opportunity to make other delicious desserts. They were
only able to buy ingredients for “pašurate”. They used home-made grappa, home-grown fruits
and olive oil.

Page 26

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Turkish Cuisine For New Year’s Eve

Numerous decorations and customs traditionally Pilaf Pilav, pallao, pilau, pelau, pulao, pulaav,
associated with Christmas and Bayrams are part Uyghur polo palaw, palavu, plov, palov, polov, polo,
of secular New Year’s Eve celebrations in Turkey. Alternative polu, kurysh, fulao, fulab, fulav
Homes and streets are lit in glittering lights. Small names Main
gifts are exchanged, and large family dinners are Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia, East
organized with family and friends, featuring a Course Africa
special turkey dish stuffed with a zante currant, Region or Hot
pine nuts, pimiento and dill iç pilav, dolma, hot state
börek, baklava, and various other Turkish dishes, Rice, spices, meat or fish,vegetables, dried
accompanied with rakı, Turkish wine, or boza, şer- Serving tem- fruits
bet, salep, and Turkish tea or coffee. Even though perature
Turkish people generally do not celebrate Christ- Main ingre-
mas, decorating Christmas trees is a very popu- dients
lar tradition on New Year’s Eve in Turkey, and the
Turks associate Santa Claus with New Year’s Eve.

Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned
broth. In some cases, the rice may attain its brown
or golden colour by first being sauteed lightly in oil
before the addition of broth. Cooked onion, other
vegetables as well as a mix of spices may be added.
Depending on the local cuisine, it may also con-
tain meat, fish, vegetables, pasta, and dried fruits.

Pilaf and similar dishes are common to Balkan, Midd-
le Eastern, Caucasian, Central and South Asian, East
African, Latin American and Caribbean cuisines. It is
a staple food and a national dish in Afghan, Arme-
nian, Azerbaijani, Bangladeshi, Balochi,Bukharan
Jewish, ,Cretan Indian, Iranian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Kurdish,
Pakistani, Swahili (Kenyan, and Tanzanian-Zanzi-
bari), Uyghur, Uzbek, Tajik and Turkish cuisines.

Page 27

Traditional Hungarian Christmas food

Most food traditionally consumed at Christmas time has its own importance. People believe that
poppyseed brings wealth, honey sweetens the days, while nuts destroy malice. The fish soup is
still part of the festive menu since the scales of a fish bring money to the house as well as eating
stuffed cabbage prevents hardship of the coming year.
Hungarian Fish Soup/Fishermen’s Soup

Ingredients:

for about 6 people

A big carp (1, 5 kilo), some different types of small fishes
(500 gram freshwater fish), 2 liter water, 1 big peeled
tomato, 2 large chopped onion, 2 tbs Hungarian paprika
powder, salt to taste, 1 green pepper, 1 dl red wine

Prepare:

1. Preparation: Clean the fish and remove its teeth, tail, fins and scales with a sharp knife. Cut out
the eyes from the head. Wash the cleaned fish with cold water. Open up the carp at its belly and
remove the chitterlings. Slice it up for 2 cm thick slices and salt the fish fillets.

2. Make a fish stock. Cook the head of carp an the small fishes in water until tender, strain and
pour it through a sieve.

3. Cook the chopped onion in water and until soft, sieve and put it into the fish stock.

4. Place the salted carp slices into the fish stock. Add slices of green pepper and the peeled sliced
tomato, some salt if necessary and bring it to the boil. If you find it necessary, add some water.

5. Add the Hungarian red paprika powder, the wine and cook until the carp is tender.

6. Serve by carefully removing the fish fillets with a skimmer and placing them in the plates, then
use a ladle to scoop some soup until its covered.

Beigli-Pastry Rolls with Walnut or Poppy Seed Stuffing

A traditional Hungarian Christmas Eve dinner is not complete without beigli. This pastry can be
made a few days, even a week before Christmas so you do not have to make all courses for the
dinner on one day.

Ingredients for the dough for 4 rolls:

o 1 kg white flour

o 200 g butter

o 150 g lard (no, you shouldn’t substitute)

o 80 g sugar

o 3 tablespoons 20% fat sour cream

o 1 egg

o 10 g fresh yeast (can be bought in cubes) started in 1 dl warm milk

o pinch of salt

Page 28

#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Process:

In one bowl, combine flour, butter, lard, sugar, salt, and crumble them together.

In another bowl, mix together milk, yeast and egg. Mix until smooth.

Pour the liquids into the solids, and knead until you get a smooth dough. Do not overknead! Stop
as soon as the dough becomes uniform.

Once the dough is smooth, divide it into 4 equal parts, roll them up into balls, cover with cling
wrap and let them rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Ingredients for the filling for 4 rolls:

o 300-350 g ground walnuts

o 300-350 g of ground poppy seeds (both can be purchased ground fresh at your local mar-
ket do NOT buy imitation stuff from the supermarket)

o 150 g sugar (adjust to your taste)

o 2 lemons

o vanilla extract

o honey

o rum extract (or hey, real rum!)

o ground cinnamon

o 1 l milk

Mix the ground walnuts (or the poppy seed whichever you are making) with the other spices in a
saucepan, and add enough milk to make a thick paste. Add the zest and juice of one lemon. Heat
the mixture slowly, stirring continuously and carefully to avoid burning! Set aside to cool. Remem-
ber: each of the two types of filling will fill TWO rolls, to make a total of four at the end. So divide
your walnut filling into two portions and your poppy seed filling into two portions.
So here is the trick to making pretty beigli. Once the dough has been well rested in the fridge, use
a rolling pin to create an even rectangle of dough. The width should be the width of the cookie
sheet in your oven. Make sure the thickness is even. Now spread the filling uniformly on the rec-
tangle of dough, making sure to leave a quarter of an inch free around the edges. Now fold the
edges over the filling and press down, on all four sides.
Here comes the fun part: roll up the dough along the longer side.
Make holes in the top with a fork to let steam escape. This will help to keep the rolls from splitting
along the top.
Spread egg yolk on the top of the beigli with a brush. Let it dry. Then spread egg white on top of
the beigli. Let it dry. (The yolk adds a nice golden color, the egg white adds shine. And the time
you wait for the two coats to dry allows the dough to rise some more.)
Put the rolls on a cookie sheet covered with baking paper. Put them in a pre-heated oven at 200C
for 15 minues, then lower the heat to 190C, and bake until golden and the beigli are firm to the
touch, which is aproximately an additional 15 minutes. So total baking time should be around 30
minutes, but this of course depends on your oven, on the thickness of your beigli, etc.
Once they are done, wait for them to cool before slicing and serving.

You will astonish your Hungarian friends with your amazing beigli-fu, guaranteed!

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Superstition about New Year
In Hungary New year’s Eve is called Szilveszter (after one of our saints). New Year’s Eve celebra-
tions in Budapest and across Hungary include big festivities, fireworks and partying. New Year’s
Day is celebrated with eating traditional foods, visiting family and friends and wishing everyone a
Happy New Year or ‘Boldog Új Évet Kívánok’ (B.Ú.É.K.) in Hungarian.
We have some superstitions that we follow in order to have a lucky new year:

• On New Year’s Eve it’s customary to make a lot of noise to scare off the demons and the evil
spirits.

• If you want to be lucky throughout the year avoid arguments, don’t do laundry and don’t
sew on New Year’s Day.

• Avoid seeing a doctor on New Year’s Day and you will stay healthy all year.
• Don’t remove anything from the house on New Year’s Day because according to this super-

stition you will be penniless all year.
• If your first visitor is a man on New Year’s Day, you will be lucky, if it’s a woman you will be

unlucky in the upcoming year.
• You’ll be healthy all year if you wash your face in cold water early in the morning on New

Year’s Day. Adding a red apple to the water will increase your chances of staying healthy.
• According to an old superstition, the first person to get water from the well on New Year’s

Day was said to have a bucketful of ‘gilded water’ bringing luck in the New Year.
Lucky Meals
You can increase your odds of having a great new
year with a lucky meal. A menu of lucky meals in Hun-
gary consists of roasted pork, cold pork aspic (jelly),
cabbage rolls (filled with ground pork) and lentil soup.
Pigs symbolize progress as they root themsel-
ves in the ground before pushing forward. Tra-
ditionally in Hungary eating pork on New Year’s
Day brings you luck. Lentils or beans symboli-
ze wealth so lentil soup is another must have dish
on New Year’s Day. After a night of partying on
New Year’s Eve, körhely leves, a soup with cabba-
ge, sausage and sour cream, is good for hangovers.
As for the gastronomy, we eat lots of lentils, be-
cause it is said that the more lentils you eat,
the more money you’ll have in the next year.
We are „not allowed” to eat chicken on this day, be-
cause it brings bad luck (they fear that the chicken
would sweep away the luck). On the other hand, we
should eat pork (because it finds and digs out the luck).
With which action you start January 1, it is
said that you’ll do that for the rest of the year.
For example we don’t do house chores in order to pre-
vent doing them all the time. We have some predicti-
ons too, like how to get to know your future husband’s
name. We write down boy names on several pieces of
paper, and we put them into raw dumplings. We cook
them at the same time, and the first dumpling that co-
mes to the surface of the water will include the name
of your „prince charming”. Not all people believe in/do
this kind of a prediction but it is fun and worths a try!
Int he past farmers made ‘onion-calendars’ by cutting
an onion in half and peeling off 12 layers. The layers
were arranged in order, each representing a month
of the year. Salt was then sprinkled on each piece of
onion and if the salt melted it meant a rainy month.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Lithuanian Christmas Eve Dishes

Kūčiukai with poppy seed milk
1 cup self-rising flour
2 cups Ordinary flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 egg
90 g Margarine
1 cup cold water ( approx.)
Mix all ingredients( margarine should be
room temperature-soft), knead dough,
cool in fridge 2-3 hours or overnight, roll
into finger-width strips, cut into inch long
pieces and bake at 200 degrees oven until
brown.
Poppy Seed Milk
Cover about 2 cups of dried poppy seeds
with boiling water, let stand 5 minutes,
drain and crush. Pour sweetened water
over crushed seeds to make a thin liquid.
Place desired amountof kūčiukai in a bowl,
cover with poppy seed milk and eat like
cereal.

Page 31

Christmas quiz time!

I. Match the Christmas greetings with their nationalities!

1. Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun A.

2. Feliz Navidad B.
3. Linksmu Kaledu C.

4. Buon Natale D.

5. Kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket! E.
6. Sretan Bozic F.

7. Froehliche Weihnachten G.

8. Joyeux Noel H.
9. Merry Christmas I.

10. Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom J.

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

II. Look for ten Christmas-related words hidden in the grid!

CHRISTMAS
JOKES

III. Match the jokes with their punchlines !

1. What nationality is Santa Claus? a) Frostbite.

2. What do you get when you cross a snowman and a dog? b) “Fleece Navidad!”

3. How does a sheep say “Merry Christmas”? c) Nothing, it was on the house!

4. How much did Santa pay for his sleigh? d) North Polish. suit
5. Why is Christmas just like your job?
e) You do all the work and the fat guy with the
gets all the credit!

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IV. Picture quiz

http://readymadepu-

bquiz.com

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

V. Christmas quiz

Try to answer the following questions !

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016
Page 37

Solutions :

I.
1. Turkish
2. Spanish
3. Lithuanian
4. Italian
5. Hungarian
6. Croatian
7. German
8. French
9. English
10. Russian

II.

III.
1. d
2. a
3. b
4. c
5. e

IV.
1. Tinsel (tin-cell)
2. Sugar plum
3. Chestnuts (chest-nuts)
4. Advent (add-vent)
5. Decorate (Deck-oar-eight)
6. Poinsettia (point(minus the ‘t’)- settee-a)
7. Gingerbread
8. Stocking (stocks (minus the ‘s’)-king)
9. Frankinscense (Frank (Sinatra)-inn-scents)

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

10. Jingle Bells (gin-girl-bells)
V.

Page 39

Film review

«Love Actually» is a must-see romantic comedy set at Christmas time.
The movie is written and directed by Richard Curtis, who also wrote «Four Weddings and a Funeral,» «Not-
ting Hill» and «Bridget Jones’s Diary.» The United States release was on 14 November 2003 and a week
later in the United Kingdom. The film was a box-office success, grossing almost $247 million worldwide on a
budget of $45 million.
The movie is jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs, and you can see all obligatory movie
love situations.
The film follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely
interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England. Many different kinds
of love are covered (although not all kinds), there are 8 storylines and the biggest cast list including many
great stars. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a
brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them
the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who’s smitten with his caterer; a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son
nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a de-
voted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman);
and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who’s desperately attracted to a colleague.
If you’re looking for a full-length story, this is not the film for you. It snap-shots the important events lea-
ding to the resolution of the couples involved, nothing more. If you want a classic romantic film, this might
not be the film for you. This is funnier than most straight comedies.
It’s not trying to be the meaning of life, it’s not trying to look at the big picture. In fact, it’s only trying to
do one thing, and that’s say positive feelings crop up in the most unexpected places or are more prevalent
than people think. One of the storylines, one that is cited constantly in reviews as one of the failed story-
lines with a sad ending is actually bittersweet. It doesn’t end with failure but the failure of one type of love
in favour of a different kind.
This film isn’t perfect. However, the flaws in the film are vastly outweighed by positives. It’s superficially
complicated but is really a very simple film. It makes a statement: «love actually is all around» then shows
why it makes that statement and doesn’t attempt to do or be anything else.
Billy Mack: ‘Christmas is a time for people with someone they love in their lives.’
Karen: ‘True love lasts a lifetime.’

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#Erast@gram+ Christmas Edition 2016

Book review

Charles Dickens : A Christmas Carol (1843)
Though we’re all wrapping up our holiday celebrations, it’s never
too late for the classic Christmas tale A Christmas Carol by Charles
Dickens. A Christmas Carol was written in 1843, with the intention
of drawing readers’ attention to the difficulties of England’s poor.
In the story, Dickens combines a somewhat indirect description
of hardships faced by the poor with a heart-rending, sentimental
celebration of the Christmas season. The villain character of the
apathetic penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge, who opens his heart
after being confronted by three spirits, remains one of Dickens’
most widely recognized and popular creations.
The book starts off with the main protagonist of the story, Ebe-
nezer Scrooge, on Christmas Eve. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, tries to
invite his uncle over for Christmas dinner, but Scrooge says that
Christmas is a humbug. After his nephew leaves, two more men
come in seeking a donation from Scrooge to give the poor a Christ-
mas dinner. Scrooge, being the rude old man that he is, says the
poor must die to “decrease the surplus population.”
At home, the ghost of his dead partner, Marley, visits Scrooge
The specter tells him that three spirits will visit him; the Ghost of
Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of
Christmas Yet to Come.
The first of the psyches, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas events that took place in
his youth. These scenes depict his solitary youth, his strong bond with his now dead sister and a Christmas
party with his first boss, Mr. Fezziwig.
The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows Scrooge how his nephew was making fun of him.
Also the phantom shows Scrooge Bob Crachit’s Christmas feast, where Crachit’s youngest son Tiny Tim is
full of happiness, despite the fact that he is very ill.
The third ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to come, shows Scrooge Christmas a year later, where Tiny
Tim is dead because Bob Crachit could not afford the treatment on his small salary. Also the spirit shows
Scrooge his employees stealing things from his dead corpse.
Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning, a changed man, and sends the prize turkey to Bob Crachit’s family
and spends Christmas with his nephew. The book ends with Tiny Tim saying those famous words;“ God
bless us, everyone!”
I think this is book is the perfect way to capture the Christmas spirit. The moral of this book is to be gene-
rous at Christmas and enjoy what you have – and also spend time with friends and family.
If you need an uplifting story about Christmas, then A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is the perfect
book for you.

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
“No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused”
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Fu-
ture. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

“God bless us, every one!”

Page 41

Some more jokes if the weren’t enough

1.-What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
-”It’s Christmas, Eve!”
2.-What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?
-Claustrophobic.
3.-Where does Santa sleep when he’s traveling?
- In a Ho, Ho, Hotel!
4.-What did one snowman say to the other snowman?
- What?
-Do you smell carrots?
5.-What do Santa’s little helpers learn at school?
-The elf-abet!
6.-Why is it getting harder to buy Advent calendars?
-Because their days are numbered!

Erast@gram Christmas Edition 2016

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