The Wise Men and just how many they were
November 14, 2006
Tradition at time calls for two or more Wise Men.
The established number nowadays is the three that were first mentioned by Pope Leon in the fifth century.
He determined this number from the three gifts given to baby Jesus: the gold, the incense and the smyrna.
The Wise Men are: Balthazar, Jasper, and Mahler. In their depictions Jasper is the old man with the beard and is almost always first to present his gift; Mahler is always young and without a beard and comes second, while Balthazar is portrayed as always very dark-skinned or black and comes third in line.
Christmas Celebration
November 14, 2006
History and fables are plentiful as to the most magical feast of all time.
Christmas constitutes the biggest feast of Christianity and is celebrated throughout the centuries, based on various customs and depending on the folklore deliveries of various Christian populations.
The celebration of Christmas until today evokes and rekindles feelings of love, solidarity and humanity, which is also the message that was brought to us by the birth of Christ.
Greek Christopsomo (Christmas bread)
November 14, 2006
Ingredients > (for two large loaves)
2 kg flour
130 gr yeast
1 cup tepid water
700 gr sugar
2 wine glasses of olive oil
2 cups warm red wine
pinch of salt
2 tsp mastic, crushed
400 gr walnuts, roughly chopped
500 gr raisins
2 tsp cinnamon and ground cloves
Peel of two oranges, finely chopped
1 small glass of orange juice
1 small glass of cognac For the decoration
olive oil sesame seeds chopped walnuts
Method >
Prepare yeast mixture the previous night, mixing 350 gr of flour with the yeast and some water. In the morning, add 25 gr of sugar, half of the olive oil and some flour.
Knead dough well and leave it to rise in a warm place.
Then add remaining ingredients and knead dough very well so it is smooth and not sticky.
Cover dough and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes.
Separate into two loaves and place on two large, oiled baking pans.
Let the loaves rise then brush them with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds and walnuts. Bake in the oven at 200C for 15 minutes then at 150C for 35 to 40 minutes.
Greek Vasilopita (St. Basil’s cake)
November 14, 2006
Vasilopita is a cake which conceals a coin-token. The entire cake is carefully divided up, the Saint (Saint Basil who is celebrated on New Year’s Day) gets the first piece, then the second and third goes to Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary, then the eldest member of the household (or the father), and so on down through the family, sometimes including those who live far away. The one who finds the coin in his/her piece of cake is considered to have a good luck throughout the year.
The cake is baked on the week before New Year’s Day, and it’s served on New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day. Here’s the recipe >
Ingredients >
1 cup fresh milk
2 tsp yeast
4 eggs
1 cup butter
1½ cup sugar
1 sachet mahlepi
grated lemon peel
1 level tsp salt
1 kg flour
blanched almonds
Method >
Pour half a cup of tepid milk in a large bowl and dissolve the yeast in it.
Add half a cup of flour and mix it until it becomes dough.
Cover with a towel and leave it in a warm place for about an hour in order to let it rise.
Once the dough has risen, beat the sugar with the yolks in a mixer.
Pour in the rest of the milk, egg white, melted butter, mahlepi and lemon scraping. Knead the dough, adding flour gradually so that the dough does not become tough.
Shape it into balls and place them in a bowl.
Cover them with a towel and leave in a warm place for three hours, until they double in size. Knead the dough for five minutes and place on buttered wax paper spread on a large round tray or two smaller ones. Cover the balls of dough and leave in a warm place for about two hours until they double in size. Beat together an egg yolk and a teaspoon of water and use this mixture to glaze the dough.
Before placing in oven, use the blanched almonds to mark the dough with the numerals of the new year.
Iced Christmas pudding
November 14, 2006
For more Christmas flavours, use glacé oranges instead of pineapple and caramelised almonds instead of macadamias, omit the cherries and add half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter teaspoon of grated nutmeg. If you can’t be bothered to do the melted chocolate covering, just spoon it over the top so that it drips down the sides.
Ingredients >
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped glacé pineapple
¼ cup frozen cherries
¼ cup brandy
2 litres best quality vanilla ice cream, softened
½ cup coarsely chopped cherry nougat
1 cup caramelised almonds, coarsely chopped
400g white chocolate
To serve > frozen cherries and icing sugar or silver balls
Method >
1 Line a bowl with clingfilm so that 5cm hangs over the edge.
2 Mix the fruit with the brandy and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
3 Place the softened ice cream, fruit and nuts in a large bowl and stir until combined.
4 Spread the ice cream mixture into the lined bowl. Cover with foil and freeze overnight.
5 Turn the ice cream pudding out onto a tray, remove the plastic wrap and return to the freezer.
6 Break the chocolate into a bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water until melted.
7 Cut a piece of greaseproof paper into a 35cm circle and cover the paper with a large sheet of clingfilm.
8 Spread the chocolate over the clingfilm in the shape of the circle.
9 Remove the ice cream from the freezer, drape plastic, chocolate-side down, over the pudding and smooth down. Freeze for a few minutes or until firm.
10 Wipe the plastic with a warm, damp cloth. Gently peel away plastic and transfer the ice cream to a plate.
11 Decorate with frozen cherries and a dusting of icing sugar, or silver balls.
“Grinch” musical gets early start on Christmas
November 14, 2006
“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” has landed on Broadway for a limited engagement to capture any tourist dollars not snagged by the Radio City Christmas show.
Based on a production created by Jack O’Brien that was seen at San Diego’s Old Globe, the show, while undeniably a calculated, merchandise selling affair, it is being presented by Target, should well please the kiddies while proving reasonably diverting to their adult chaperones. And it’s certainly head and shoulders above the misbegotten 2000 film adaptation starring Jim Carrey.
Guaranteed not to overly tax moppet attention spans with its brief, 75-minute running time, at a $110 top ticket price, no less, the show is reasonably faithful to the storybook original, though lacking the charm of the classic 1966 cartoon. Indeed, John Lee Beatty’s sets and Robert Morgan’s costumes deliver fine approximations of Dr. Seuss’ visual style, even if the color scheme bears an uncomfortable similarity to Target’s trademark graphics.
Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin’s score, the former also provided the book, is pleasantly agreeable but predictably forgettable. Of the new songs, only “One of a Kind,” delivered by the boastful Grinch, displays the necessary Broadway wit and tunefulness. Fortunately, the show includes the two classic songs from the animated version, “Welcome Christmas” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” with the latter reprised for a brief audience sing along.
That’s not the limit of the audience participation, as more than a few of the tykes in attendance made their presence known at the reviewed performance. Indeed, at one point, Patrick Page, playing the Grinch, amusingly improvised to proclaim how much he hated “that little kid that was screaming.”
The simple tale, about the efforts of the green, villainous titular character to rob the residents of Whoville of their holiday, is rendered well enough, with narration provided by Old Max (Broadway veteran John Cullum), the elderly version of the Grinch’s canine sidekick (Rusty Ross). And, as ever, Theodore Geisel’s doggerel registers with a wonderful charm.
Coca-Cola focuses on Santa for new Christmas campaign
November 14, 2006
The traditional image of Santa features in Coca-Cola’s UK Christmas television advertising campaign, which begins in the 1930s and celebrates the gift of giving.
Created by Mother, the latest ad, which breaks on November 24, comes under the “Coke Side of Life” campaign umbrella.
Directed by Hollywood film director Kerry Conran, director of ‘Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow’, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law, “the greatest gift” follows the life of a girl who meets Santa in the 1930s and as she grows older, Santa is right there with her every single Christmas.
Each year, Santa gives the girl a gift of Coca-Cola, which inspires her to believe throughout her life. It ends when the girl has become a grown woman and manages to give Santa something in return.
The ad follows in the footsteps of previous Coca-Cola Christmas ads such as “caravans” and “polar bears”.
Cathryn Sleight, marketing director of Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: “Consumers tell us that Coca-Cola advertising signifies the beginning of Christmas for them so we wanted to create an ad that captured the spirit of Christmas and the optimism that embodies this special time of year. The creative behind ‘the greatest gift’ execution also shows the authentic pleasure behind giving and to demonstrate that choosing to give instead of receive is to live on the positive, optimistic side of life.”
