Among the numerous foreigners who recorded their impressions of the Byzantine court Liutprand of Cremona, ambassador of Berengar of Italy in 949–50, provides descriptions of court ceremonies and a glowing account of the Christmas dinner he enjoyed at the Great Palace. Christmas…
The Byzantine celebration of Christmas attracted the attention of the Arab Harun ibn Yahya, who had been captured by the Byzantines in 911/12. Leo VI, the Wise, had already introduced an innovation according to which muslim prisoners were invited to the official…
Grandma, may I have a kourabiedaki? (kourabiedaki is the diminutive of kourabies) This was my pre Christmas refrain as a child. A kourabiedaki, as if the diminutive word could make the kourabies look smaller and the result of eating it…
“On Christmas Eve, the women who had lost loved ones made 3 breads, baked them and censed them on behalf of the soul of the dead. The same night they boiled beef and cooked rice pilav. Very early in the morning- the church…
Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean you can’t make those foods said to represent Christ’s swaddling clothes. On the contrary, they can be eaten with delight any time of the year. Cabbage leaves stuffed with a minced meat and…