Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comGreek NewsCultureChristopsomo: Bread Meets Fine Art at the Greek Christmas Table

Christopsomo: Bread Meets Fine Art at the Greek Christmas Table

christopsomo greek christmas
Christopsomo is one of the most complicated of all of Greece’s traditional desserts for Christmas. Credit: Screenshot/Youtube

Christopsomo, or “Christ’s bread,” has been an indispensable part of the Christmas Day table in every Greek household throughout the centuries.

If you are ever fortunate enough to spend a Christmas in Greece, you will be certain to become enchanted by the enticing aromas of baked breads, pastries, cookies, and other foods during the holiday season.

Greek Christopsomo

Some Greek holiday goodies are steeped in ancient regional traditions, while others you will find throughout the entire country, but perhaps with a local twist.

The bread is traditionally baked on Christmas Eve and served on Christmas Day at the table when the whole family gathers to eat together. It is believed that this sweet bread brings blessings to the family during this holy season.

The dough for Christopsomo is divided into two pieces. The first portion, the largest, forms the main base. The somewhat smaller portion is made into a large cross with curled and split ends and several other symbolic shapes.

In the past, symbols represented aspects of the family’s life and professions as well. For example, if the family were fishmongers, images of fish would be shaped and added to the loaf.

In more agriculturally-based times, the surface of the bread would often be covered with flowers, leaves, or fruits, indicating the family’s hopes for a good harvest and healthy herds of animals.

A walnut is placed in the middle of the cross, symbolizing life as well as fertility. The walnut shell can also be interpreted as representing the cave in which the Christ Child was born.

Baking the most elaborate possible Christopsomo is an unspoken challenge for bread makers in Greece. In many parts of the country,“Christ’s bread” has truly become a piece of timeless art, with incredibly beautiful, intricate decorations.

Other traditional Greek Christmastime treats

During the holiday season, Greece is filled with the delicious aroma of sugary-sweet traditional treats, floating out from houses and bakeries, as people prepare for the holiday season.

Featuring traditional Greek flavors like nuts, citrus, spices like cinnamon and clove, and sweet honey syrup, Greek treats are the perfect welcome to the holiday season. Once you try them, you’ll crave them every year. Many of the delicious, festive treats are also associated with Greek history or a particular custom, tying in the country’s rich folklore with cuisine.

The two most popular Christmastime sweets in Greece are undoubtedly melomakarona and kourabiedes. As they’re the two most widely made, there is a bit of a debate between fans of the cookies that sparks up again each holiday season—which Christmas cookies are better, kourabiedes or melomakarona?

Whichever one you try first, you won’t be disappointed. Melomakarona and kourabiedes are both incredibly tasty.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts