Document text
ORIGINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Check one)
PUB. Living Lore in New En:land
(New Hampshire)
TITLE A (reek Mother
WRITER Evanthea Heriazos
DATE IDS. PP. 17
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN Interview
COMMENTS
T. H. Federal Writers' Project Subject: Living Lore
ff1801 in
Lr. 17-anuel 'Jew England
A GREEK 1:0TEER
by
Evanthea Keriazes
From the sunny section of the southern European
3--lkan Countries, some twenty years aao, the lovely
Gokem-oirA Basilike (Bessie) Zikou came to he United
states. That dark -eyed girl is now my mother, Mrs.
_ndrew 7eriazes, still young and vivacious, thou,h
she is the mother of nine children.
At nijat, as ;e sit around the lying room
fireplE.ce in our six -room hose on ,he outskirts
of Yiancheste.,-, we ask our mother to tell us stories
of her childhood days spent in Macedonia) Greece.
Our fingers are busy cracking the rich brown chest-
nuts, but hers, never idle, are guiding the flying
_nitting-need13s in and out of the fards and yards of
stout woolen yarn which are growing into innumerable
scarves, mittens and other winter /007/w746 for the
youner boys and
The evenings around the ooen fire are very
k -2-
jolly as we chatter and joke in the native Creek which
is spoken in our ho6sehold. But mother's stories are
the highlights and we never tire o hearing them over
and over again.
She usually begins these reminiscences of her
childh_od with the sad statement of her own mother's
deith.
"I was only twelve years old when your/Tali
died; leaving a family of four children for me; the
eldest; to help care for.
"Ey mother died when my youngest brother was
born. She caught cold and; not having the proper care;
passed away. It was a sad day for us all. 7ith a tiny
babe on our hands to bring up and no mother it was in-
deed very hard.
"I so well remember the funeral day;" my mother
•untinaes sadly. ":t came within twenty-four hours
after my mother's death for we had no facilities for
embalming the body. The village women came to our house
to -range for the funeral procession. They dressed
-y :other in her best clothes; put on her jewelry; and
_ently placed her in the homemade casket which was lined
with silk.
"That nijit we held wake and all the village
people stayed ',ith us. In the morning the priest came
with the psaltis to follow the bier to the church.
-3
Four men, on foot, bore the VeuperY" and our family
and the villagers walked behind them. T'en) as was the
old custom, we stopped three times on the journey and
at each halting -place the priest sang a h.inm. -dhen the
procession met anyone on the road, that person stopped
and paid his respects) for it was an unbroken rule the
no one, even though he was a perfect stranger) should
pass by without honoring the blessed dead.
"7hen e came to the church the usual aequiem
was sung, and then the casket was taken to the cemetery
where, as olive oil and sand were sprinkled on it, it was
lowered into a shallow grave only three feet deep. Why
no deeper? ecause the type of soil and dampness rapid-
ly consumed the body.
":efter the last sad rites were over, the funeral
party went back to my father's house and partook of a
dinner) in which the main dish was fish. Three days later
large cake, made from wheat and covered with almonds,
to
was baked) and this we presented to the church wioLifkell—w=s
distributed among the congregation in honor of the dead.
7e also were very particular in continuing the custom by
making a cake on the ninth day) the fortieth day, and on
the anniversary of the day of the death of the person whose
memory we honored.
"In our part of the country) we always exhumed
the body at the end of seven years. Then nothing re-
mained of it but the bones which were taken from the grave,
-4-
at a
A washed with wine to make them shine; and then put in a
"a,_g or small box and reverently committed to the great
7.114,,ajoLoV(mausole ill) where they \ie:,'e preserved forever."
As my mother relates her sad story I think about
hog deeply we Greek people honor our dead. •Zaturally,
in 7ew 1rip8hire, .ve subscribe to all the usual regula-
tions concErned -ith death, but we still cline to many
of our native rituals. :e continue to have our funeral
feasts which understand our Yankee neighbors also were
accustomed to hold until a very recent date.
Forty-nine days after Easter, cones our Creek
-Decoration Day .1 -Len Theat cakes are brought to church in
memory of the dead. Large cakes, made from sugar, end
heautifully designed, are also brought to church by
_eople who wish to honor their dead. On that Lunday a
special service is held and the con regation with their
.,Jriest, visit the cemeteries and decorate the graves with
rentls and flowers. The priest also reads a psalm over
the craves if he is reciuested to do so IDL the family or
inthste friends.
The children had become uneasy while mother
talking about death and fune.als and one of them
Interrupted to ask about our erand'ather.
father was a busy man and worked hard from
7orn:ng until night in the vineyards and wheat fields
end in looking out for his sheep12/ she says., "He owned
his little hillside farm at the end of the village so all
-5
the work he did was for himself and his family."
"That was the house like?" One of my sisters
asks. The'nows very ell, for mother has described
it many ti :es, but ,e always like to have her picture
the two -storied house, set behind large chestnut trees.
"le know all the details of the furnishings, the cushions
and mattresses covered with bright -colored rugs, the
home-made cupboar.7s, and the hard clay floors, dotted
with fur ruts and heavy wo,,len hand-woven blankets, like
the bright wine blanket -my father's favor4which my
pother brought from Creece and now use as a bed covering.
7e are far_f_liar with the kitchen in that stone
house and with y thew* 43/-74., separated from the r:om
by a curtain .--tif c3ntaining the fireplace over which the
telve year -old girl and her father prepared food in clay
ware and cop_, -r dishes for the hungry children.
Alwaas t:ere ,ere vegetabLs and plenty of milk
we are told, and usually a dinner of lamb supA.erented
by "the grass vetables", endive, leEkl and spinach or,
for variety, fish taken from the rivers in t,he neighbor-
hood. Then there -.ere the "grass pies", which we children
lso know well, for they are served frequently ih our
Yanchester h_me. mother has tcught re how to make
them and every 5aturday I bake a Z:P-7,1, according to
7cie Greek recfpe. First, I combine the ingredients for
the pastry as we would for bread, then I separate the
pastry into sLa14. balls usually nineteen of them. ,Then
this is done) I roll each ball of dough out very thin
and sprinkle each one with lard. As the others are roll-
ed out) they are placed one on top of the other) until
on one pile there are ten and the other nine. Then I roll
out the group of ten pastry "leaves" and make the crust
to fit into the pan. I sprinkle in the filling) consisting
o.! egs) cheese) and spinach, and then continue the same
process witY the other nine. Finally I make a fancy upper
crust and dot it with lard and bake it for one hour until
it is golden brown in color.
"The flour we used in baking) the milk) the butter)
the cheese) the olive oil and the wine all came from our
home place) and we always were certain we had en ugh to
last us the year around") my mother continues as she again
takes up the thread of her evening story.
"But someti es we had to zo to the lop& (general
store) for small sundries and a few staple articles)
like sugar) and coffee. That a trip it was a one day's
alk with the farm rule to bring back the things. On
the journey we crossed two rivers) which the mule forded)
and passed through a forest. Then we climbed a hill to
the village in which the store was located. :Tut trees
shaded parts of the road and along the trail grew gay
and lovely wild flowers. As we went over the rising knolls
we could see high hills) topped by a few tall trees etched
against the horizon -a beautiful picture which I never have
forgotten.
a
-7
"During Christmas week we killed our pig and
our relatives from the village always came to help us.
Some of them skinned the creature and then cut it up
the fat for lard and the meat in small chunks for the
sausage -making. The next day the fat was boiled down
until it was as clear as cr.,,stal and then strained and
put a'ay in large eartIlern pots. Eut that new lard
must be tested) so we made a Greek pie to see if the
shortening was of the right consistency to produce
the rich) flaky crust we liked."
Killing the pig, at Christmas time is not a new
idea to us for at our :anchester home we also kill our
'pig on the day preceding Christmas. 1e) too) make our
lard and plan to try out enough to last through the year
for ve children do not like pastry made from "store"
lard and often refuse to eat it.
ApteloreYa.
is a gre_t day for family reunions
among us and we have much fun and merrymaking. Like
the other Greek people of lanchester2 we go to St. George's
Church on Christmas Eve to attend the elaborate and
splendid midnight mass.
This year my Uncles from Yashua were visiting
us and 1Nhn we came home we had a ,ay party. My mother
says that a l_larty followed Midnight :.:ass in her father's
house. "When we returned home at three o'clock in the
morning, we feasted on roasted pig) pickles, roasted chest-
nuts) Greek delicacies 4/44:4 -uovid7444:44) and the
red, sparkling sparkling wine which we made the year before," she
tells us.
At Christmas my mother always makes 2c4ran7m)
(teganitis) of fancy unsweetened bread sponge fashioned
into shapes of different designs and fried in boiling
fat until golden -brown. Sometimes she mixes grated
cheese with the dough and then we think they are more
and more delicious than ordinary. We do not feel that
any celebration is really' festal day unless we have these
1
fried bread -cakes in the house.
We always have them on the Epiphany, that sacred
day on the sixth of January at which the Blessing of the
Waters te as place with special church services. I have
been told th-t in each of the port townSin Greece, Epiphany
iscne of the greatest of the church days and that the
priest, follcAved by a procession of worshipers, carries
golden crucifix to the harbor, to bless the waters.
He throws the crucifix among the waves and the diver who
recovers it is croned with glory. In New York City,
and some of the other large United States Cities, the
priest still leads his people to a stream where he per-
forms the sacred, traditional rite. This is not done in
Manchester. The Holy Water, blessed in church, is taken
home in bottles. This year my brother was detailed to
carry out the rite of bringing it home and sprinkling it
around the rooms of the use, the trees, and other objects.
This is a custom from my mother t village and we carry it out.
At the end of the ceremony we placed the bottle behind
the ikona to remain there until the next Epiphany.
A great day for all Greeks, wherever they live,
is Yew Year's, or Saint Basil's Day. Like other saints'
days) it is important as a nameday. My mother's name
is a form of Saint Basil's) so our family is particular-
ly festive on Pew Year's when relatives come to offer
con,raulations End rejoice until far into the night.
7:e always sin, songs about the Saint after dinner. One
that I ike particularly well and which we sing every
Pew Year's, I have tried to translate, though it loses
much of its rthm and phrasing when the Greek words are
changed to Bnglish:
The first months the first year,
Another cood year is here.
Ecclesia with the Saint Throne.
Christ came to earth to save,
end give good will to all;
St. Basil has come from Caesarea,
He holds a book and paper) and
carries an inkstand.
7e rites in the book, reeds from the paper.
'Basil where do you come from, and where
are you going?'
I am coming from school and going
to my moths'.
'If you are coming from school,
tell us the alpha beta.'
Ee leaned on the crosier to say the alpha beta;
The crosier which was dried) had sprouted
green branches,
And on the branches, pat-2'idges were ,inging;
They were not only patridges, but also
pigeons.
The patridEe flew down to spray her wings,
And finds our Lord Christ our beloved Father.
-10-.
Now let us see how a New Year's Day as we Greek
people celebrate it really starts off. In tie morn-
ing we children arise very early and all of us start
looking for money which is hidden on the floor. It
is just like the game of "Bunt the Button," and if one
of us is slow in g,itting up, he is just out of lucks
Our father takes the children to church but mother,
as her mother and mother's mother did before her) stays
at home to bake the toothsome and traditional basil-
opeta) the famous New Year's cake) first made in honor
of this Bishop of Caesarea whose death -day our church
honors.
She makes a dough of flour, salt, milk) baking
powder and olive oil and when it is of the right con-
sistency to roll out) she cuts it in small pieces) each
the size of an e L. Then she rolls them out very, very
thin into "leaves" and browns them on the top of the
clean, hot cookstove. They are piled up and left to
cool, In the bottom of a round cakepan Lother fits a
rich lower crust end adds the parially cooked "leaves".
She sprinkles them over with nut -meats and adds a fill-
ing of cheese, eggs and milk.
Then comes the great moment of hiding the symbols
within the luscious depths o- the peta. Mother says
the number and kind varies in different sections of
Greece but always there is the coin to bring good luck
to the finders.
Mother also hides a ring) a cross and a small
"nest" made of a twig Of24114y4=4"' 2 just as her an-
cestors did. Then she fills up he pan with the rest
of the "leaves" and the filling. The coin means pros-
perity for the person who finds it and many Limes I have
ilarked the spot where it is hidden. But mother turns
the peta around nd around when she is loking it to
its right color of golden brown and always I am deceived.
The cutting of the basilopeta follows traditional
rules. Mother lays aside the first piece she cuts for
the Lord Christ; then one is put aside for the house;
and the oth_rs for the family, beginning with Father)
Mother) and ending with the youngest child. I have seen
the children in cur house let their dinner get cold ptid
eat the dessert first as they eagerly tried to find the
objects in the depth of the piece of basilOpeta.
Just as the coin is a symbol of coming riches) the
ring stands for an engagement or marriage before the
,ear is out while the cross means that the person getting
it must be very pious and attend church regularly. But
the "nest"! All! the unfortunate one who draws that must
take care of the pigs) the sheep) the chickens or any
other livestock about the place!
The children always are interested to hear how
1414ther spent Easter when she was a little girl in Ma-
cedonia, so she begins by sayings
"We started getting ready t o weeks before
Easter. First, the house must be spick and span as
everyone, big and little, visited back and forth
from one neighbor's to another. How excited the child-
ren were during the preparations! To keep them from
mischief we sent them to pick up twigs and branches
for the bonfire, over which the sheep for the Easter
feast was to be roasted.
"Except for minor tasks like getting the deli-
cacies ready, dyeing the Easter eggs red, and taking
the wine out of the huge wine barrels, we did not
work during the Holy Week preceding Easter. On the
Saturday before Easter, we killed our largest and
fattest lamb and prepared it for roasting over the open
fire. The men thrust a long pole through the lamb,
so it could be turned and roasted evenly. Everyone
wanted to tarn it. Oh) the temptation to touch it
with one's fingers as it roasted giving out its lus-
cious, mouth-watering odors! We could scarcely wait
for our portions, for we had eaten no meat nor any kind
of food that did not grow in the ground for the forty
days of the FaLt1 Thr could we break this period of
Lent without first attending Midnight Mass."
She tells how everyone goes to irass, each carry-
ing a candle and with a red ez-E in his pocket. At
midnight the church is darkened for this hour when
the Lord Christ arose from the dead. The priest
lights three candles at the altar and asks the members
of the congregation to light their tapers from his to
glorify the -iesurrection.
"We leave the church with our candles lighted
and for good luck try to bear them home to light the
ikona lamps. There is quch rejoicing as or family
comes into the house to feast upon roasted lamb and to
drink wine. There is no bed for us that night, no
indeedt We hurry away to the village center, kept
open for dancing, weddings, and holiday feast days
celebrations. ":e dance, we sing, we eat and drink
the new Easter Day dawns: This is the day when
godmothers give their godchildren gifts. We are eager
to have them as gifts are given out only at Easter
ti e.
"&reryone we know is at the village center and
even relatives from far away villages come to pay
their respects. Five men playIng on two mandolins,
a violin, a bajouki, and a clarinet make music for
the dancing. Everybody is gay and happy and the
merry aking lasts for t-ree days.
We Greeks in i-anchester have no village squares
to dance in) so 'e have our gaieties in our own
homes or visit friends nd attend their parties.
After he late service on :r,ster eie) ,re greet ouko
friends and r,1ELives by knocking together and xhang-
ing the -Caster eggs) dyed red to symbolize joy and by
cry.ng "Christ is risen:" and "He is risen) indeedt".
7reakfast is delidbus uith our special dish prepared from
lamb's heart and liver. Our roast lamb dinner is sup-
i_lemented by all kinds of sweets) among the,' the special
c=,kes-uprupc,a) andi5P441;h4(17' This is the time when
J
our "bread of Christ" is baked. Each loaf of the eArco'Aviaa
is moulded to a r_und shape) and is marked in the center
with a Creek cross and decorated with red =aster eggs.
the top of the bread is also sprinkled with sesamie seed.
Often this bread or -J uld-tr,'et, is presented by- the God-
child to his Godmother end visa versa.
The ':idnight Eass) beginning late on Holy Zaturday)
in saint Ceorge's Church in -anchester is very elaborate
and teaches us the true meaning of Easter. The choir)
in which I sing) has a fine reputation throughout Hew
Zngland. At this mass the Lleir::ers wear black rDbc
but -e drop them off at midnight and appear inwhite
garments to symbolize the Lord Christ's Resurrection.
The most impressive service of the s ason) however,
is on ::oly Friday when a funeral service is held in
i:emory of Chr'Et'E burial. The Crucifix is carried to
-15
the church where the body of the Lord Christ is taken
fr,-)In it and placed in a flo er-decked GOtrarz-0‘
Yow magnificent it is -ith this seplchre covered with at
least three thc,usand carnations and roses .ihich are dis-
triTutd to the pe,2,_le at the end of the service:
c-eorge's Church used to follow the customs of
the churches in other _1.merican cities and carry the sep
,J1chre through the streets. It was born on the shoulders
of four men down to Elm street and was follou-ed by a
long procession of people carrying candles and Aanting.
But some of our .anchester neighbors did not understand
the religious a-:mholism; of the act and made light of it,
so, about seven :ears ago) our church di7inataries
abolished the street procession,
7-arch tWenty-fifth is also a great day for Greek
people all over the ;orld. This Day of Independence
never will forgotten) for it was on that day) in
1821, that the Greeks regained their freLdom from the
Turks. "That happened to the Greeks while under the
Turkish rule is a horrible story. "To schools Yere
alloed nor the observance of Greek customs of any kin..1)
but through all t' is oppresion Gur bravt ancestors
naneged to preserve our culture and customs.
if)
so,,00,6.2(gyZE(AUL is a great day) indeedt If the
twenty-fifth does not fall on a 2unday) we celebrate on
the Sunday following it. Every _reek Church hpldsspecial
services end the reek Societies give patriotic programs)
including plays, dances) songs and addresses by famous men.
-16
?Then. I was in Greek School we girls used to dress
up in our traditional _owns of white with blue sashes
and marched with a band at tl,e 1-1ad of the procession)
from the church to the hall where the celebration was
to be held.
It is in our Greek School that e keep up our
language a_nd native culture. The Greek school in
cheater is made p of seven grades and the classes are
held for two hours End a half after the city schools
close. 7ecently e built a fine new building which
stands on Pine Stre,t between :pruce and Lake :venue.
Aside fro the feast and rame-days) we have learned
:rom our :-,oth=ris stories that during her childhood
in 1:ace.::o-la she had little time for play. Although
the illage tailor m de her boleros and full long skirts)
she made all the slirts) trousers and various articles
worn the other members o- the family.
"Cur winter nights ere spent in knitting) em-
broideri:g1 and eaving for both the cloth' -and the
blankets ere made from the wool of our oscn sheep7
se ss. Then she adds) were not as fortunate
about play -s you children here in America. In summer
I worked most of the time either in the garden or went
with my youngest sister and Bashou) our faithful sheep-
dog) to tend the flpck upon the mountain side) ahile
rpy brothrs helped oar father in odd pieces of week like
carrying stones to repair the walls or hoeing in the
-1r-
vineyards. :e had a villeLe school but we were not
made to Lo. I could not be spared often, so I only
-t,ended it in winter, for in sumrer there was too
ricach work to be d,ne. T went to school only four
winters hich would not add up to two months of the
schooln you et in ::anchester.
"Sunday was our only cla.ytif,e, but you children
prctably would call it work. Then it was that we went
after ,reen branches for tie sheep to be used as fodder.
A group of us cjrls could Let together, each with her
own nule, and away we ould Eol „eily sinLlnL sons.
—hen e came to the for Qts we climbed the tres to cut
the topEost tender branches Lich the sh,ep liked best.
'e c-rried our lunches :rid ate them beside a spring.
Then; leadint, our mules, laden with branches, we trotted
bock home."
To be continued.