Liberty Pastries & Food

06/25/2022

Please Help If You Can!

Many of us routinely approach a man or woman in uniform and thank them for their serv… Sharon Reeves needs your support for THANK A VET - Freedom for Michael

10/29/2021

12/31/2020

Liberty Pastries & Food's cover photo

09/06/2019

Yum!

05/12/2019

“Χαρούμενη Μέρα της Μητέρας”.

04/11/2019

Fresh Out Of The Oven!

04/11/2019

Be Sure To Order Your Easter Goodies Early - They'll Be Sure To Sell Out!

01/01/2019

"Hope Everyone Has A Safe, Healthy & Happy New Year!" From All Of Us @ Liberty Bakery

12/10/2018

Sorry...Bad joke! ;)

11/28/2018

"Make Sure You Order Your Goodies Before The Holidaze"🥖🥧🍪😋😋😋😋

11/02/2018

05/23/2018

Long Time No Hear! Hope Every One Had A Great Spring So Far...😆 Will Be @ The Atlantic Highlands Farmer's Market Starting May 25th - 6 am til ? So Get Ready To Fill Up On All Your Greek Favorites - Including Strudel & Spanakopita! Yum! See You Then! 😋

03/21/2018

"Make Sure You Order Your 'Tsoureki Bread' For The Holidays...It's So Good"

02/14/2018

"Happy Valentine's Day" 'Share Some Love'

01/30/2018

....And That's How It Is!

12/31/2017

"Everyone Have A Safe & Prosperous New Year!"

12/25/2017

"Merry Christmas!"

12/25/2017

"Greek Christmas Traditions"

Christougenna as a word is the union of the simple words Christos (Christ) & Gennisi (birth). As an event it is both the celebration of the birth of Christ at December 25th & all customs & habits surrounding it & is very popular in the Christian Church.
The celebration of Christmas, as all evidence suggests, started around the middle of the 3rd century AD. It is the biggest feast of the year & is the beginning of a series of celebrations like New Year & Epiphany, the blessing of the waters. Because Greece is a country surrounded by water & has a rich seafaring tradition, the blessing of the waters is likewise very important. All these celebrations of Christmas, New Year & Epiphany last 12 days & are therefore called “the twelve days”. Before this period there is a 40-day lent (from November 14 till December 25), which is considered a preparation of the faithful for the big event which follows.

And of cause the preparation of the faithful is followed by the preparation of the houses: Everything is cleaned & decorated to welcome the new-born Christ. The wreath at each door is a symbol of both festivity & welcome. The history of the wreath comes from ancient Greece. In those days people used to decorate olive branches & later laurel branches with sheep’s wool. Slowly people started to dye the wool with colors & added other festive items such as koulouria, biscuit rolls. It was customary to carry these branches, “Iketirides” or “Irisiones” as they were called, from house to house asking from the Gods to prevent them from any harm. On the way they sung songs about the happiness & the good luck of the master of the house. At the end of the procession it was customary to bend the branch into a circle & to hang it at the door… this way we arrive slowly at today's colorful & impressive Christmas wreaths.

But together with all this joy & preparations the “Kalikantzari” also showed up. Depending on the area their name differs slightly, but their intentions & their naughty actions are everywhere the same. The “Kalikantzari” are little devilish creatures, with dark colors & funny appearance. Sometimes they have donkey legs, ruffed up hair or humps. All year round they live underground cutting without stopping the trunk of the tree of the Upper World. Their goal is to chop it & to destroy it but as soon as they come close they get afraid the world will fall on them & crush them, so they come above the ground. That happens to be the day before Christmas. They like to fight among each other, they jump from rooftop to rooftop & break the roof tiles. Also they like, when evening falls, to climb down the chimneys of the houses & to mess up the kitchens with their naughty deeds. They dirty the food & the sweets they find there & hide themselves in the ashes of the fireplace. That is why the housewives keep the fires lit, or, when they need to put it out, they clean the fireplace well & don’t leave a trace of ashes. Sometimes they hang outside the door a cross made of reed or draw one with charcoal. Often they throw a piece of pork meat on the rooftops because the kalikantzari are crazy for it & it will make them forget to get into the house. Other times people will hang a sieve behind the door. Since the kalikantzari are very curious creatures they will count the holes. They will lose count & start all over until the morning. When dawn breaks they will leave because they are afraid of daylight.
There are many customs surrounding the chasing away of the kalikantzari & the evil, like the “Momogeri”, “Mabousari” or “Arapides” as they are also called.

In Florina, huge fires are lit in every neighborhood at midnight of 23 to 24 December. This way people chase far away the evil spirits, although the custom of the fire seems also to be connected with the fire the shepherds lit for the newborn Christ…. The preparations for the lighting of the fires take months. Groups of youths, after choosing a safe storage place, collect tons of wood & cedars which the cut from the mountains. Each evening someone is in charge of protecting the firewood of the neighborhood, as there is always the danger of another group stealing their wood. Naturally the goal of this game is playful, as the shame of being the guard & having your wood of Christ stolen is incredibly huge.​

And while all this takes place, the skills of the housewife is exhausted to surpass herself making the most beautiful “ Christopsomo”, Christmas bread, ever. Bread is the basis of Greeks’ daily food. Likewise are the grains which make this bread. That’s why at big feasts bread is presented more beautiful than other days & takes a special name & special preparation. Most of the time it is decorated in a symbolical way which shows the traditional society.
Christopsomo, as it is Christs’ bread, is made with specially selected flour, the best which can be found in the house. It is round & the top is decorated with a large cross. In the center of this cross usually a whole walnut is placed. All other decorations are an indication of what each society finds most important. For example, the Sarakatsani who are cattle keepers par excellence, make from dough a paddock with sheep, the shepherd, chicken etc. In many places they use dried figs, raisins & almonds to make different decorations.
Christopsomo is in many areas not cut with a knife, as people don’t want to harm the power of Good which is in the bread with iron, which symbolizes the power of evil. Likewise, in certain areas they make more than one bread, one for the family & one which they ground up & mix with the animal food, so as the animals to be blessed as well.

And how could fires miss from a cold winter night?? That is why in the villages of Northern Greece the day before Christmas the man of the house searches for the most beautiful & strongest piece of pine or olive wood & brings it home. This is Christoxilo, Christ’s wood. The housewife has already taken care of a clean house & especially of the fireplace, where not a trace of old ashes is to be found. She even will clean the chimney. At Christmas eve, when the whole family is gathered around the fireplace, the man of the house will light the new fire & the Christoxilo is brought in the house.
According to the customs of the people, while the Christoxilo burns Christ is warmed in His manger. Every family tries to keep the fire lit for all the twelve day period of the celebrations, from Christmas until Epiphany.

Ιn Central Greece the village girls, at midnight or a little before daybreak of Christmas (at some places at New Years’ Eve), go to closest water well of the village to steal the “unspeaking water”. They call it unspeaking water because not a word is spoken on the way. When they arrive at the well, they “feed” it with several treats: butter, bread, cheese, grain or an olive branch & they say:
“Like your water runs my well, may my life run as well” >
After that they throw a blackberry leaf & three pebbles in the jar, “steal” the water & go in complete silence home. Only after everybody has drank from the water the silence is broken again. With the same water they sprinkle all four corners of the house & they scatter the three pebbles in the house,

12/02/2017

Liberty Pastries & Food

11/17/2017

"Don't Forget Today's The Last Farmers Market In Atlantic Highlands Till Next Year! Come On Over To The Liberty Bakery Stand & Get Your Last Minute Thanksgiving Goodies! We're Here From 6 AM to 6 PM! Hope To See You!"

11/16/2017

Did You Know That November 17th is "National Baklava Day"? Come Get Your Fill Tomorrow @ The Atlantic Highlands Farmer's Market 6 Am - 6 PM! 'It's Oh So Good'!

11/16/2017

Liberty Bakery Farmers Market Atlantic Highlands Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Get Your Stuff For Thanksgiving!!! We Have Sausage, Pickles, Tomatoes & Peppers With Rice & Beef!!! We Have Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna), We Have Baked Goods!!! We Have Vegetables Come & See Us!!!

07/30/2017

"Be Sure To Stop By The 'Sea Bright Farmer's Market' On Thursdays 7AM - 6PM, Rain Or Shine, For Some New & Delicious Goodies"

07/14/2017

"Be Sure To Come Over To The Atlantic Highlands 'Farmer's Market' For Some Delectable Goodies!"

05/29/2017

'Everyone Have A Safe & Sane Memorial Day!'

04/18/2017

Hoping everyone had a safe & healthy Easter!

04/13/2017

www.kentlive.news

'When is Greek Easter in 2017 & How Is It Celebrated?'

By SophieAM | Posted: April 12, 2017

Otherwise known as Greek Easter or Orthodox Easter, the dates are sometimes the same as western Easter
Otherwise known as Greek Easter or Orthodox Easter, the dates are sometimes the same as western Easter.

But did you know there are actually two Easters?

Most people celebrate Easter on the dates recognized by the Western Christian world, which are based on the Gregorian calendar.

But Eastern Christianity celebrates Easter based on the old Julian calendar.

Otherwise known as Greek Easter or Orthodox Easter, the dates are sometimes the same as western Easter.

The dates will be the same in 2017.

Therefore, the dates for Greek Easter in 2017 are:
Greek Orthodox Easter celebrates Good Friday 2017 on Friday, April 14.

Greek Orthodox Easter celebrates Easter Saturday 2017 on Saturday, April 15.

Greek Orthodox Easter celebrates Easter Sunday or Easter Day 2017 on Sunday, April 16

Greek Orthodox Easter celebrates Easter Monday on Monday, April 17.

How it Greek Easter celebrated?
Preparations for Easter begin on Holy Thursday, when aster bread (Tsoureki) is baked & eggs are colored with red dye, with red is the color of life & also symbolic of the blood of Christ.

Good Friday is treated as a day of mourning & the most devote do not eat at all. Others will only eat simple foods.

Flowers are taken to church to decorate a representation of the body of Christ, which is carried in a procession during a Service of Lamentation.

Families prepare Mayiritsa on Easter Saturday, which is a soup made from lamb (or goat kid) offal & tripe, cooked on the stove with onions & herbs (plus an egg & lemon sauce that's mixed in at the end).

In the evening, people go to church with special white candles which are lit just before midnight as the Eternal Flame on the altar is passed around the congregation.

After midnight there are early morning prayer services & a communion to mark Easter Sunday.

Worshipers will then carry their flame home & use it to light other candles in the house. Families then gather around the table & break their fast with soup, bread & eggs.

A meal of roast lamb is made & households enjoy a feast of eating & drinking on Easter Sunday.

In Greece itself, the 'Eternal Flame' arrives by military jet on Easter Saturday & is given to the priests to take to their local churches.

The whole country celebrates Easter at midnight with church bells, ships' horns, floodlights & fireworks.

01/01/2017

"Hope Everyone Has A Safe & Happy New Year!"

12/02/2016

"Happy Holidays From 'Liberty Pastries & Food'! Be sure to get your orders in early to avoid the Holiday rush!

09/10/2016

Liberty Bakery is selling at the "Highlands Farmer's Market"! Yay! Come on over and get your "Strudel Fix"....And if that doesn't tempt you - Try some of our other delicious items! 10% of all sales are being donated to the local VFW!