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dimi_pat

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Koulouaria are a bread-like cake that is traditionally served during Easter dinner. This is an especially popular dish in the Greek islands, although you can also find them on the mainland. I really miss getting together with the whole family and making these, it's one of my favourite traditions.

Koulouria.jpg
 
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Koulouaria are a bread-like cake that is traditionally served during Easter dinner. This is an especially popular dish in the Greek islands, although you can also find them on the mainland. I really miss getting together with the whole family and making these, it's one of my favourite traditions.

View attachment 496
I love Koulourakia!! Especially with a bit of orange zest :) they're my favorite
 
I love Koulourakia!! Especially with a bit of orange zest :) they're my favorite
I love Koulourakia and Kouloura both. Orange zest in koulourakia makes it so delicious! The Kouloura breads are always a staple in my house at Easter.
 
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I love Koulourakia and Kouloura both. Orange zest in koulourakia makes it so delicious! The Kouloura breads are always a staple in my house at Easter.
At my house too! I wish I made them more often tbh
 
It's mandatory that you sing plathw koulourakia when you make these.
 
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It's mandatory that you sing plathw koulourakia when you make these.
Could you share the words? I have never sung it! I make these every Easter, they are a tradition in my household...
 
Could you share the words? I have never sung it! I make these every Easter, they are a tradition in my household...
Sure.

Me ta dyo xerakia (with both hands)
plathw koulourakia (I make koulourakia)
koulourakia, koulourakia

O fournos tha ta psisei (the oven will bake them)
to spiti tha myrisei (the house will smell)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Ti glyka ki afrata (How sweet and fluffy)
ola myrodomata (all fragrant)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Gi' auto kai to sxoleio tous (so that's why at their school)
pairnoun ta paidakia (the kids bring them)
koulourakia, koulourakia

 
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At my house too! I wish I made them more often tbh
In my native town, in Magna Graecia [south Italy], there used to be the tradition of making Cullura (Koulura) for easter. It was sweetbread or bun with an egg baked in it. A greater variety of sweets was made for Palm Sunday, like pretzels etc., when they were attached to a palm-branch and taken to church. Little toys and crosses were also made by interweaving palm fronds. //Speaking of feasts and traditions, I remembered that the 8th of September used to be, in my town, the feast of MyLady of Graces, to whom a rustic shrine was dedicated, while outdoors a fair was held: merchants from town and other towns brought their wares and even animals (cattle) for sale. On this date, the Church officially celebrates the Birth of the Virgin Mary. The shrine is in a district of the township that must have been the civic center of the newly founded town of Thourioi and may have been a replica of the shrine dedicated to Athena Krathia (reported by Herodotus). When the people switched to Christianity, the rededication inevitably occurred. Athena was born out of Zeus' head, Mary was born normally, but by a miracle from Ann and Joachim. // I miss the ice cream I used to buy at the Fair.
 
Sure.

Me ta dyo xerakia (with both hands)
plathw koulourakia (I make koulourakia)
koulourakia, koulourakia

O fournos tha ta psisei (the oven will bake them)
to spiti tha myrisei (the house will smell)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Ti glyka ki afrata (How sweet and fluffy)
ola myrodomata (all fragrant)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Gi' auto kai to sxoleio tous (so that's why at their school)
pairnoun ta paidakia (the kids bring them)
koulourakia, koulourakia

This is so cool - I am going to try to sing this song next tie I make this!! My mother used to sing a song like this but I never knew the words...
 
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This is so cool - I am going to try to sing this song next tie I make this!! My mother used to sing a song like this but I never knew the words...
Yes! Let's keep these traditions alive :)
 
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Sure.

Me ta dyo xerakia (with both hands)
plathw koulourakia (I make koulourakia)
koulourakia, koulourakia

O fournos tha ta psisei (the oven will bake them)
to spiti tha myrisei (the house will smell)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Ti glyka ki afrata (How sweet and fluffy)
ola myrodomata (all fragrant)
koulourakia, koulourakia

Gi' auto kai to sxoleio tous (so that's why at their school)
pairnoun ta paidakia (the kids bring them)
koulourakia, koulourakia
As I have been investigating words, since my retirement, now I wondered about the origin of the name "Koulourakia"or, in my native language, "koulloura/kouddroura". Wikipedia does not help; so, I turned to a lexikon, the Liddlell-Scott "A Greek-English Lexikon" and then the Bailly "Greek-French Dictionary", which report the literature source of the Classical Greek words. Bailly cites "Koulloura", which is described as a small oval loaf of bread,or roll, sweetened, especially for infants. Thus, the tradition in question goes back to pre-Christian times, and obviously, the insertion of an egg (in larger rolls) must be specifically from Easter or egg/myth times. "Koulourakia" may be also a classical word, meaning "koulloura stuff" through the adjective *Koullourakios (which needs confirmation). Good stuff!
 
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As I have been investigating words, since my retirement, now I wondered about the origin of the name "Koulourakia"or, in my native language, "koulloura/kouddroura". Wikipedia does not help; so, I turned to a lexikon, the Liddlell-Scott "A Greek-English Lexikon" and then the Bailly "Greek-French Dictionary", which report the literature source of the Classical Greek words. Bailly cites "Koulloura", which is described as a small oval loaf of bread,or roll, sweetened, especially for infants. Thus, the tradition in question goes back to pre-Christian times, and obviously, the insertion of an egg (in larger rolls) must be specifically from Easter or egg/myth times. "Koulourakia" may be also a classical word, meaning "koulloura stuff" through the adjective *Koullourakios (which needs confirmation). Good stuff!
koulouraki comes from the word koulouri. Try searching that. "aki" just means little in Greek. The bread with the egg in it is called tsoureki
 
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koulouraki comes from the word koulouri. Try searching that. "aki" just means little in Greek. The bread with the egg in it is called tsoureki
Thank you for your suggestion. However, I think we are a bit confused about Greek -- ancient/classical and modern Greek. For instance, I don't find "coulouri" in vocabulaties/lexikons of classical Greek. Did some etymologist propose it hypothetically as the source of the modern Koulouraki? Furthermore, I don't find AKI as either one of the adjectives for "little", or as a diminutive-making ending, whereas -ION is the typical classical diminutive ending. I was wishing that the lexikons had "tsureki", since it would show the difference from Kolix [= a roll or loaf of coarse bread], which Durrell-Scott equates with Kollouros. Incidentally, some of the classical words have variants, wherefore they are spelled with either one or two L, and the initial syllable is either KOU- or KO-, but Kolouros (= fallen off, troncated) is obviously a homophone of, not identical with, the aforementioned Kollouros.
 
Thank you for your suggestion. However, I think we are a bit confused about Greek -- ancient/classical and modern Greek. For instance, I don't find "coulouri" in vocabulaties/lexikons of classical Greek. Did some etymologist propose it hypothetically as the source of the modern Koulouraki? Furthermore, I don't find AKI as either one of the adjectives for "little", or as a diminutive-making ending, whereas -ION is the typical classical diminutive ending. I was wishing that the lexikons had "tsureki", since it would show the difference from Kolix [= a roll or loaf of coarse bread], which Durrell-Scott equates with Kollouros. Incidentally, some of the classical words have variants, wherefore they are spelled with either one or two L, and the initial syllable is either KOU- or KO-, but Kolouros (= fallen off, troncated) is obviously a homophone of, not identical with, the aforementioned Kollouros.
Really? So then how come Greeks add "Aki" to make everything "little"?
 
Thank you for your suggestion. However, I think we are a bit confused about Greek -- ancient/classical and modern Greek. For instance, I don't find "coulouri" in vocabulaties/lexikons of classical Greek. Did some etymologist propose it hypothetically as the source of the modern Koulouraki? Furthermore, I don't find AKI as either one of the adjectives for "little", or as a diminutive-making ending, whereas -ION is the typical classical diminutive ending. I was wishing that the lexikons had "tsureki", since it would show the difference from Kolix [= a roll or loaf of coarse bread], which Durrell-Scott equates with Kollouros. Incidentally, some of the classical words have variants, wherefore they are spelled with either one or two L, and the initial syllable is either KOU- or KO-, but Kolouros (= fallen off, troncated) is obviously a homophone of, not identical with, the aforementioned Kollouros.
Everything you're saying is over my head. For ancient Greek I'll need my wife... she studied it from middle school through high school (in Greece) and was forced to learn 1000s of words and learn the grammar. I, on the other hand, just know how to speak Greek and that's it haha. "Aki" is a suffix and it has several meanings. Adding "aki" to the word can mean "little" (e.g. skilo -> skilaki = puppy) but it can also be a term of endearment (giannis -> giannaki = little john/johnny). You could probably google "what does 'aki' mean on Greek" and find an explanation.
 
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Everything you're saying is over my head. For ancient Greek I'll need my wife... she studied it from middle school through high school (in Greece) and was forced to learn 1000s of words and learn the grammar. I, on the other hand, just know how to speak Greek and that's it haha. "Aki" is a suffix and it has several meanings. Adding "aki" to the word can be mean little (e.g. skilo -> skilaki = puppy) but it can also be a term of endearment (giannis -> giannaki = little john/johnny). You could probably google "what does 'aki' mean on Greek" and find an explanation.
Everything you're saying is over my head. For ancient Greek I'll need my wife... she studied it from middle school through high school (in Greece) and was forced to learn 1000s of words and learn the grammar. I, on the other hand, just know how to speak Greek and that's it haha. "Aki" is a suffix and it has several meanings. Adding "aki" to the word can be mean little (e.g. skilo -> skilaki = puppy) but it can also be a term of endearment (giannis -> giannaki = little john/johnny). You could probably google "what does 'aki' mean on Greek" and find an explanation.
As you speak (modern) Greek, your information about the suffix -aki, and similar information I have just found, expands my acquaintance with the modern language, but as an etymologist I am still uncertain about its provenance; I still suppose it arose from the classical adjective *koulourAKIOS or KoullourAKIOS. I also found that some other diminutive or endearing terms are present also in derived dialects, such as Latin and my native language. The Greek linguistic ekoumene is immense!
 
Everything you're saying is over my head. For ancient Greek I'll need my wife... she studied it from middle school through high school (in Greece) and was forced to learn 1000s of words and learn the grammar. I, on the other hand, just know how to speak Greek and that's it haha. "Aki" is a suffix and it has several meanings. Adding "aki" to the word can mean "little" (e.g. skilo -> skilaki = puppy) but it can also be a term of endearment (giannis -> giannaki = little john/johnny). You could probably google "what does 'aki' mean on Greek" and find an explanation.
Kind of going over my head as well LOL
 
Wikipedia has some info - what do you guys think, does their etymology make sense for kouloura and koulourakia?



I find it interesting that in the Koulourakia piece, they mentioned the Minoans.
 
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This article is saying that Koulouri comes from an Ancient Greek word "kollikon"


That's all I've got for now. This is an interesting discussion!
 

Tips for Learning and Teaching Greek

I know how to speak Greek okay, but I am not great at it. I want to brush up on my skills, and I also want to teach some of my family members. I am good enough at it to the learn the basics. I am looking for advice, but I've also compiled some ideas:

1. Spend an extended period of time in Greece

There’s no better way to learn Greek than to immerse yourself in the language and culture of Greece. If you have the opportunity, consider spending an extended time in Greece, studying or working, taking a sabbatical, or just exploring the country. Living in Greece can help you understand the nuances of the language, such as the different accents, dialects, and slang that are used. You’ll also have the chance to practice your Greek with locals, watch Greek TV or films, and read Greek books or newspapers. I would imagine this is the best way to learn fast!

2. Use a language program

If you can’t travel to Greece or you prefer a more structured approach to learning Greek, consider using a language program. There are many language programs available online or in your local area, ranging from self-paced courses to interactive classes. Some popular language programs for Greek include Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, and Pimsleur. From what I understand these are all great options and I can learn at my own pace.

3. Take classes

Taking classes is another excellent way to learn Greek, especially if you prefer face-to-face interaction and feedback. You can find Greek language classes in community colleges, universities, language schools, or private tutors. Taking classes can help you improve your Greek skills, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You’ll have a teacher who can guide you through the learning process, answer your questions, and give you homework or assignments that challenge you. You’ll also have classmates who share your passion for Greek and can practice with you.

4. Find ways to immerse yourself outside of Greece

Even if you can’t go to Greece or attend classes, you can still immerse yourself in Greek in your daily life. One way is to find Greek-speaking communities or events in your area, such as cultural centers, festivals, or meetups. You can also use online resources to connect with Greek speakers, such as language exchange websites, social media groups, or chat apps. Listening to Greek music, watching Greek videos or podcasts, or reading Greek literature can also help you familiarize yourself with the sounds and patterns of the language.

Honestly, I plan to try all 4 - whatever I can do. I think it will all help.

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