Today is the 17th of December.
Eight more days until Christmas.
Fourteen more days until the end of the year.
The tree weeks that separate St Barbara's and Christmas happen in a flash. You water the seeds you planted, you start to panic over what your menu will be for the family reunions planned, you struggle in traffic, you rush for last minute presents...
Well, this year, my family will only struggle with the panic over the menu...
There has been a loss in the family this past November. My father's uncle passed away. My family is in mourning, especially my grandmother. And as we all live together, this means we won't be having overzealous celebrations, no decorations etc..
We will be having part of our extended family over for lunch on Christmas day though. I'll be getting back on that...
This sunday, we will be having a memorial service for the 40th day after our uncle's passing.
Here we offer particularly fervent prayers for the departed on the first 40 days after death. Traditionally, in addition to the service on the day of death, the memorial service is performed at the request of the relatives of the departed on the following occasions: 3rd day after death, 9th day, fortieth day, first year requiem, and every year after that.
This applies to local traditions here in Lebanon. My family being Greek, we also have a particular tradition for the fortieth day mass. Usually, the gathering of friends and family for mass is on the day of the funeral and the day of the fortieth.
For the day of the funeral (and a couple of weeks after that) friends and family come over to the home (direct family) of the deceased and bring them food to share with them. In villages, neighbors relay themselves and spend good parts of the day together, so that the mourners are not alone...
On the day of the fortieth, according to Greek traditions, the family of the deceased prepare a sort of a dessert that is prayed upon during the service and distributed amongst the people attending the service. It is called Koliva.
Orthodox Christians consider koliva to be the symbolic of death and resurrection, according to the words of the Gospel:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)
Wheat which is planted in the earth and rises in new life is symbolic of those beloved departed who have died in the hope of resurrection, in accordance with the words of Saint Paul:
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body....(I_Corinthians 15:42-44)
This symbolism has its highest expression in the Saints, whose blessed state in heaven have been manifested to the world. For this reason, koliva is blessed not only at memorials for the departed, but also in commemoration of saints.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)
Wheat which is planted in the earth and rises in new life is symbolic of those beloved departed who have died in the hope of resurrection, in accordance with the words of Saint Paul:
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body....(I_Corinthians 15:42-44)
This symbolism has its highest expression in the Saints, whose blessed state in heaven have been manifested to the world. For this reason, koliva is blessed not only at memorials for the departed, but also in commemoration of saints.
You guessed right, Koliva is made of wheat. It is basically boiled wheat (with it's skin), dried, mixed with flour sugar and cinnamon. It is arranged in a dome like manner, spinkled with sugar and writings and drawing of a cross are made on it using cinnamon powder. It tastes so good that i feel guilty looking forward to having it, because it means someone close has passed away!
I've been searching online for a nice picture of a Koliva like the ones my family makes, but this is the only thing i found close.
Imagine something minimalistic made by a family of architects using only sugar and cinnamon for decoration; that'd be our Koliva...
So that's the plan for the weekend. Tomorrow we'll be preparing the koliva with my grandmother, and attending the one year memorial service for my godfather, the dean of my school. And sunday the fortieth memorial for my dad's uncle.
One happy note for this weekend is i'll be trying out a new dessert /cookie recipe. I hope it will be as tasty as I imagine it...
I promise, my next post will be more fun! It will be of my family traditions for Christmas (practically normal) and our end of year traditions (very specific to us).