LITHUANIAN CELEBRATIONS

Author: Ieva (16 years old)

Every single country has its own customs and celebrations, that is what makes us so

distinctive and unique. Lithuania is not an exception: from ancient times our festivals

have been closely bonded with religion and beliefs. We chose the most intriguing

holidays, that represent our country the most accurately. The feast day of Saint John

the Baptist (Joninės) starting at sunset on 23 June is a well known and celebrated

holiday in Lithuania. This feast day is one of the very few saints‘ days in Lithuania

which commemorates the anniversary of the birth, rather than the death of a saint.

Although this holiday is celebrated in many countries, everyone mentions it in

different ways. Us Lithuanians, we have a great number of authentic customs and

symbols for this holiday. The first would be fire, to be more exact – bonfires. A

bonfire symbolizes the cleansing of your moral life. Once it is lit everyone has to

rethink all the jobs and tasks that they‘ve completed throughout the year and then tell

their expectations for the future. It also symbolizes health and happiness in your

family life, that‘s why jumping over a bonfire is common between everybody: doesn‘t

matter if you‘re young or elderly.

Another significant symbol would be the Sun. From ancient times a vital part of each

Lithuanian‘s life would be religion, that‘s why praying and asking God for various

things is so common in our holidays. It was believed that Sun can increase the

abundance of harvest but if it gets too hot, the crops can be burned as well. That‘s why

people prayed for the Sun to be warm enough to bring them a rich and profuse yield.

The third and the most important part of Saint John‘s Eve is the searching of a Fern

Flower Blossom. Even though everybody knows that a fern flower doesn‘t bloom, it‘s

still believed that on the night of this holiday, at midnight, somewhere deep in a forest,

a group of witches is protecting it. The lucky one who finds the blossom has to cut his

hand and put it under his skin – that way the blossom stays safe forever.

Užgavėnės or The Fat Tuesday is a Lithuanian festival that takes place during the

seventh week before Easter. What makes this celebration unique is the fact that it‘s the

oldest festival known in all of Europe. The point of this festival is to banish winter for

the remaining year and to welcome the warm weather of spring. The most famous

tradition in Lithuania is to put on scary masks and special carnival costumes and go

from door to door asking for sweets like children in America do on Halloween. The

traditional food of this celebration is pancakes since round pancakes are a symbol of

the returning sun. For many years, we‘ve been driving winter away by shouting:

„Winter, winter, get out of the yard!“

The culmination of Fat Tuesday is the burning of a straw figure called „Morė“. In this

case, the doll symbolizes winter and the burning shows a cruel way of saying goodbye

to it. Among many games in the fest, one of the most famous is the fight between The

Fat Guy (Lašininis), who represents winter, against The Thin Guy (Kanapinis) – who

portrays spring. Each year the battle ends with the winning of Kanapinis and the

overcoming of Lašininis. Participants of the festival can put on special costumes and

show their battle skills in a light and humorous fight.

Of course, since this celebration is all about putting on the scariest costume you can

think of, people often embody characters such as The Grim Reaper, devils, witches,

gypsies and other frightening figures. Masks in Lithuania are very distinctive to those

seen in other countries because they usually are wooden and handmade. But the

costume is not enough, certainly, the person who plays the character has to be loud

and scary enough to scare the winter away!

Even though Christmas Eve is celebrated around the world, Lithuania celebrates it a

bit differently. That evening whole family reunites, not for the meal as for sacred

ritual of Christmas Eve, it draws the family members closer, bringing everyone

together and strengthening the family ties. In this spirit, if a family member has died

that year, or cannot attend the meal, an empty place is left at the table. A plate is still

placed on the table, but no spoons, knives or forks are set. It is believed that the spirit

of deceased family member participates in Christmas Eve along with everyone.

The first meal is always the flatbread wafers (Kalėdaitis). Usually, the head of the

family or the oldest person takes a wafer and offers it to a family member wishing

them a Happy Christmas. That person then offers a piece of his wafer to the head of a

family in return.

Almost every family in Lithuania serves 12 dishes on the Christmas Eve table, as a

way of including an interesting religious twist to the celebration. These dishes

represent 12 of Jesus‘ apostles. The evening meal consists of very specific dishes:

there has to be no meat, dairy, or hot food. Typical dishes include fish, vegetables,

mushrooms and bread. Baked potatoes, cranberry kissel and slightly sweet pastries

made from dough and poppy seeds, called kūčiukai are also served on the table.

According to ethnologists, Kūčiukai is the archaic form of ritual bread, that is meant

for the souls. They are so tiny because souls have no material bodies. Just like in every

feast, games and fun activities are necessary on Christmas Eve as well. Interestingly

enough, Lithuanian games during this holiday include necromancy and spells, as this

night is believed to be magical. One of the most popular games goes like this: a girl or

a guy goes for some firewood, once they‘re back, they count every log that‘s been

brought back. If the number is even – a happy year awaits for you, because you‘ll get

married, and if the number is odd – well, you might be luckier next year. As you can

see, even a small Baltic country like Lithuania has so much to show to the world.

These holidays have been traveling through generations, and each year we appreciate

them even more. Hopefully, one day you‘ll pay a visit to our mysterious and wooded

country!

A POLISH WEDDING

Author: Agata Gaweł ( 15 year old)

On the day of her wedding Anna got up very early. She was so excited that she

couldn’t sleep at night. When she was walking down the stairs she saw her mother,

who was placing fresh flowers on the tables since early morning. Her father together

with her younger siblings was making some adjustments to the arch made of balloons,

which was placed above the entrance gate. It was a beautiful moment for Anna, she

realized that her whole family is doing their best to make this day an unforgettable

one. At this point Anna’s mother called her: “Anna, please come to me, it is time to

get ready” – the mother said. Anna agreed and said “I would like this wedding to be

similar to the one you had with dad. When I was younger I used to watch all your

wedding pictures every day. All those customs and traditions should not be changed

these days. “You are right, all those country songs created a unique atmosphere during

the wedding, but now we have to go, you wouldn’t like to be late on your own

wedding”

After getting a beautiful hair style and makeup ready, time came for the dress.

Before Anna got dressed her maid of honor had put some breadcrumbs and a grain of

sugar under the dress lining. This was done to create prosperity for the newlyweds.

Anna tied a blue ribbon on her leg to ensure faithfulness of her husband. Finally Anna

put on her wedding dress and she looked like a princess. The white colour of the dress

highlighted her delicate features. The only thing left was the matter of the shoes. They

were standing on the windowsill for a whole month in order to bring good weather for

the wedding day. Anna’s mother put a coin to one of the shoes. When the whole

family gathered in front of Anna’s house, there was one person missing, it was Marek.

Anna began to get nervous. Her mother tried to calm her down, explaining that

probable he had to stop many times on the way because of ‘bramka’. Her younger

brother asked what “bramka” is? “It is a kind of an obstacle that neighbours create, for

the groom to prove that he deserves the bride’s hand. They can involve some short

scenes or different tasks” the mother explained. A moment later a beautiful black car

all decorated with white roses arrived at Anna’s house. First came out the best man

and he started negotiation of Anna’s hand. After this important custom the time came

for the parents’ blessing of the young couple.

When the clock struck half past eleven, it was a sign that it is time to go to the

church. The priest walked the young couple in front of the altar.

Traditional Polish costumes – Anita Prus, 15 years old

After a beautiful ceremony the newlyweds were showered with flower petals.

After that everybody went to the wedding hall. In front of it the young couple was

welcomed with bread and salt. Next there was a toast with champagne. After that

Anna and her husband threw the glasses over their backs. Then Marek took Anna in

his arms and carried her over the threshold. When the music started playing, the first

dance began – an integral element of every wedding. It was the most romantic

moment of this day. After that all the quests started dancing. One could observe

modern dances but also classical ones called “oberek” presented by aunts and uncles.

At around 10 o’clock the time came for the wedding cake. The taste and the look of it

the quests will remember for a long time. The time was passing so quickly, that before

everyone realized the clock struck midnight. All the guest knew that it is time for

“oczepiny”. People started inventing different games and dances. The point of

culmination came when the bride was supposed to throw the bouquet. All the girls

gather behind the bride. Anna started counting: One, two, three…After a moment we

had a winner, it was Anna’s younger sister Ewa. She comforted her parents that she

does not want to hurry with her wedding. All the guests started laughing. The families

of the newlyweds said that it was the best wedding in the history.

Polish musical instrument – violin

Magdalena Zapała, 11 years old

Traditional Polish symbols - Julia Gołda, 12 years old

Traditional Polish house – Weronika Wieczorek, 11 years old

„AN EASTER EGG – THE POWER OF AN ORDINARY EGG”

Author: Patryk Kozubek ( 10 year old)

Who doesn’t remember the poem of Jan Brzechwa „About an egg that was

smarter than the chicken”. The chicken said: „Be careful! The water is boiling, and the

egg says that the water is cold, what a pity it jumped into the water with an arrogant

face expression and it got hard-boiled”

From an early age we begin our adventures with an egg, that is not only the

main character of children’s poems but it is also connected to folk traditions. One of

Polish traditions is paining eggs for Easter. It is a vital element of Easter without

which Easter would not be Easter. The tradition of painting eggs came from Persia and

became a permanent element of our tradition. There are numerous ways of painting

eggs. We can decorate them with paint or felt-tip pens. We can scratch various patterns

on them using needles or toothpicks. It requires a lot of carefulness and precision as it

is not an easy task. To create the decoration one can also use wax, which is used to

draw patterns. Then we put the eggs into a pigment. What is more, we can stick

different stickers on them. There are many techniques of painting eggs but the easiest

one is with the use of dye, which we can buy in a shop. I like mixing the colours of the

eggs. Frequently I put them in a red dye, then to a blue one in order to create a nice

purple colour. My mother puts a bit of butter on the eggs at the end to make them

more shiny. When the eggs are ready another traditions comes to mind. We take them

to church for the blessing of the Easter baskets. Apart from the eggs inside the basket

one can find other products such as, a lamb made of sugar, salt, pepper, sausage,

horseradish, different cakes and a chocolate bunny. I always put a little figure of a

chicken. After the blessing the basket is put on the table in each house. Of course, on

our way back from the church we always take some bites from the basket, usually it is

a sweat cupcake. During the Easter breakfast everybody shares the eggs as it is a

symbol of the victory over death, it symbolizes life and salvation and it is also a

Christian symbol of resurrection. Thanks to eating the eggs a family will receive luck,

health and their faith will be strengthen. In my family there is a tradition of knocking

the eggs. It is a kind of a competition. Each of us knocks each other eggs on one side

and if it breaks we do it on the other side. The eggs that break we put into the soup,

which is called white borsch. The strongest egg wins. We have a lot of fun during this

tradition. An egg may be small but it can bring a lot of happiness.

Easter habit – Wet Monday – Katarzina Piestrzyniewitz, 10 years old

Polish Easter food dessert – Julia Ryś, 10 years old

A house from Oltenia – Romania

SOME CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

In the villages of the north of the country, the carolers wander the streets from

Christmas Eve and are rewarded with nuts, apples, coils or money. Young people

walk from home to home with "Steaua" or "Capra", performances spread in many

areas of Romania. Something special and celebrated in the Maramureş area is "The

Game of the Sons", the origin of which is believed to have been the ceremonies with

night-time masks, an ancient ritual of honor of the dead. After riding all night,

children and young people take their whips and go out into the streets of the village.

Whoever is in the way is "cut" by the whip of the "old people". The "old people" in

this area generally wear a mask made of fur horns and knock on people's doors to

scare them and hate a better year.

`Another tradition in this corner of Romania is "Viflaimul" - a popular play in which

the moment of the appearance of the magicians and the shepherds that preceded the

birth of Jesus is recreated. Around 20-30 young people can participate in this show, in

which are embodied biblical characters such as Mary, Joseph, Herod, the publisher,

the innkeeper, the angel, the shepherds, the three Eastern rays, the soldiers, the death,

the devil, and many others, depending on how big the fog is.

Here too, Christmas is not swept, laundry is not washed and nothing is borrowed.

Those who have animals and birds in the household are accustomed to giving them

some food and a piece of leavened dough, which is said to protect them from disease.

In some areas, on Christmas Eve, fruit trees with straw still bind to be more fruitful in

the coming year. There are superstitions that goats with garlic, cattle, horns and hips,

drive away evil spirits. From ancestors it is said that if the cattle lay one evening on

the left, it is a sign that the winter will be long and frosty. Also in Transylvania, the

"valet of boys" is still preserved in the villages of Târnave. The boys are gathering in

the mud to gather, even from the days of the post, I come for the party last week. The

climbing fog is organized according to complicated rules and each member has a role

(ghirău, ghirău, jude, big brook, small prick). Also in this area is played a carol which

dates over two millenniums ago, titled "Emperor of Rome". The book presents the

historical context of the birth of Jesus during the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus

and describes the moment of the coming of the three East Magi with gifts - gold,

myrrh and incense.

In Limba, in Alba County, there is still an old custom - "Piţăratul". The name comes

from "piţărău" - the coat the little ones receive when they go to the caroling. It is made

of dough that remains from bread or cakes.

In the village of Ilva Mare in Bistriţa-Năsăud, in the Ajnul de Crăciun they go through

the village "Belciugarii" - young costumes in goat, soldier, bear, priest, gendarme,

doctor, groom and bride, interpreting in each house a small play. The custom is not

specific to Christianity, but people in Ilvelor Valley believe that the household in

which the "Belciugarians" play will be rich in the coming year. That's why everyone

expects them and rewards them.

In Saliste, in Sibiu County, an old tradition dating back to 1895 is preserved. On the

evening of Eve, the bunches of sons roam in all the houses of the village, dressed in

popular costumes. The caroling begins with the house of the mayor and the priest,

after which the sons start home from home until the morning, and at the end they go

directly to the "mist", where the "host" hunts.

On the first day of Christmas at noon, the group of sons are wandering in the church

after the end of the job, being listened to the whole village.

On the fourth Christmas day, all the villages in Mărginime, as well as from the

settlements beyond the mountains, from the counties of Vâlcea and Argeş, are invited

to the junctions of Salistea, which is held annually since 1895, with one interruption,

ten years after the Second World War. Each fog presents its traditional games and

message, and then they all catch up in the Union Hill.

HABITS AND ANCIENT TRADITIONS OF THE DRAGOBETE FEAST

Author: Stefania Vaduva

Secondary school Alexandru Stefulescu, Tg-Jiu

The Feast of Dragobete has a rich and interesting symbolism. Dragobete essentially

conveys both the beginning and the end - the beginning of a new season and the

rejuvenation of nature, the end of the worldly desert for the Holy Easter.

In ancient times (in certain areas even today!), On this great day of celebration, the

young people dressed in beautiful, witty strawberries used to gather in the forests and

collect the first flowers of spring in the bouquets.

The flowering of flowers continues with good will and songs, with a kind of game

called "fired". At lunchtime, the girls started running to the village, and

the boys flew, trying to catch them and give them a kiss. If the boy was fond of the

girl, she was caught, then the kiss was considered the equivalent of engagement and

the beginning of love between the two. In the evening, the engagement was to be

announced to the village community and family members.

Those who participated in the feast, respecting tradition, were considered to be blessed

that year. They will have plenty, being protected against illness and fever. According

to certain superstitions of the elders, those who did not celebrate this day were

punished to not be able to love that year. This habit has given rise to the hunger strikes

or threats.

If the weather was gloomy on this day, if it was very cold, it was raining or snowing,

the young people gathered in a house "to make of Dragobete", to spend, to

bind friends, to play games and guides. In some areas, young girls used to cast

accusations for the charms of abomination made against rivals in love. Also, the

young boys slightly grew their arm in the shape of a cross and touched their cuts by

taking the oath of living blood brothers.

On this occasion, the elders of the village gave special care to the animals in the

garden, but also to the birds. The elders believed that on this day the birds chose their

mate for life and were forced to build the nests. At the end of winter and early spring,

Dragobete officiates the birds in the sky. The slaughter of animals is forbidden on this

day. You are not allowed to interfere with the purpose of mating birds.

In some parts of the country, on this day, young people unite their destinies through

engagement, promising their faith and love.

Superstitions and popular beliefs of Dragobete

In olden times, it was customary for unmarried young girls to gather the snow that was

left behind, the snow known as "the snow of the fairy". The resulting

melting water was considered to have magical properties in love and love, but also in

beauty rituals. It was believed that this snow was born from the smile of the fairies.

The girls rinsed their face with this water to become as beautiful and appealing as the

fairies.

On this day, girls have to meet with males. Otherwise there will be no love for the

whole year At the same time, in the villages it was believed that girls touching a man

from a neighboring village will be lovable all year long.

In some forgotten villages of Romania, roots of spine are removed from the earth,

which people later use as a cure for the healing of certain diseases.

It is imperative that on this day men are in cordial relationships with females. Men are

not allowed to harass women, nor to engage in gossip, for they have been expecting a

spring of bad luck and a year that is not at all favorable. Both boys and girls have the

duty to rejoice this day to have love for the whole year.

If love is to stay alive throughout the year, young people who form a couple must kiss

this day.

Field work, tissue, sewing, heavy household chores are not allowed on this day.

Instead, cleanliness is permissible, being considered as a cause of growth and

freshness.

You are not allowed to cry on Dragobete day.

You are not allowed to cry on the day of Dragobete. It is said that the tears flowing on

this day are bringing trouble and anguish in the coming months. Young girls put their

basil under the pillow. In some areas of the country, Dragobete's eve is similar

to the symbol of the Epiphany night. The young girls, curious to find their bear, put

their basil under the pillow, having the belief that the Dragobete will help them find

true love.

Buhai

Bucium

Village house in Romania

NATIVITY PLAY

Authors: Emma Lili Fekete (15 years old), Alexandra Gulíšek (14 years old)

Nativity play is one of the most popular Christmas traditions in Slovakia.

This game was mentioned for the first time in the 11th

century. The first written plays

were performed at schools and came from the 17th

century in our country.

Nativity play is a dramatic performance of the biblical nativity story. In

Hungarian language is called 'betlehemezés' which comes from the name of

Bethlehem, Jesus Christ's birthplace. In Slovak language is called 'koledy'. This

tradition is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. It has Christian and pagan origins

(after the silent advent season comes the loud celebration of life with singing, dancing

and chanting). Children and adults who perform the nativity play visit families on the

first, second and third day of Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Three

Kings' Day. The players take a handmade crib with themselves. They have different

roles: shepherds, the old shepherd, three kings, the little Jesus, Saint Mary (the mother

of Jesus), Saint Joseph (the father of Jesus). The oldest shepherd is usually called

Gubo. One of the shepherds is the funniest figure who carries a lash and haversack.

There is also a symbolical character - the archangel. His task is to announce the birth

of Jesus. He wears a high cap made from red paper. All the characters have specific

costumes. In Slovakia the shephards wear long, sleeveless fleece and high fur cap. The

three kings are called Gaspar, Melichar and Baltazar. The youngest of the three kings'

wears a different outfit: gold paper crown, ankle-lenght shirt with wide red belt. The

rangeman has the biggest part in the play. He has got a black hat, shirt, trousers and

red waistcoat. His outfit is decorated with a ribbon in the colour of the national flag.

The nativity play is an interesting performance with funny elements, dancing and

singing. It has some fixed parts: Joseph and Mary are searching for a place where they

can rest with a new-born baby, but the rich man refuses it. This act symbolizes the

impact of cold-heartedness. The next part is when the archangel sends the shepherds

to greet the newborn Jesus. They take some presents to him. The children and adults

of the nativity play ask for the permission to enter and perform it in the house. The

participants in the nativity play get money or food for their performance. This folk

tradition has another way to perform. It is played with marionettes.

Nowadays the priest in the church offer to people the opportunity to welcome

the nativity players in their houses. The parents like this folk tradition because their

children can easily understand and remember the biblical story. It is our duty to keep

this folk tradition alive and hand on to the next generation.

Folk motive by Ági Berky

EASTER SPRINKLING

Authors: Virág Boglárka Demecs (14 years old), Dávid Tóth (15 years old)

Easter is the most important Christian holiday. It is a moveable feast, it means that we

celebrate it every year on a different date. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the

full moon in March.

Easter is the most important Christian holy day connected with several folk

traditions, symbols: Easter egg, lamb, rabbit etc. Despite of its Christian origin it has a

lot of pagan characteristics. One of them is the sprinkling of women and girls. It is a

very popular folk tradition in Slovakia held on Easter Monday. It refers to the fertility.

In Slovakia the boys according to the folk traditions visit the single girls and swish

them with sticks. They recite nice or funny poems to girls. The girls and women wear

chic, smart clothes on this day. The boys take the girls out of the house and pouring

them with a bucket of water. In the past some of them took the girls to the nearest

stream and dipped them in. During this act they sing songs or play games. After this

the girls tie a bow on the stick of that boys which they like the most. Girls gift the

boys with red painted eggs or chocolate eggs, rabbits. More bow they get on their

stick, bigger honour they get. This custom is popular in villages. The more boys visit a

girl, the prouder the girl should be. On the other hand they also hate this day because

sometimes they get totally wet by sprinkling. They have to change their clothes. In the

past girls, women wore folk clothes. Nowadays the traditions are modernizated, girls

are dressed casually. In some towns the traditions are solider because the boys and

men sprinkle with toilet water. Sometimes smaller boys use water pistol. A few

dacades ago there was organized an exhibition of Easter eggs for primary school

students. The original folk traditions are kept by folk music and dance groups.

The Easter menu is different in every country. In Slovakia the traditional

festive menu consists of potato salad with mayonnaise, cooked ham. The female

members of families bake a lot of different cakes for the guests. To men who go to

sprinkle girls and women is usually offered an alcoholic drink.

These traditions are kept usually in villages and in the capital city.

Hungarians living in Slovakia as minorities have that luck to experience folk traditions

of both nations. Another luck is that we live in a small town where the traditions can

be kept easierly than in bigger towns.

I hope these traditions will be kept, because they make our culture colourful.

It is also a time of family reunion.

Village house in Novohrad region

Dulcimer - a typical folk musical instrument in Slovakia and Hungary

Headdress from Novohrad region in Slovakia

Folk motive by Lilla Mihály

Barraca – Spanish country house

FALLAS

Author: Luke Mugume Geisler (12 years old)

The Fallas (Falles in Valencian) are festivity that goes from March 15th

to 19th

with a tradition rooted in the city of Valencia and different

populations of the Valencian Community. Officially they begin the last

Sunday of February with the act of the Crida (opening ceremony).

Where the main representative of this celebration, called “Fallera

Major” calls people to join to all Valencian to celebrate fallas.

Currently, this festival has become a very important tourist attraction,

since in addition to being catalogued as a festival of International

Tourist Interest, in November 2016 Unesco inscribed them on its

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This festivity is celebrated in honor of St Joseph, patron of the

carpenters, which was a guild very widespread in the city when they

began to be held at the end of the 19th century, and that it has conserved

up to now, given the importance of the furniture industry in the region.

Different cardboard monuments are built in the streets and at the end of

this week they are burnt. These monuments are critic with different

social, political and economic issues as a way to represent the actuality

in a humoristic way.

Different events are celebrated during this festivity, which is always full

of colours, music, fireworks, and traditional dresses.

Fallera – Spanish costume

Tabal i dolcaina – Spanish musical instrument

SANT JORDI I EL DRAG (SAINT GEORGE’S LEGEND)

Authors: Desireé Fernández García and Olaya García Caballero (11 years old)

That there was a fierce dragon in the lands of Montblanc that had

terrified to the entire population of the region. This terrible dragon had

been devouring people and whole herds of cattle for years, and no one

could live quietly.

One day, the king decided to find a solution to the problem: in order to

be able to lead a normal life, they had to make the dragon do not feel

hungry, and for that reason they decided that every day they would offer

the beast a randomly chosen person, so the rest of the villagers could

live quietly, at least for that day.

Luck wanted the first victim in sacrifice to be the king's daughter: the

princess. The beautiful young princess came into disbelief, but also the

whole town that loved and adored her and who asked for clemency for

the girl's father. But the king, faithful to his decisions, accepted what

the chance had marked, and with all his sorrow he sent his beloved

daughter to the dragon's cave for his sacrifice.

But suddenly, mounted on a white horse, a knight appeared. His name

was Jordi (George) and he came to save the Princess and the entire

population of Montblanc. He fought in the most heroic and brave way

against the dragon and, finally, he managed to cross it with his long

spear. In this way the knight not only beat the dragon, freeing the entire

population from that horror, but also saving the princess from a safe

death.

The king, grateful, offered to his gentle daughter in marriage, but the

knight did not want to accept that honor. He took his white horse and

marched.

Within a few days, where the knight had killed the dragon, a rosemary

of red flowers was born, like the blood of the defeated dragon.

In honour to this beautiful legend, on 23rd

april, day of Saint George’s

name, people give to their beloved a book and a rose.

Paella – typical Spanish food