Author Archives: J. B.

Croatian Easter and Baking Bread

Nationality: Croatian, American
Age: 71
Residence: San Pedro, California
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Croatian Easter and Baking Bread:

V.H.: For Easter we go into church, we had a branch, my Mom had a palm, we called Easter Palm, and we went home. We made Easter bread, and had fish and meat, and that’s it.

ME: And what do you do to make Easter bread?

V.H.: Oh, for Easter bread to make, we use eggs, butter, flour, sugar, and uh, baking powder, making loaf in, uh, we had no oven at the time, but one outside. Mom had a fire inside burned, and we put into the oven the dough, to make the Easter bread.

ME: And you have kept the recipe the same to this day, when making Easter bread at your house, like recently?

V.H.: Yes, same recipe, like last time.

 

Based on my experiences of traveling to the country Croatia, and in the immigrant community in the United States, Croatians and Croatian immigrants abroad traditionally make an Easter bread, called pinca, which is a kind of sugar bread powdered on top with another bit of sugar. This bread is also served by the family on Christmas, and Thanksgiving, as well as other family events like weddings and anniversaries. It seems to have developed from being an Easter tradition, to an all-encompassing recipe that is served for dessert on those other occasions.

Croatian Cold Remedy, from Dalmatia

Nationality: Croatian, American
Age: 79
Residence: San Pedro, California
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Cold Remedy in Croatia:

ME: What did you do to treat a cold?

S.H.: For a cold, we cook a tea at home.

ME: Oh, tea?

S.H.: Yes. Tea, or hot soup. Soup.

ME: What was put into the soup?

S.H. It depends, we put into it chicken or a little of meat, and that’s what we did for colds.

 

S.H. describes a cold remedy that he used in his village, in the Zadar region of Dalmatia, Croatia. It consists of tea, and either chicken or possibly another kind of meat. This recipe is simple, yet these and other such remedies are quite commonly done. Every culture has it’s own remedies for illnesses, such as colds, but this one recalls the region of Croatia he was from, as it was a part of his upbringing. This is close to the usual American concept of chicken noodle soup, which is very prevalent as a comfort food, and is often had during sicknesses like the common cold, flu, and others.

Christmas Foods in Croatia

Nationality: Croatian, American
Age: 79
Residence: San Pedro, California
Primary Language: Croatian
Language: English

Christmas Food in Croatia:

ME: Now, tell me, what did you cook for Christmas?

S.H.: Usually, one day before Christmas, make fritas, and some kind of stuff for eat, and make special wine, vino, and on Christmas Day go to church, and on midnight. On Christmas Day, we usually had lunch at home. Also, we raised pigs, and in tradition, we killed pigs to eat for Christmas.

 

Much like the case with Easter, Christmas meals and desserts are taken seriously as a tradition, as described by S.H. Fritas are sugary, round, small pieces of doughnut-like sweets that are popular in Croatia, and many Croatian immigrants abroad.

Standard Birthday Customs

Nationality: American
Residence: Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Primary Language: English
Language: Some French proficiency

Standard Birthday Customs:

D.S.: In birthday cards, we would put a bunch of confetti in it, and so that when they opened up, it would go all over the place. Whenever I would go to a birthday party live, I would go there and bring poppers, to pop.

ME: Oh, I remember those.

D.S.: Yeah, just to make it more fun I guess.

ME: OK, so how that’s your way of demonstrating a right of passage in somebody’s life, as in another year, and another number.

D.S.: Yeah, celebrations. That’s right.

ME: And those are practical jokes. In it’s way, that’s a celebration.

D.S.: Yeah. One of my girlfriends, when we would get together for lunch on birthdays, I would buy them these ugly, hideous looking glasses that say “Happy Birthday,” and I make ‘em wear ‘em, all during the lunch. So, that’s kinda fun. Trying to embarrass them, you know.

ME: Do you remember being the subject of an embarrassing practical joke, recently? Anything that comes to mind?

D.S.: Um, no. I can’t think of anything.

ME: Thank you.

 

D.S. discusses her customs of practical jokes done towards others, especially with regards to representing a right of passage; a transition from one life stage to another. It is widely spread to celebrate birthdays, although certain customs come with different families, or even cultural groups.

An American Easter

Nationality: American
Residence: Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Primary Language: English
Language: Some French proficiency

An American Easter:

D.S.: OK, a real popular family holiday has always been Easter, for us. Historically, we always started out the morning with an Easter hunt for the kids, and we kind of started a family tradition years ago, of getting the See’s Candy chocolate bunnies, uh, for the kids, at which time the kids would rip off the ears, and add milk to the chocolate bunny, shake it, and make chocolate milk. So that’s always been kind of a tradition for everyone to rip the ears off to make chocolate milk inside the chocolate bunny, and then everybody goes to church, and we usually have a meal with everyone after for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Easter is a significant holiday for most Americans, as well as many others around the world, and D.S. shares her experiences from childhood, in addition to her present customs regarding the holiday. It is in her point of view celebrated as a very Christian holiday, yet the old Germanic pre-Christian practices concerning Easter are also understood and observed, but for her in a way that is very commonly seen as fun for most Americans, not having to do with any spiritual significance. It is done much in the same way that Santa Claus is represented in Christmas.