Lazarakia: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Lazarákia''' ("Little Lazaruses") are small, sweet [[spice]] [[bread]]s made in Greece and Cyprus by [[Greek Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] on [[Lazarus Saturday]], the Saturday that begins [[Holy Week]]. They are eaten to celebrate the miracle of [[Jesus]] raising [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] from the dead. They are shaped like a man wrapped in a [[shroud]], supposedly Saint [[Lazarus of Bethany]], with [[clove]]s for eyes. They contain several sweet spices and are a fasting [[Lenten]] food, meaning that they do not contain any dairy products or eggs. For that reason, unlike the [[tsoureki]]a, they are brushed with [[olive oil]] instead of [[Egg (food)|egg]] or [[butter]] for a gloss finish.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://stnektariosroc.org/2015/03/lazarakia-lazarus-bread/ | title=Lazarakia (Lazarus Bread) | accessdateaccess-date=2018-03-18 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2012/04/lazarakia-traditional-bread-for.html | title=Lazarakia &ndash; Traditional Bread for the Saturday of Lazarus | accessdateaccess-date=2018-03-18 }}</ref>

Women in [[Lipsi]] were symbolically equated with the [[Virgin Mary]] and part of the symbolism of Holy Week was that of death experienced through motherhood. Though in modern times ''lazarákia'' are mostly purchased at the bakery, in past times women would knead the dough for the ''lazarákia'', shaped in human form, as the symbol of life overcoming death. One of the ''lazaráki'' would be kept in the home for the entire year and either eaten the following year or thrown into the sea to be eaten by fish.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Papachristophorou |first1=Marilena |title=Myth, Representation, and Identity: An Ethnography of Memory in Lipsi, Greece |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=97-9897–98 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Myth_Representation_and_Identity/ZqcAAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1}}</ref>

==References==