Europäische Weihnacht – in Vielfalt geeint - Sutter GmbH & Co. KG

Portugal/Portugal
these performances in the city of Miranda do Douro,
which is where the improvised plays are presented in
Mirandês, a dialect spoken in this area only. Often
these folkloristic lay plays are accompanied by song
and dance.
In the villages of the district of Bragança, young men
put on masks made of tin or wood and disguise
themselves with hay and rags and strips of red cloth.
These masked men then roam through the village,
accompanied by the sound of bagpipes, singing and
demanding alms. Although the songs sung on this
occasion refer to Christmas, there is social critique
behind every one of these traditions.
A further Portuguese custom takes place on Dia de
Reis, the day of the Three Wise Men. Here, too, children
go from house to house, asking for pastries and
candies and singing the ancient Janeirada or Janeiras.
In former days these songs of supplication were
dedicated to the souls of those who had died; today,
they are “wailings“ to seduce the hearts of the living
to greater open-handedness. If a request if generously
complied with, a happy song of gratitude is sung – if
there are no gifts, however, the skinflint is labelled
with a cheeky song of mockery. In the end, the children
divide all gifts which they received while en
route evenly among them.
On the day of the Three Wise Men which simultaneously
marks the end of the Christmas period, the
entire family gathers around the table once again
and symbolically eats the Bolo-Rei, a tasty cake
inside of which a small gift wrapped in tissue paper
and a broad bean have been baked.
Recipe: Bolo-Rei (King’s Cake)
Ingredients:
500 g flour
30 g yeast
100 ml water
1 pinch of salt
zest of a lemon
3 egg yolks
150 ml sparkling wine
100 g melted margarine
1 dried bean
70
150 g glacé fruit
1 beaten egg
200 g glacé fruit for decoration
icing sugar
jelly to taste
Pour 330 g flour into a large bowl and make a
mould in the centre. Blend the yeast with the
remaining flour and add to the lukewarm water.
Add the mixture to the bowl containing the flour,
combine well and shape the dough into a ball.
Add the salt, lemon zest, egg yolk, sparkling wine
and the melted margarine. Knead the dough well
(it should have the consistency of a bread dough).
Then add the diced glacé fruit to the dough and
knead again. Cover the dough and leave to rest
in a warm spot until double in size.
Knead the dough once again and shape into a ring.
Place the ring of dough onto a baking sheet dusted
with flour. Now insert a small coin wrapped into
tissue paper and the dried bean into the dough.
Cover the holes. Allow the cake to rise once again.
Brush the cake with beaten egg and decorate
with glacé fruit. Bake in an oven at 160 °C for
approx. 1 hour until golden brown.
Once the cake has cooled, brush the candied fruit
with jelly and dust with icing sugar.
The present represents the gifts which the Three Wise
Men from the East gave to the Holy Family; yet the
person who finds the broad bean will have to bake
the Bolo-Rei next year.