We would be glad to receive your stories, photographs, memories and other material connected to your local living heritage (ICH). The most endangered, the better it will be hosted in our page.
You can share your stories in Greek, Slovenian, Estonian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian or in English. Read an example in English.
Read more stories after the contact form.
Learn a craft and leave it and when you’re hungry, take it up again: A Greek saying
‘’After World War II, the Greeks had no money for leather shoes. One day, back in the 1950s, an English choreographer came in my sandal workshop wanting to buy sandals for her dancing troupe. So, I made a pair of Spartan sandals for her – then believed to be the original Greek sandal design; in fact, she wanted six. So, I made a few more and hung them in the window. Some American tourists happened to see them and loved them. They sold out that same day.
I have put a lot of soul, love and passion into crafting sandals. Times changed and tastes evolved though, and so do professions. Young people nowadays don’t have the passion for manual labor. Hence, it is difficult to find a successor.
Besides, the economic crisis does not allow small enterprises and producers like me to flourish. There are no new artisans, something which is a big disadvantage, since a craft might always be useful.
The older generations know this to be true, and it’s time for young people to realize it too.
Being an artisan might not get you rich. Usually, jobs that require love and care won’t make you rich. But without them, our society will be massified.
For this reason, we need to go back to our roots, to restart, to regain our lost heritage’’.
Our wealth is all the love we give;
Our wealth Is the love that we receive;
Our wealth Is indeed our peace of mind
Whenever we’re humane and kind.
A Lover of handmade quality
“If this is your land, where are your stories?”
Every place has its own distinct flavor shaped by local stories, people, crafts, festivals, culinary traditions, ways of life that run through time and history. Erasmus+ CLICHE is made of a thousand such stories about Heritage which strengthen the sense of identity and belonging and embrace both the local and the European dimension.
STORIES FROM GREECE
Recipe for homemade trahanas
5 ltrs of goat milk, 5 kgs of crashed unpeeled wheat, 5 tbsps of salt.
1. Bring the milk with the salt to a boil. When it starts to swell, add the wheat and stir with a large spoon on low heat until well absorbed.
2. When the milk is fully incorporated with the wheat, leave the mixture to cool and the next day use a special sieve, the “arilogo“, to pass it through. With circular movements, rub it so that it falls from below.
3. Spread on clean tablecloths and leave to dry in the air for about 3-4 days covered with a cotton net. Store in a cloth bag or in a tightly closed container in the fridge.
TRADITIONAL GREEK SONGS SUNG DURING SPINNING
Tak tak goes my loom,
Weaving my crystal wedding dress,
the night and the moon.
Tak tak goes the loom,
Here comes the groom.
Haste my spindle,
Be fast with spinning silk,
Let my loved one come at Easter time,
and find new clothes to change.
Spinning in Arachova, Greece
Revitalization of Levadia’s Riverside with the adaptive reuse of old industrial heritage
Λιβαδειά
Πέρα εκεί στη Λιβαδειά στα χαμηλά σπιτάκια
Κάθονται τρεις μελαχρινές μαύρα γλυκά ματάκια.
Τη μια τη λένε Βαμβακιά την άλλη Κρύα Βρύση.
Την Τρίτη τη μικρότερη ψηλό μου κυπαρίσσι.
Σκύβω φιλώ τη Βαμβακιά, πίνω νερό απ’ τη Βρύση
Πέφτω να αποκοιμηθώ, δίπλα στο κυπαρίσσι.
Zoomorphic disguises
Carnival event occuring on Shrove Sunday. Koudounaraioi the main festive figures, whom the carnival celebrations are named after, are demon-like figures, wearing bells (koudounia) around their waist and skins of animals. Their mission is to chase away winter and announce spring by singing satirical songs they improvise, inspired by current political and social events. By ringing their bells and dancing on the streets they try to wake up nature after winter.
STORIES FROM ESTONIA
WHEN THE SAMOVARS BEGIN WHISTLING
THE ONION ROUTE OF OLD BELIEVERS IN ESTONIA
Visiting Onion Route
Onion Route is a festival of harvest on the western
side of lake Peipsi (5 villages Kolkja, Varnja,
Alatskivi, Käsepä and Mustvee town).
A lot of farmers open their courtyards for visitors,
offer traditional food, drinks and entertainment as
traditional music, dances, stories, talks.
This day a lot of Estonians and people from
neighbouring countries are coming to this place to
feel the vibe of local community, to learn something
new and to enjoy last warm days of autumn.
STORIES FROM LITHUANIA
KEDAINIAI- OLD CITY MUSEUM — MINIATURES
STORIES FROM SLOVENIA
2020 marks the 60th anniversary of the Ptuj carnival festival
Kurentovanje is Slovenia’s most popular and ethnologically significant carnival event dating back to 1960. The main events occur on Shrove Sunday with Kurenti, the main festive figures, after whom the carnival celebrations in Slovenia are named after. Kurent (also Korant), is a monstrous demon-like figure, a magical creature not from this world whose mission is to chase away winter and announce spring, fertility and new life with lots of noise and dancing on the streets.
In 2017 Door-to-door rounds of Kurents was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Lepa Anka Kolo Vodi
CYPRUS