Happy Holidays!

[Bonnewagon]

. Oplatek was very hard to come by

Wow- I never expected to hear that word! We used to get some from Slovakia my Mom's cousins are still there. Even at the local Polish church it is hard to come by. I think my wife is the only one left in our family that still does that.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Oplatke was very hard to come by

CK-80--- Someone mailed my wife a Christmas card stuffed with Oplatke. No return address, no name, even the cancellation stamp is hard to read. What the heck?!? Ghosts of Christmas past? We can't identify the handwriting either. VERY strange. Really odd that except for this thread the word Oplatke is hardly ever used by us or anyone. For those who don't know Oplatke is the unleavened bread that is used as the host in the Christian Mass. It is not consecrated like Mass host but is blessed by a priest. The only places you can get it is an Eastern Orthodox church. Greek, Polish, Ukranian, that kind. HARD to come by to say the least. Lots of local customs and variations but we use it in a blessing ritual around the dinner table on Christmas Day.

 

[ck80]

CK-80--- Someone mailed my wife a Christmas card stuffed with Oplatke. No return address, no name, even the cancellation stamp is hard to read. What the heck?!? Ghosts of Christmas past? We can't identify the handwriting either. VERY strange. Really odd that except for this thread the word Oplatke is hardly ever used by us or anyone. For those who don't know Oplatke is the unleavened bread that is used as the host in the Christian Mass. It is not consecrated like Mass host but is blessed by a priest. The only places you can get it is an Eastern Orthodox church. Greek, Polish, Ukranian, that kind. HARD to come by to say the least. Lots of local customs and variations but we use it in a blessing ritual around the dinner table on Christmas Day.

Sometimes life works in mysterious ways doesn't it?

Sorry I missed this little update, but, my crazy times keeping me off the site just kept on a rollin'.

For those who may wonder what the Oplatke is like, think of a pressed thin rectangle with a consistency almost like the wafer part of the old style sugar wafer cookies, just no sugar, filling, or air pockets. If anything it has an impressed image usually of Mary, sometimes a Nativity, and flat on the backside.

For us it's usually Wigilia, except if there are some who don't make it out that night we may repeat the ceremony on Chrismas Day dinner.

 

[ssn696]

This thread evolved into a useful introduction to some of our long-time Forum members.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Yes, funny how that happened. We are all from somewhere. I can tell you this: having been stationed in Germany, visiting other European counties, England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, it was very strange to me to be in a place where everyone is the same. You know, all one nationality,language, customs. Very strange. And the common thread was animosity to anyone different. Getting off the ferry across the English Channel at Dover there was a cluster**** at the customs point. Immediately the English travelers blamed the Germans. Now I get it why there have been so many wars over there. The melting pot we have here is like nothing else on Earth. We have the best [and worst] of everyone on the planet. I'll take that all day long. Which is why I like this site so much. No snobs. Buick, Chevy, Olds, and Pontiac guys getting along. Carry on.