Art by Petit Collage
Slon : Elephant
Zmija : Snake
Cačak : Cat
Pas : Dog
Lav : Lion
Majmun : Monkey
Ovca : Sheep
Konj : Horse
Leptir : Butterfly
Sova : Owl
Sma : Deer
Kurjak : Wolf
Jelen : Stag
Know them all? Play this fun game here!
Have you checked out our Sma, Kurjak, Sova, and Jelen clothes this season? :
One of our readers and commenters recently told us about one of her favorite children’s book authors from Croatia – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. Although she passed away 1938 she is still considered to be one of Croatia’s most famous and well-loved writers for children. Born into a family of politicians and poets, Ivana homeschooled all six of her children, and became famous in 1913 for her book The Brave Adventures of Laptich. Croatian Tales of Long Ago was published in 1916 with huge success, which prompted Ivana’s nickname – “The Croatian Andersen” (in reference to Hans Christian Andersen). The stories are original, but reference characters and themes from traditional Slavic mythology.
In 2002 and 2003 an animation artist named Helena Bulaja decided to adapt some of the Croatian Tales of Long Ago into a web animation project. In her words: “The digital revolution, the Internet, and modern communications are on one side, and the world of fairytales on the other…the concept of the interactive book is so open, and unlike film, theatre, or illustration, it can take almost any form, it can be a film, an illustration, a game…” The website is a little dated, but the animation is stunning, such as in Yagor below:
Yagor from Helena Bulaja on Vimeo.
This is part of an ongoing blog series exploring children’s literature and folk tales from the regions of Hungary, Romania, and Croatia. Do you have any recommendations? If so please feel free to leave a comment below.
Today is a Hungarian national holiday, celebrating St. Stephen I, Hungary’s patron saint and First King (between 1000 and 1038 AD). Through his powerful role as King he helped to establish the Kingdom of Hungary, so August 20th, while commemorating his life, also celebrates the birth of Hungary. During the Soviet occupation of Hungary St. Stephen’s day was dismissed as being “too religious”, and was replaced with a celebration of the Stalinist constitution, as well as a “celebration of new bread”, referring to the beginning of the harvest.
Modern day Budapest celebrates St. Stephen’s Day with fireworks, air shows, and outside fairs, with stands selling bread and cakes.
This season we happen to be carrying a shirt that references King Stephen’s reign – our Knights Double Decker Tee was inspired by the Knights of King Stephen’s army:
Have you ever been in Hungary during St. Stephen’s Day? Did you celebrate it as a child? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.
One of my favorite ways to explore a new country is through taste. Whenever I travel I try my best to eat locally, from street vendors, small restaurants, or whenever possible, local people’s kitchens. I’ve eaten fresh feta salads in Greece, baked fish in Morocco, foufou in the Congo, and tamales here in San Francisco. Having not visited any of the modern countries that formerly made up Old World Hungary, I thought I’d do some research into traditional cuisine and see what I could make here in the States. Kolacky will appeal to the most stubborn sweet tooth, and are easy and fun to make with your kids.
When searching for Kolacky cookie recipes I found references to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Perhaps due to their tastiness they seem to be common across much of Central Europe. Also known as Kolachi, Kolacki, Kolaczki, or Kolachky, these sweet fluffy cookies are a breeze to make, and with a little bit of fruit in there you can even pretend they’re healthy. I recommend making and refrigerating the dough in advance, and including kids for the rolling, cookie-cutting, and final construction steps.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add flour slowly until well blended. Shape into a ball and chill in the fridge until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick on a well-floured counter. Cut into squares approximately 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches, and place about 1/2 tsp of jam or preserves in the middle. Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. The dough puffs up in the oven, so make sure they’re sealed well so that they don’t open up when cooking (a little water warm water helps create a smooth seal). Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.
Share your results and suggestions below. Have a favorite kolacky recipe? Please let us know!
Thank you for all your great suggestions for where we could go on our next inspiration trip. We wouldn’t be surprised if some of your ideas came to life sooner than you think. A bit closer to home, we’re looking forward to summer in San Francisco, even if it’s a bit chilly, you’ll still see us out and about every weekend on our own adventures. To win today’s $100 birthday certificate, please share on our Facebook page what are you and your kids will be up to this Memorial Day weekend. The randomly selected winner will be announced tomorrow.
This week I’ve been in the mood to explore. From trying a new French restaurant to reviving speaking Spanish with a close friend over tapas, I think there must be something in the air encouraging curiosity. Our writers this week seem to feel inspired to explore this week too and their articles reflect it.
In TRAVEL, Sheila Lammers writes about how her family sees the world with their military dad. In the same section, Stephanie Precourt shares with you a great new way to travel with family. Over in CURIOSITY, Dana Lightstone shares reflections on celebrating Diwali with her little citizen. We also have posted a RECOMMENDATION for some really great bilingual dolls.
We are always looking for new writers to share their stories of exploring with their little citizens. Please email us submissions or questions if you are interested in joining our team.
We hope you are inspired to explore this week!
The Editor
This past weekend we celebrated Diwali (the Indian new year) in a restaurant in New York with about 50 other adults and numerous children –some Indian, some not. We are not Indian, but I have spent a lot of time in India and speak Hindi and always like to find ways to encourage my daughter Zoe to learn about this amazing part of the world. We often celebrate Indian holidays with our Indian friends, make frequent trips to Queens or uptown for the best Indian food, and we look forward to taking our daughter to India at the first chance that we get.
Diwali is a Hindu festival which is known as the festival of lights and is celebrated with four days of burning lanterns. Diwali celebrates the marriage of the Hindu deities Lakshmi and Vishnu (though there are theories which dispute this origin). In India and Nepal Diwali is a national holiday.
I remember celebrating my first Diwali in India. In the South Indian town that I was living in it was tradition to decorate everything inside and outside of the house –computers, cows, living spaces. Tea lights were set up throughout the home and fireworks went off in the sky for four very noisy days (and nights) as a thank you to the deities for things on earth. Everyone wore new clothes for the holiday and took a bath in the morning before putting on these new clothes.
Today Zoe was dressed in an Indian outfit and ate Indian food while Bollywood music played in the background. She scribbled on coloring books of Hindu deities and lanterns. She loved the food and had a great time playing with the other kids. My hope is that as Zoe grows up Diwali, as well as other Indian holidays and customs, will be something that she recognizes as a familiar and fun celebration that we do every year.
I just came across Language Littles dolls today. What a great idea for raising your little citizens! The dolls say 25 to 30 kid friendly phrases in ten languages. You can buy your little one a Spanish, French, Italian, Russian or even a Greek speaker. If you want to introduce your kid to Spanish, Lizzie can help you out. When you press her right hand she says a series of greetings. Her left hand holds the words for numbers and animals and her knee says “Te Amo.” What a great way to introduce new languages to your little citizens!
