Potica

This weekend I flew to Indianapolis for the annual potica making day with five sisters, one niece and my mother.  Potica is a traditional Slovenian sweet bread eaten at Christmas and Easter, as well as Catholic celebrations such as weddings, first communions and confirmations. 

Potica has various names in Eastern Europe, and the recipe varies slightly.  Croatians and Serbians make povitica, and Hungarians, Slovaks and Poles use terms that are unrecognizable. The Strawberry Hill Povitica Co describes their product as a "swirled bread," and Wikipedia calls potica "a nut roll."

There are no Slovenians at Wikipedia.  

At my mothers house, we rolled out the dough, filled it with melted butter, crushed walnuts, white raisins and spices.  We formed it into a giant roll and sliced it to fit the loaf pans.  While the poticas were baking in the oven, my sisters headed out to the storage barn to get the crèche for the front yard. 

 

This 8 piece set has been treasured by my mother for a decade.

 

Wikipedia would list my mothers creche under "lawn ornament."

With everyone working, it took only 15 minutes to finish decorating for Christmas.

One sister, an engineer, set up a timer that lights up the crèche whenever she is likely to be driving by before and after work.

A crèche, no matter what the style, says "May the blessings of the Christ child be yours."

At my house in NC, I have true yard ornaments, but they are on the porch.  They say "Merry Christmas from my home to yours."