SDLC 105 Learning Journal #5

[Daniel Matthew Kunath]

Since I will be in Greece over winter break, I realized that it would behoove me to research some vocabulary and customs about Christmas and New Year’s Day in Greece. Many of the words can be fairly reasonably translated to English and readily understood, but there are some traditions that are unique to Greece, which nonother language has a word for. The only way to define these in another language is just to describe them. For instance, βασιλόπιτα is a traditional cake made on New Year’s Eve, made with oranges in the batter, and frosted with powdered sugar. A coin is hidden in the cake, and the owner of the coin’s slice is blessed for the year. There is no English word that encapsulates all of this, so I can only know it as βασιλόπιτα. I have adjusted my learning plan to account for a few sessions about the holidays and traditions.