Welcome to our countries!!

Click here to see map of Elefsina and here for a closer look at our school! A web presentation(ppt) of The Economic High School - HERE

Dracula Bookmarks

Targoviste - between myth and reality

Synopsis

Centuries ago, Vlad Tepes, a Romanian prince, became well known in Europe because of his bloody habit, impaling. For this reason, people called him Vlad the Impaler. One of the favourite cities to express this bloody wish, was Targoviste. That’s why, Vlad the Impaler has been associated with Dracula, and Targoviste as one of Dracula’s house.
How does it look Targoviste nowadays?

A very quiet town, the only army that makes noise is for the celebration of the town.

Αιώνες πριν, γράφουν οι Ρουμάνοι συνεργάτες μας, ένας αιμοσταγής ηγεμόνας της Βλαχίας, ο Βλαντ Τέπες, ήταν διαβόητος στην Ευρώπη για τη συνήθειά του να ανασκολοπίζει τους εχθρούς του. Ένα από τα κάστρα του, το κάστρο του Δράκουλα βρίσκεται στην πόλη μας, Ταργκοβίστε, σήμερα μια ήσυχη επαρχιακή πόλη. Ο μόνος στρατός που παρελαύνει είναι οι κάτοικοι κατά τις τοπικές γιορτές.
A feedback from Medeea Secretariat

© video made by Romanian students Click here to see Elefsina today and its mythological background. NOTE: Demeter, the ancient goddess of earth, had a special connection to our town. "Demeter" is the name of the ship with which Dracula travelled from Romania to England, in a most thrilling story within a story! Πατήστε εδώ για πληροφορίες για τη μυθολογική Ελευσίνα και την πόλη σήμερα. ΣΗΜ.: Στο βιβλίο, ο Δράκουλας ταξιδεύει από τη Ρουμανία στην Αγγλία με καράβι που ονομάζεται ΔΗΜΗΤΡΑ! Πρόκειται για τη θεά των Ελευσινίων μυστηρίων που δίδαξε την καλλιέργεια του σίτου και έδωσε ελπίδα για τη μεταθανάτια ζωή στους θνητούς!

eTwinning conference

For the article on the conference in the Greek local press, press here Πατήστε εδώ για το άρθρο περί Διάσκεψης στον τοπικό τύπο του Θριασίου Αττικής.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dracula key words. Let us unlock the text!

Book reference: "Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming light. Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back. A key was turned with the loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back." Johnathan Harker's journal, continued (chapter 2)
AND WHO DO YOU THINK WILL APPEAR BEHIND THAT GREAT DOOR?
Superstition, fear, vampire, transfusion, eternity, desire, friendship, loyalty, faith, death, soil, egotism.
Some of the key words sought in the online dictionary by Christina Kanellopoulou, B class. Click here to see the definitions and hear their pronunciation.
Please add your own key-words, so we can discuss them in our chat.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Local costumes and customs. Dracula's kitchen

Book reference:
"At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire. Some of them were just like the peasants at home or those I saw coming through France and Germany, with short jackets, and round hats, and home-made trousers; but others were very picturesque.



The women looked pretty [...] They had all full white sleeves of some kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of course there were petticoats under them.
The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, who were more barbarian than the rest, with their big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all studded over with brass nails. They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches. They are very picturesque, but do not look prepossessing." Johnathan Harker's diary.


The folkloric element is apparent in the first chapters of Dracula. Costumes, food and customs are mentioned. Can you tell the difference between Greek and Romanian traditional costumes in the photos? Hint: The hat gives away the Transylvanian folk!
Yesterday was Easter Day and it is customary in Greece to have folklore dances in such attires.



DRACULA'S KITCHEN
"The wine was Golden Mediasch, which produces a queer sting on the tongue, which is, however, not disagreeable." Dracula, chapter 1.

"This man, Johnathan, is certainly a gourmet" remarked Nancy from the Greek Reading Club. "All he is interested in writing in his diary is what dishes he tasted". Ah, yes. But the scenery gradually becomes gothic during the long hours of sinister hospitality in Count Dracula's castle.
Back at the inn, Johnathan tasted the Transylvanian cuisine. The girls from Targoviste showed us that traditional dishes remain the same from Stoker's time. Click here to see their "succulent" work.
"Αυτός ο Τζόναθαν, όλο τρώει. Δεν τον ενδιαφέρει τίποτε άλλο στο ημερολόγιό του" ήταν η αρχική αντίδραση της Νάνσυ στην Ελευσίνα. Αργότερα, θα δηλώσει ότι πράγματι η κανονικότητα του ταξιδευτή ανατρέπεται με την απίστευτη έκβαση της ιστορίας στο κάστρο του κόμη Δράκουλα. Ήταν όμως μια ευκαιρία να ζητήσουμε και να πάρουμε πληροφορίες από τις φίλες μας στην Τρανσυλβανία για την τοπική κουζίνα. Πατήστε εδώ για να δείτε πόσο λίγο άλλαξαν τα πράγματα από την εποχή που γράφτηκε το μυθιστόρημα του Στόκερ (1897)

GARLIC: drives away vampires and toothache!
"Garlic Remedy
1 garlic clove Place a slice of peeled garlic to the affected tooth to ease the pain. Or cut a clove in half and hold one piece on each side of a tooth that is aching. A folk remedy using garlic asks for holding a peeled garlic clove in the bend of each knee. If you have delicate skin, wrap the cloves in a soft cloth. Also, loose teeth may be made tight again by rinsing the mouth morning and evening with a good strong garlic tea" More of the Romanian team's work here!

Nancy, from the Greek team found the recipe for the ever-popular skordalia, the greek garlic sauce that drives vampires, as well as everybody else away!

Σκόρδο: Το παρεξηγημένο φάρμακο

Η ομάδα της Ρουμανίας βρήκε συνταγές ξεχασμένες για την ίαση του πονόδοντου ή τη στοματική υγιεινή με τη χρήση ωμού σκόρδου. Πατήστε
εδώ. Η Νάνσυ κοινοποιεί τη συνταγή της δημοφιλέστατης στη χώρα μας σκορδαλιάς, αποτρεπτικής όχι μόνο απέθαντων, αλλά και των ζωντανών που περιστοιχίζουν όποιον τη φάει!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Striving against Evil


On Good Thursday, we paint our easter eggs red, for the blood Christ shed for humanity, just as in Romania. In a couple of hours the churchbells will ring sadly, as the Holy Bible is read about the cruxifiction.
Here is the Dracula excerpt of the day:
“…we bear our Cross, as His Son did in obedience to His Will. It may be that we are chosen instruments of His good pleasure, and that we ascend to His bidding as that other through stripes and shame. Through tears and blood. Through doubts and fear, and all that makes the difference between God and man."Van Helsing's bad english doesn't shadow the christian forebearance he prompts Mina and Johnathan to show in their darkest hour: that of hunting count Dracula on his own grounds in Romania.
What are the "good guys'" other weapons against evil?

Μεγάλη Πέμπτη σήμερα, και στις δύο χώρες βάφουμε τα αβγά κόκκινα σαν ενθύμηση της θυσίας του Χριστού. Σε λίγο θα αρχίσουν να χτυπάνε πένθιμα οι καμπάνες της Ακολουθίας των Παθών. Απόσπασμα από το βιβλίο του Στόκερ: «…φέρουμε τον δικό μας σταυρό, όπως ο Υιός έκανε υπακούοντας τον Πατέρα. Μπορεί να είμαστε τα όργανα της θελήσεώς Του, και έχουμε πάρει τον ανήφορο κατά την εντολή Του, μέσα από τη ντροπή, αίμα και δάκρυα, μέσα από τις αμφιβολίες και το φόβο και ό,τι αποτελεί τη διαφορά μεταξύ Θεού και ανθρώπου.»
Ποια νομίζετε ότι είναι τα όπλα του Βαν Χέλσινγκ και της ομάδας του κατά του κακού;

Happy Easter for our Twinners!!!!

Easter in Romania

jupitergreetings.com

Easter in Romania is celebrated according to the rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Friday before the Easter is called the Great Friday or the Friday of sufferings, as it is the day when Jesus was crucified. On Saturday, people go to church for the midnight mass, taking with them a bowl of Pasca, eggs and steak, where these aliments are blessed by the clergy. On returning home from the mass, people first eat some of the sanctified aliments and only then the rest.

Starting with Holy Thursday, people start painting eggs in a multitude of colors. The predominant color is red, but other colors are also applied - yellow, green, blue and even black. Decorated eggs or 'oua incondeiate' are an integral part of Easter celebration in Romania. The eggs are decorated using a stick of wood.





The special Easter cake, known as Pasca, is baked on Great Thursday. The Pasca can have a round shape (reminding little Jesus' diapers) or a rectangular one (the shape of His grave). The shells of the eggs used for the Pasca are thrown in a river. This action stems from the ancient belief that the shells are taken by the river to the country of the Good People, announcing them the Easter has came.




In some regions (Bucovina, Transylvania), there is a tradition called "the wetting". On Monday morning, the boys take a bucket of water and go to the houses of the unmarried girls. If they found them sleeping, the boys throw water on them. As it is believed that those girls will marry soon, they reward the boys who had wetted them by giving them the most beautiful decorated eggs and Pasca or cake.


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

ST GEORGE'S DAY


"It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?" The Romanian peasant-woman's warning goes unheeded by Johnathan Harker, the young lawyer about to meet count Dracula.
Contrary to the book, in which St George's day is on May 5th, the patron saint of Elefsina is celebrated in all Greece on the 23th of April. This year, in order not to coincide with the Passion Week, the nameday is celebrated on Monday after Easter.
Local customs, such as horse races are held in many Greek regions, in honour of the saint. Click .here to see the church of St George in our town

As well as the Greek people, we celebrate in Romania St. George every year at a different day (It depends on Easter day). Here are some excerpts in Romanian and English concerning the Romanian calendar, as mentioned in the book. Romanian team's work.