A Lenten cake which is prepared in honour of St. Fanourios.
Name - Origin
Φανουρόπιτα. A Lenten cake which is prepared in honour of St. Fanourios.
It is a fasting cake which consists of only 7 ingredients (Paraskevopoulou, 1982 p.85-86).
Functional and symbolic role
A popular belief is that on the feast of Saint Fanourios (27 August), the Saint 'reveals' lost items and a future spouse for unmarried women. Fanouropitta is made for this purpose.
If fanouropitta is made with the intention of the Saint revealing a future husband, then, after it has been blessed, it is cut into pieces and offered to 7 women who have been married only once.
Additional information and bibliography
Paraskevopoulou, M., 1982: Researches into the Traditions of the Popular Religious Feasts of Cyprus, Nicosia.
Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou Euphrosyne, “Fêtes et rites calendaires à Chypre”, Xième Atelier Européen: L' espacetemps saisonnier européen; fêtes et rites calendaires, Athènes 5-7 Septembre 1997 (P.A.C.T. EURETHNO, Council of Europe), 17 pages.
Eleni Christou
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