Glistarka - pl. glistarkes

In general, they used to make glystarkes on festive days such as Christmas, Easter, the 15th of August, on weddings, births, matchmaking but also when they wanted to treat their guests (Kypri - Protopapa 2003, 283).

Glystarka had several uses in the context of marriage customs. In Ashia village, eight days after the betrothal, the groom would send the bride to be gifts in a basket, while she would send him large buns, i.e. glystarkes. In some villages, the relatives would gather to knead glystarkes for an engagement. The glystarkes were usually cut into pieces and served to guests as an accompaniment to their drinks. In some villages, they would give a whole glystarka to the relatives, the cantors and the village priest. On the day of the engagement in some villages they would give glystarkes as a gift. In Kontea village, on the day of the engagement, the mother-in-law would take glystarkes to the groom's house together with clothes. In Ashia village, we observe a variation of the custom: Eight days after the day of the engagement, the groom to be would give the bride to be nuts and brandy, and the bride to be would reciprocate by filling a basket with glystarkes and clothes for the groom to be. Just before the wedding, the bride's family needed the glystarkes for Saturday's 'sewing of the bed' custom and the groom's family needed them for the rest of the wedding days. Glystarkes were made in a wide variety of designs and were used at various stages of the wedding. The bride in some villages would give whole glystarkas as a gift to close relatives or those who had assisted in the wedding preparations. In Kapouti village, the women would take along flour for kneading and would be given two glystarkes. One glystarka with special decorations was given to the priest when he would visit the house after the wedding to bless them. In Lefkoniko and Lysi they would give one glystarka to each guest who attended the 'sewing of the bed' custom on Saturday. They would also offer glystarkes on Saturday or Monday of the wedding to the women who would offer pittes or other gifts to the couple. They would knead 150-200 glystarkes for a wedding. Glystarka was also used to decorate the walls of the house at weddings ( a proof of craftsmanship and housekeeping), but also for a blessing, since any bread was blessed by God. In Anarita, they would use three gyristarkes to decorate pasto. In some villages, such as Galini, they would prepare two beautiful glystarkes, which they would place near the newlyweds when they would be congratulated and then the newlyweds would keep them to feed their first baby so that it would speak well. In Lysi they would throw the cut glystarkes to the violinists. While decorating the pasto at Stroumbi village, they would place towels in a cross form on the wall and in between them they would place two glystarkes and small weaved baskets. In Paliometocho, they would decorate the wall with sheets and two handkerchiefs, in the middle of which they had a decorated glystarka. In Kakopetria they would hang a glystarka and to its sides, they would hang small buns which had a cross in the middle.

A different kind of glystarka was given to each family, as part of a wedding invitation. In Morphou, the groom's family would knead separately from the bride's family. In the villages of the Nicosia district, mainly in the Morphou district, each family was invited with two ornate palm tree-shaped glystarkes. If inviting a widower or a widow, they would give only one glystarkan. The glystarka for the village priest was wrapped with a pocket or head scarf or a new towel or he would be given three glystarkes. The violinists were also invited with a glystarka wrapped in a handkerchief. In Philia and Zodia they would give three glystarkes to the inlaws because they were also inviting the groom or the bride. In the other villages of Nicosia, they called with only one gyristarka, made in a simpler way. In other villages of the Nicosia and Paphos districts, they would invite with a simple type of gyristarka, called koumoullia. In some villages, they would wrap the gyristarka in a handkerchief and put a candle, while close relatives were given a big candle. In Ambelikou village, the shepherds that would bring the meat for the wedding table were given a gyristarka when invited to the wedding. In Agia Marina Skyllouras, the best man and the maid of honour would invite relatives and the godfather to a wedding offering gyristarkan. In Paliomylos the gyristarka was decorated with raisins and almonds. In the village of Polystypos glystarkes were put on a large paneri covered with a red cloth; they would go around the village holding the paneri on their heads accompanied by a violin and a tambuts̆ia. They would give one glystarka per family. In Menoiko and Akanthou, they would invite relatives with two glistarkes or one glystarka and a bun. They would sometimes carry the glystarkes on a horseback. In the villages of Mesaoria, the treat during 'the sewing of the couple's bed' custom was gyristarkes. At noon on Saturday, the women who would invite the guests and those who were working for the wedding would eat together. They could offer only nuts, bread and halloumi or gyristarkes cut in pieces (for glystarkes in wedding customs, see: Protopapa 2005, vol. A, 51, 60, 77, 80, 224-228, 265, 268, 274, 280, 301-308, 312, 431-432).

In the villages of Pitsilia, glystarka was used as an invitation to weddings together with one candle, one glystarka for each member of a family. (Kypri 1983 [2003²], entry γλυσταρκά,η, 251). In the village of Lythrodondas, glystarkes were offered as a treat to guests on the wedding day (Kypri - Protopapa 2003, 283).

'Gyristarka was offered only to the landlord, when they go around the village to invite for the wedding. They would offer ladies fingers to the rest of the family members.' (Georgiou 1989, 67)

Glystarkes were also used to treat the guests of a new mother. Glystarka was offered to those women who would visit a new mother and bring her food. In the province of Kyrenia, glystarka was given only to relatives (Protopapa 2009, 304).