A Christmas fruit
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A Christmas fruit

The forests around the eastern Olympus settlements in Pieria, (Agios Panteleimonas, Paleoi Pori, Platamonas, Skotina) keep the heavy and mature fruits of the spectacularly beautiful arbutus trees that adorn both the trees and the festive days of the Greeks.

 

 

At Christmas time, the arbutus tree wears its festive outfit and its delicious red fruits give the colors of nature to the greatest winter celebration, with little balls like Christmas ornaments in yellow, orange and red blending beautifully with the deep green background which is created by the color of the leaves.

 

 

Its fruits are gradually transformed in late autumn, from unripe green to ripe orange-red like strawberries. Harvesting wild fruit is done with great skill, but it is very difficult and tiring. The locals know how to harvest the sweet fruit, not the melted ones – as they have an unpleasant taste after their rotting has begun – to make their own aromatic traditional tsipouro.

 

Source: Photograph by brothers George and Michalis Polychrou during the 2019 collection of arbutuses on Christmas Eve in the area of ​​Skotina Pieria in Eastern Olympus.

 

Its distillation is slow and takes place in May, and for nearly five months the arbutuses are fermented in barrels and the “producers” take great care to have a successful alcoholic fermentation.

 

Source: Photograph by brothers George and Michalis Polychrou during the 2019 collection of arbutuses on Christmas Eve in the area of ​​Skotina Pieria in Eastern Olympus.

 

Moreover, the tree branches are used on Christmas flower compositions or sold as ornaments carrying small apples (oil-painted red apples, making many think this is the original exterior of the plant). Also, the arbutuses are made into liqueurs, sweets and amazing jam.

 

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