Sylvester' s pride.

oliebol

This grotesque lump of deepfried dough filled with raisins, currants and orange peel is the once a year national treat for Sylvester night.( life size)They should be home baked, but sure I and many other's have lost the old houswives'skill. Good bakeries can rival with old mom's bolletjes. They are grotesque but good!

As there is no page in English I add the local wiki -page.
wiki-bol

You, who live in different parts of continents, where descendants of all different nationalities must have brought their own specialties, do you have a Sylvester special?

The English page for the oliebol is linked from the Dutch one. I like the literal meaning: oil ball. Truth in advertising. I also note the Flemish have a different word for them: smoutebollen. In Kölle om Rhing, there's a similar treat: Muuzemändelche.

Sylvester' s pride and Sylvester night--

New years day? new Year's eve? this term is not one i am familiar with.. (I know St Stephens day (aka boxing day/day after christmas) but not Sylvesters night!)

Silvester is also the German term for New Year's Eve. It's named after the anniversary of the death of Pope Silvester I on 31 December 335 (according to the German Wikipedia entry). A grand tradition, which I plan to fulfill with the help of YouTube this year, is to watch Dinner for One. Now if only I could find some oliebollen to go with the Sekt.

If you tilt your head to the left Ollie has a distinct, tho' as you said grotesque, face.

Today's paper contained a discussion about whether the church put st.Silvester's death on dec. 31 to cannalize paganism or if he really died on that date. It still is a night to chase off bad spirits. Can't miss them with over 12.000.000 euros of fireworks aimed at them.

[It's on (Dinner for One)at 9.45 PM local time here.]
West Deutsche Rundfunk
You tube? I'll give it a try. 'smoutebollen' is such a comical word.The ou pronounced like in pronounce. The lore of the 'bol'
is pretty weird.


Yes, they look you in the eye before they say goodbye.

Sufferin' succotash!

Fully agreed.
I prefer the ritual rain- snow- or sundance.

I never knew there was anything associated with New Year's other than relating to a change in the calendar. Cool. Maybe that's why they served beignets at the Congolese concert we went to over the weekend.

Funny! After looking up the New Orleans style recipe some last words about this down to earth subject.
The New Orleans recipe equals the also existing Congolese recipe (a Congolese woman friend made them in my kitchen) This recipe can't be a derivation from the Belgian 'smoutebol' migrated to the U.S. through the slave trade, as the European exploration and administration of Congo took place from the 1870s. Slave trade act is from 1807. It may be just a coincidence.

In one of the recipes the N.O. style beignets were referred to as "square donuts", i.e "square balls".
Would it be: A plane figure having four equal sides?
Or this: A square meal.

In one of the recipes the N.O. style beignets were referred to as "square donuts"

There's a dissertation topic in there: Topological Deformations of Tori into Beignets. The actual writing of said paper is left as exercise to the reader.

and one would need the exercise after eating too many beignets.

Finally I optioned for the YouTube version of 2005 True,it is as silly as the oliebol, but as a traditon, kept in the classic way (the fancy versions are not silly enough)it is funny.
We have an adjective: ouwbollig, meaning lame, a lame joke, a lame schetch.
Fits well in this context.

ouwbollig

Thanks for that. I can't wait for the next time I'm in the Netherlands.

Have you often been there?

Have you often been there?

Hmm, Amsterdam, a few times; I spent a Sunday afternoon Arnhem once; last time I was in the Low Countries was a pleasant day in Maastricht during Karneval time a couple of years ago. (Those are not counting some time spent in transit in Schiphol waiting for planes and such.)

Well here's two uplifting subtitles from a critical article in the newspaper:
1. There's not much authenticity left in The Netherlands to surprise a world audience with.
2. After the generation-Rembrand no Dutch artist has gained world fame without emigration.
(Example: Van Gogh moved to France; Mondriaan, The Kooning and Appel to New York)

(we are our own best advertisers )
But Maasstricht still is some nice town.

I stayed a few days in Arnhem years ago. There was a fair of traditional crafts that fascinated me, clog making, rope making etc.

Crafts and farmer's markets are a global side effect of homogenizing mondial culture. They are everywhere. The unlimited
availability of everything everywhere (in the rich countries that is)
The paradox of local diversity and mondial uniformity.
Oops.