Lazarákia (, "Little Lazaruses") are small, sweet

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spice ...

breads made in Greece and Cyprus by Orthodox Christians on

Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...

, the Saturday that begins

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

. They are eaten to celebrate the miracle of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

raising Lazarus from the dead. They are shaped like a man wrapped in a

shroud Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to '' burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the famous S ...

, supposedly Saint

Lazarus of Bethany Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...

, with cloves for eyes. They contain several sweet spices and are a fasting

Lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

food, meaning that they do not contain any dairy products or eggs. For that reason, unlike the

tsoureki Tsoureki ( el, τσουρέκι) also known as ''Šurēk'' (, Arabic), ''choreg'' or "chorek" ( Armenian չորեկ, կաթնահունց), ''çörək'' (Azerbaijani), ''çyrek'' ( Albanian), ''kozunak'' ( Bulgarian козунак), ''cozonac'' (R ...

a, they are brushed with olive oil instead of

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

for a gloss finish. Women in

Lipsi Leipsoi ( el, Λειψοί, also: ''Lipsi''; anciently, Lepsia, grc, Λέψια) is an island south of Samos and to the north of Leros in Greece. It is well serviced with ferries passing between Patmos and Leros and on the main route for ferries ...

were symbolically equated with the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and part of the symbolism of Holy Week was that of death experienced through motherhood. Though in modern times ''lazarákia'' are mostly purchased at the bakery, in past times women would knead the dough for the ''lazarákia'', shaped in human form, as the symbol of life overcoming death. One of the ''lazaráki'' would be kept in the home for the entire year and either eaten the following year or thrown into the sea to be eaten by fish.

References

Greek breads Cypriot cuisine Easter bread Sweet breads Holy Week Easter traditions in Greece {{bread-stub