User:Europeanbreasmuseo/The embroidered bread

Embroidered bread is a bread on whose surface there are different representations and designs. It is considered that the way in which it is decorated is reminiscent of embroidery, hence the name 'embroidered'. Embroidered bread is not just a foodstuff, but carries multiple symbolisms, as it is associated with major religious festivals and rites of passage in the cycle of life.

In 2023 the art of embroidered bread of Varnavas Attica was inscribed as an item in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece. The starting point of the practice of bread embroidery cannot be precisely defined. The attempt to define it arises from the analysis of the interviews granted by embroiderers of the community in conjunction with their age. With the oldest informant now 88 years old and having watched bread embroidery since she was a young child, one can reasonably go back at least a hundred years in time. However, knowing that the group of embroiderers often included mothers as well as grandmothers, the reduction to the past could be deeper than the one hundred years.

The durability of the element over time is confirmed by the testimonies of the women embroiderers of Varnavas, but also by the local community, which feels that the continuation of the art of embroidered bread is part of the preservation of its cultural identity. Interest in learning the art of 'embroidery' appears renewed, particularly for those between the ages of 50-60, when women in the community who are close to this age are marrying their children and find it 'mandatory' to embroider their wedding buns.