As my fellow Hellenes gather around for the festivities, a great divide among family and friends reveals itself on tables all around the globe. The ones in favor of melomakarona and those in favor of kourambiedes. Two unshakeable faiths, each with its own celebrated standards and not willing to sacrifice an inch. Mercifully, most households bestow decorative trays piled-high with both traditional delicacies. A benevolent move so no one feels left out. I’ve always preferred the kourambiedes, especially after trying a recipe by Padma Lakshmi https://thefolia.com/2015/12/25/cardamon-cashew-clouds/ this twist on the conventional version, could convert my fellow die-hard comrades on either side. I was hooked and no way was I going to make the more laborious elongated oval-shaped kind covered in honey. So it went for years. https://thefolia.com/2019/07/28/tried-and-true/ Enter 2020. The year where false gods promote division along with aggression, perversion, unnecessary fear to the point of no return. Why not see what it’s like on the other side? Especially, when I came across one that is covered in chocolate, a phenomenon that is growing more common. Couldn’t be more pleased with these. It illuminates the idea of what we know nothing or little about yet cast a whole lot of judgment upon to the point of cancel culture, instead of presenting two platters of delicacies with the choice up to the individual and their taste with however many they choose to consume. Cheers to being alive and an authentic human being in 2020…not an easy feat if you let the distractions get a hold of you. Wishing you the merriest of merries with whichever selection and remembering to respect the choices of others. No choice is more superior than another’s. The best choices are made by the individual who knows herself and her family better than anyone ever could. It’s the only choice. Stay focused to your true self, friends. May you be filled with light, beauty and lots of laughter.