Wee Cozonac

This is the twenty-first cozonac of this year's batch, in my husband's hand. He is a dedicated baker, who kept baking on Holy Saturday even when Dr. Tim and I went to the beach. Maybe next year he will have a helper in making messes in the kitchen. (I did separate most of the 50 eggs required this year. Before ditching him.)

First Pascha

After the church was darkened at midnight, the candle of Pascha raised by my husband, singing, "Come receive the unwaning Light!" and we all went in a joyous procession outside, each candle burning brightly in exultation, we went into church to hold the festal Divine Liturgy. After the singing of the first set of the Paschal hymn: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing Life," a chanter began another hymn: "This is the day of Resurrection..." which ends in the Paschal hymn. After that hymn's pronouncement of "Christ is risen!" I felt the baby move for the first time.

Names: January

Because my sister thought "Peter Gregory" was horrifyingly strange, I am enjoying going through the synaxarion on hand and further horrifying her with the thought that I might name my child after one of these saints. (For her reaction to "Peter Gregory"—which is a darn sight more normal than "Crispin Jarlath" (cool, but I don't think I would do that to a child)—this sister is disqualified from having her opinion count on naming any of my children. She also thinks pretty much any Greek name is weird. Her children's names, naturally, are "normal"—except to anyone besides her, which makes the whole thing funnier.)

However, as I was going through the pages, making fun of the "weird" names, I realized that these were people who were probably praying for me right now. Also, some of the "weirder" ones started to grow on me (in bold).

Fulgentius Theopemptos Abelard Onouphrios Phosterios Sais Agathon Shemaiah Abo Polyefktos Dometianos Galacteon Remigius Pansophios Perodzhavra * Pevsippos, Elasippos, Mesippos, and Neonilla Danax Leobardus Thyrsos Babylas	Lupicinus Barsimaeus Bretanion Medula Auxentios Xenophon Paladios Hyperechius Abibus Paregorius Sarbelos Bebaia Mucius ** Ashot Pitirim Acepsimas Aphrates Hippolytus Adelgonda Tryphaenes
* still unable to pronounce this one at all, or pretty much any Georgian name, except Khahaber, thanks to knowing Fr. Khahaber
** extra fun teasing my sister with this one, which she managed to take seriously for quite a long while

I had so much pleasure going through just January, I thought I should stop and savor them rather than rushing through the entire year. Yes, I could just look at September, but there's no reason to have a shared birthday/nameday, is there? Although September 19 does have Dorymedon, Seguanos, and Yaroslav, and babies are notoriously on schedule.