A Place to Come Home To
I remember as a child being curled up in a chair at a family gathering tucked in by a blanket made up of the voices of my parents, aunts and grandparents? I knew the inexplainable warm feeling best described as a welcoming or belonging sensation that all our homes should offer. The English would call it coziness but most other Northern European languages have a special word for this feeling that encompasses much more. The Dutch would call it gezelligheid; In Norway and Denmark you will hear talk about hygge. In Germany, gemutlichkeit; Finland, kodikkuutta. The Welsh, Czechs, and Russians all have a similar word. Other European cultures might speak more about hospitality or comfort. Regardless, the home is important in Europe in ways that North Americans are trying to rediscover. When you walk into the door of The European Pantry, you will feel gezelligheid. We hope you feel here on our website, too!
Blog Posts for A Place to Come Home To
Someone to Come Home to
When we talk about what makes a home, we sometimes forget the pets that are there to greet us when we come home at the end of the day. We had two pets before Cedric. Sasha, a sweet tempered, gentle English Setter and, Princess, a...
Home
Welcome to our new and improved website. Launching our new site represents a year of planning and 6 months of intensive work and it's just the beginning! Our original site did not have the navigational organization needed to help our visitors find the various topics...
The Kitchens We Love
There are those kitchens where more memories are made than any other place on earth. I remember when my Oma and Opa moved to Fruitland, Ontario. There was an apricot tree there. Oma baked the most delicious sand cakes filled with apricot jam. Years later I realized...
The “Kist”
When I was a child, my best friend Debbie used to get a Christmas box from her grandparents who still lived in The Netherlands. In those days we called a box like that a "kist". That translates as "crate". When the kist arrived for Debbie's family I wished my Opas...
Why Dutch People Give Chocolate Letters
Why do Dutch people give chocolate letters? When we receive our initial on "Pakjesavond" December 5 or at Christmas most of us just eat the delicious chocolate without wondering why this unique tradition is still practiced. The history of receiving a "letter" dates...