(11 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marija Bistrica, Croatia – 3 February 2025
1. Various of Licitar maker, Snjezana Husinec painting Licitar cookies in red gelatin and hanging cookies to dry
2. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Snjezana Husinec, Licitar maker: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 3-5++
"So, the heart is the most popular shape used. It represents love, just like the color red. The small piece of mirror which we traditionally put on a heart-shaped licitar was used in pilgrimages – when young men wanted to express their affection to girls, they would gift them these hearts, so the girl was supposed to see herself inside the heart, which symbolically belongs to the guy who gave it to her. And there are other shapes as well, for Christmas there are licitar bells and angels which people put on Christmas trees. And for Easter we make bunny or egg-shaped cookies. So, every season has its own type of licitar."
3. Various of Husinec carefully decorating licitar hearts
4. People stopping by a street vendor selling Licitar cookies
5. Various of Heart-shaped Licitar cookies on display for sale
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Zagreb, Croatia – 7 February 2025
6. Various of Iris Biskupic Basic of Zagreb Ethnographic Museum showing old wooden moulds used to make licitars before the 20th century
7. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Iris Biskupic Basic, curator at Zagreb Ethnographic Museum:
++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 8-9++
"This craft has been present here since the 1600s, and became more popular in the 1700s. And it has continued to live on until today. In northwest Croatia there are still around 35 master craftsmen making licitars. And we are very happy to see that there are younger generations who are continuing to make them, and who are now keeping this tradition alive."
8. Drawer in museum with various licitar hearts kept in storage
9. Various of licitar hearts on display
STORYLINE:
Visitors to the small Croatian town of Marija Bistrica are welcomed with love, quite literally.
The historic, picturesque town in the north of the country is famous for its traditional heart-shaped licitar – an intricately decorated biscuit.
The red cookies come in a variety of sizes with varied decorations.
The weeks before Valentine’s Day are one of the busiest times of the year for the dwindling community of artisan bakers in Marija Bistrica, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the capital Zagreb.
Snjezana Husinec, is a local licitar maker keeping the tradition – which dates back to the 17th Century – alive.
She makes the biscuits out of flour, sugar and water, and then decorates them by hand with gelatin, various messages, and a small piece of mirror.
Until the 20th century, licitars were made with wooden moulds, but in more recent times they are entirely handmade, with each artisan giving it their own personal spin.
Although made out of edible ingredients, the cookies are not made to be eaten.
They are sold as souvenirs or decorations, and are used as ornamental gifts.
The heart-shaped biscuits are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
"The heart is the most popular shape used. It represents love, just like the color red," explains Husinec.
While the heart-shape is dominant in February, the bakers use different shapes at other times of the year.
"For Christmas there are licitar bells and angels which people put on Christmas trees. And for Easter we make bunny or egg-shaped cookies. So, every season has its own type of licitar," Husinec says.
Iris Biskupic Basic is the museum’s curator.
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