Christmas questions

Szaloncukor is a type of sweet traditionally associated with Christmas in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. It is usually made of fondant, covered by chocolate and wrapped in shiny coloured foil, then hung on the Christmas tree as decoration. The name comes from the German-Austrian Salonzuckerl, this is why the original name was szalonczukkedli.

Wise Men from the East appear in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. The Gospel does not give them numbers or names. However, it was customary to determine their number to 3: Casper, Melchior and Balthasar.

Both resins are harvested from trees that grow in Southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) and have been traded for more than 5000 years. Both are tapped from trees by slashing the bark and allowing the exuded resin to bleed out and harden.