That red we see on the moon, romantically speaking, is "all the twilights and all the dawns that happen on Earth at the same time" and reflect on the moon, according to science. But I didn't have that redness in mind, although there is nothing more romantic and loving than the thought of the moon and with it the thought of the love that does not stop. In fact, I mean the calendar month, which to our knowledge is famous for red but October took all the credit. It earned the title of the red month because of the glory of the October Revolution, which painted half the world red. Later the red glory of October was also supported by the film “The hunt for red October“ which describes the hunt for a Soviet submarine that is invisible to a sonar, and later won an Oscar and made a lot of money at the box office. And Sean Connery, the actor in that film, made an immeasurable contribution to the fame of Red October. „Red October“ was also the name of the software that spied on the computers of diplomatic and government institutions around the world. Personally, I believe that all that was just October’s mischief because the only month that deserves to be called red is June. Although October is my private month, my beloved month is June and I write about it because my soul and dreams were born in June<3 and I also adore all other reasons for its redness.

That June is the red month was announced to the world by the wonderful Hungarian philosopher Béla Hamvas who said “As May is green and August is golden, so June is red." It is the month of red fruit; cherries, strawberries, raspberries and currants are arriving, and that spectacle excites us. Poppies bloom in June and strawberries are the first fruit that arrive in the spring but are the most tasteful in June, when they should be eaten. They sneak up on us all of a sudden it seems, and even if we know they are there, just around the corner, they always surprise us and brighten us up after some gloomy, rainy days.

When we catch a glimpse of them on a market stall or in a shop, it makes our hearts filled with joy. Ancient Romans believed that they had healing power and used them to treat everything from depression to sore throats, and Béla Hamvas knew how to eat them properly, but we’ll talk about that later. He dedicated a whole essay to them. Because they bring such great joy to all of us, even at a glance, Hamvas believed that strawberries, that insane red fruit, must be the snack of God. He claimed that strawberries are “God’s nibble”. “When the God wakes up from his nap after lunch, he nibbles on strawberries. They are put on a shady terrace where a walnut branch hangs over the table, and there he eats with a small spoon, before going back to the vineyard. If you did not know, God does the work of the highest order in the world, that is, he is a vinedresser. After his nibble, with a satisfied stomach and lightheartedness, he ties the raffia to his belt, puts the scissors in his pocket, takes a hoe and goes among vine branches…” God is in the strawberries. 😊

Confirmation that Hamvas was right and that strawberries are indeed God's fruit can be found in their worship at every step and in every corner of the world; in the smile when we see them and in the importance we give them. They are the hint of summer, of bare feet and the ease of being. There is a museum dedicated to strawberries in Belgium, where in the store located in the complex Le Musée de la Fraise (Strawberry Museum) everything made from strawberries can be bought – from jam to beer with the taste of this fruit, and at Wimbledon, the most famous and oldest tennis tournament in the world, strawberries, along with tennis players, have been the stars of the tournament since 1877, since when the unchanged traditions of this magnificent competition reign.

The presence of the royal family, mandatory wearing of white equipment, young ball boys, Central court, the legendary PIMMS - a drink that quenches thirst on a warm Wimbledon day and consists of gin, lots of ice, a few mint leaves, a few slices of oranges & cucumbers, and even more famous strawberries with whipped cream are traditions that have made this tournament one of the biggest tourist/cultural/sports attraction in the world. And champagne, of course. Because of all that, winning this unofficial world championship in tennis is the dream of everyone who has ever wanted to professionally engage in the "white sport".

sportom”. Tenis igram od ranih tinejdžerskih dana, ali pre nego što sam uopšte zaigrala na teniskim terenima Kalemegdana, ozbiljnije sam se sa njim susrela gledajući vimbldonske prenose na c/b televizoru marke "EI Niš", na programu Televizije Beograd, u socijalističkoj Jugoslaviji, uz tradicionalne komentare čuvenog novinara Miroslava Radojčića.

I have been playing tennis since my early teenage days, but before I even played on the Kalemegdan tennis courts, I encountered it by watching the Wimbledon broadcasts on the El Nis b/w TV on the program of Television Belgrade, in socialist Yugoslavia, with the traditional comments of the famous journalist Miroslav Radojcic. I learned from him the strange rules of that wonderful sport, which he called white, and then points counting…I found out who is who, who are all those names in the history of tennis, but Miroslav Radojcic commented on the Wimbledon tradition of strawberries and cream with the same enthusiasm and knowledge with which he commented on tennis, the players and the game. He also mentioned the drink, but it meant nothing to me compared to strawberries. What I liked most was that I learned that the tradition of small things (in colours) is woven into the spirit of the Wimbledon tennis spectacle - green grass, white clothes and red strawberries with whipped cream. And I adored them, I mean who didn’t?! My mother used to make them with powdered sugar and sweet cream that she bought at the Zeleni Venac market, she whipped the cream by hand and I ate while I was hypnotized for hours watching the TV broadcast.

In England, strawberries have been combined with what they call cream (clotted cream) since 1509 and not only have they always been a snack for "ordinary" citizens of England who in their "civilian" life swallow tons of strawberries with cream every day, but they have become a must for everyone who ever sets foot on Wimbledon. As it seems, that tradition that began with the first tournament in 1877 has no intention of ending any time soon. The great popularity of strawberries in England is mythical, they are plentiful, and they arrive at the beginning of summer, the perfect time to enjoy them on the grass and in the sun. Popular legend says that King George V was the first to introduce strawberries to his court, but it was actually Wimbledon that made strawberries and cream a UK historical fact, as they have been eaten at Wimbledon for centuries. And it is not just a fact, it is the fact. Nailed! 🔨

Now, I ate their famous strawberries with whipped cream in England several times, but I cannot say that I was blown away. It was definitely not what I expected, what I learned from my mother or how it is prepared in Serbia. I asked myself : "why the hell are they standing in line for hours at Wimbledon to buy them when it's not It at all"! The misunderstanding was about the part with cream which I assumed meant whipped cream, but in the place where I ate them, that with cream was not whipped cream at all, but something white, sweet and watery, more like milk than well-whipped whipped cream. I immediately blamed the hostess for that, who had no idea how to whip cream into stiff whipped cream like a human being, as God and my mother commanded, instead it spilled all over me and the bowl. Afterwards, I felt guilty, I was eaten away at guilt, because it wasn’t the hostess’ fault, because it was not whipped cream in our understanding of that term, it was something more like clotted cream, liquid cream and that was how strawberries were eaten there. This is how Wimbledon strawberries are made and poured with cream from a pitcher. I had to be more open-minded and not blinded by the teachings of my strawberry philosopher who considered the cream unacceptable for God's snack. His recipe for God's ideal nibble was to lightly sprinkle 150 grams of powdered sugar on half a kilogram of absolutely ripe strawberries, layer by layer, then crush the strawberries slightly to release the juice and then cover them with whipped cream. Not with clotted cream, philosophizes Hamvas, "because those who prefer the clotted cream do not understand the essence of the dish. June is not a month steeped in sugar, but a month of gently fresh and slightly sour fruit where the clotted cream with strawberries suggests the wrong taste". And now what?! What am I supposed to think because according to Hamvas strawberries are eaten like this: "... You can put a layer of strawberries, then a layer of sugar and a layer of cream...others leave the fruit whole and put the cream on top so that it drips, melts the sugar and extracts the juice from the strawberries. At the bottom of the bowl, a pink-coloured drink collects, and it is most correct if a person, after eating strawberries, takes it as it is, not eating it with a spoon, but drinks it. It's the perfect ending to the nibble“ 😊

I know, now you will say that I carelessly talk about strawberries because I never went near Wimbledon and never ate strawberries where they are the most famous in the world, but rather I am wasting time with cream and a philosopher because I envy everyone who has ever walked into the All-England Club, watched tennis and waited in line for hours to claim his part of the Wimbledon tradition. .

You’re right. What is true is that Wimbledon strawberries are God’s nibble because according to Béla Hamvas God’s law, they are eaten at the best time they can be eaten – in June, when they are the sweetest, when "the midday heat subsides a little and the air becomes lighter". To be honest, maybe my carelessness will disappear once in that warm air after some heat, at least on Henman Hill where I will watch a match on the big screen and lie on the grass and eat the original, most famous strawberries with cream in the world, that real God's nibble. .