Christmas In Greece!

Christmas Festivities in Greece:

If you come to Greece at Christmas, you will have the opportunity to attend a wide variety of events and festivities. In the country's major cities, such as Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra, Heraklion, organize music concerts, theatrical performance, and a number of other cultural events. Christmas in Athens is a fantastic time of the year. The largest Christmas tree in Europe is lit in Syntagma Square, the location of the capital's Christmas village, where little elf houses sell candy and children can take part in a number of activities.

There is no limit to Christmas fun in Greece! Athens in particular has responded to the revival of Christmas where its flamboyant mayor, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has added new colour to the festivities by erecting the largest Christmas tree in Europe. This tree can be seen towering above busy Syntagma (Constitution square), where Athens now also hosts exciting 'live' stage acts and shows featuring many of Greece's popular entertainers.

Greek name for Christmas is Christougena - literally Christ's birth. When Greeks say Merry Christmas, they say Kala Christougena - Merry Christmas. Around the holidays, you will also hear Chronia Polla - "Happy New Year", literally "Many years", a wish for long life and happy years to come. The more formal New Year's greeting is a tongue twister: Eftikismenos o kenourisos kronos - Happy New Year. The Christmas season in Greece begins on December 6th, which is Saint Nicolas day, and ends on January 6th, which is the Feast of the Epiphany (Theophania).

Traditions:

Celebrations really pick-up from the 20th of December, as Christmas day gets closer. If you are an amateur photographer, you will be constantly taking Christmas pictures in Greece. You'll find Christmas in Greece celebrated with lavish decorations and lights strung across most of the streets in major cities and towns.

But the beginnings of Christmas in Greece go back to the time of St. Nicholas, who was known as the patron saint of sailors. According to Greek tradition, his clothes were soaked with brine, his beard drenched with saltwater, and his face is covered with perspiration because he had been fighting the storms and waves to reach sinking ships and rescue drowning men from the sea. Even today there is still an old custom where many ships never leave port without a St. Nicholas icon carried in the boat. In Greece, there are many Christmas customs that are similar, yet slightly different from the West. Such as the custom on Christmas Eve where village children travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing 'kalanda', the equivalent of Christmas carols. The children often accompany the songs using small metal triangles and little clay drums. Afterwards, the children are usually given sweets or coins in appreciation.

In Greek homes, Christmas trees are not commonly used, but recently have become more popular. In almost every house though- the main symbol of the season is a shallow wooden bowl with a piece of wire is suspended across the rim; from that hangs a sprig of basil wrapped around a wooden cross. A small amount of water is kept in the bowl to keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day, a family member, usually the mother, dips the cross and basil into some holy water and uses it to sprinkle water in each room of the house. This ritual is believed to keep the 'Killantzaroi' (bad spirits) away.

There are a number of beliefs connected with these spirits, which are supposed to be a species of goblins who appear only during the 12-day period from Christmas to the Epiphany (January 6). These creatures are believed to come from the center of the earth and to slip into people's house through the chimney. More mischievous than actually evil, the Killantzaroi do things like extinguish fires, ride astride people's backs, braid horses' tails, and sour the milk. To further repel the undesirable sprites, the hearth is kept burning day and night throughout the twelve days. Gifts are finally exchanged on St. Basil's Day (January 1).

On this day the "renewal of waters" also takes place, a ritual in which all water jugs in the house are emptied and refilled with new "St. Basil's Water." The ceremony is often accompanied by offerings to the 'naiads', spirits of springs and fountains. All in all, Christmas is an enjoyable part of Greece toady and one that should be experienced by all.

Dishes:

Christmas, like many other holidays in Greece, is a time for feasting. In the past years, Christmas turkey has become very popular as the main dish of the holiday. Traditionally, the main course of Christmas dinner in Greece is roast pork, with a variety of side delicacies. No matter what the main dish is, one thing is certain: Christmas food in Greece is delicious!

In Greek Christmas, the feast itself becomes the main attraction by both adults and children alike. Lamb and pork are roasted in ovens and open spits, and on almost every table are loaves of 'christopsomo' ('Christ bread'). This bread is usually made in large sweet loaves of various shapes and the crusts are engraved and decorated in some way that reflects the family's profession.

Melomakarona and kourabiedes are the two varieties of Christmas and New Year's cookies in Greece. The first are semolina, cinnamon, and clove cookies drenched in honey, while the second are rosewater and fresh butter cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar that are normally served on New Year's but many succumb to temptation and begin consuming them earlier.

Christopsomo is the bread that is made on Christmas Eve, which has a cross carved into the top crust before it is baked. On Christmas Day, the head of the household makes the sign of the cross above the loaf of bread, cuts it and gives a piece to each person at the dining table.

Vasilopita is a cake that is eaten on New Year's Day. Before the cake is baked, a coin covered in foil is placed in it. The New Year is written on top of the cake with almonds. The person who cuts the cake makes the sign of the cross three times above it and then starts serving the pieces, one to each person, the house, Christ, The Virgin Mary and Saint Vasileios. Whoever has the coin in his piece of cake will have luck for the rest of the year.

St. Nikolaos Around the World:

Santa does exist..and he's a Greek. His alternative name, St. Nicholas, reflects his true identity. From gift-giving to red clothes, Nikolaos of Myra was a model for the modern Santa Claus.

In Asia Minor at the Greco-Roman city of Myra in about AD 300, a pious young man named Nikolaos was born. He was one of the youngest men to ever become a priest, and his devotion and piety were renowned. So was his practicality. In a time when extra daughters might be sold into slavery if the family couldn't afford a dowry for them, Nikolaos stepped forward, providing funds to destitute women and men, sometimes to assist in their marriages, other times to just relieve their crippling poverty. Some tales have him throwing bags of gold down the chimney, a precursor of the modern Santa's travel down the chimney.

His generosity was born of an understanding of the potential pain of those he chose to help - Nikolaos was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, so his compassion for the potential loss of freedom for those he helped was a very real and personal one. The Later Life of Agios Nikolaos later became a bishop, helping to set up the formative Council of Nicaea which decided many points of orthodox Christian practice. Bishops got to wear dramatic red robes, and some images of Nikolaos depict him with a flowing white beard, though others show him clean-shaven.

Later, he became a patron saint of Russia, which reaches above the arctic circle into traditional Santa territory. While in the Far North, he may have acquired an association with reindeer, as he is known as the patron saint to another arctic animal, the wolf. Or images of him riding on a horse carrying his bishops' crook may have been misinterpreted as him riding or being accompanied by an antlered animal. St. Nikolaos became the Dutch Sinterklaas, which then evolved into the modern "Santa Claus".

The most renowned depiction of Santa Claus comes from "Twas the Night Before Christmas", when all through the house - whoops, sorry - whose original title is "A Visit from St. Nicholas". His "Name Day" is December 6th, the anniversary of his death, which is still a gift-giving date in many countries, though most have conformed to the 25th as the date for distributing presents. After Nikolaos' death, he was made a saint, patron of sailors and children, butchers and bakers, and judges, to name just a few. Many Greek beaches and harbors still have shrines to him. Part of the saint-making process requires attested miracles, and he accumulated plenty.