Traditional life in Greece, houses, jobs, celebrations

1. Project’s part 5: “Our folkore and costums”
Meeting in Kulupenai, Lithuania
Students of the 7th Junior High School of Rhodes, (June
2017)
“How our grandparents lived and
celebrated.Traditional celebrations until
nowadays ”.

2. EVERY DAY LIFE IN XIX AND
BEGΙΝNΙΝG OF XXTH C. IN
GREECE.
 Dwelling
 Traditional Jobs

3. Dwelling
The houses of the islands The houses of the mainland

4. The houses of the islands : 1. A single room house
( a small oblong stone room with a flat roof of soil )
Sofas or krevatos
(krevati=bed): slightly
higher than the floor,
where people sleep,
while they stored various
goods underneath.
Fireplace : for heating and
cooking.
Its main
parts:

5. The houses of the islands :2.The two-storey
house (for the middle class)
It is rectangular :
 on the ground floor
there are auxiliary
spaces (stables and
warehouses),
 people lived on the
upper floor .
 They also have
courtyards and
verandas (solar).

6. The house of the mainland: differences from those of the
islands
 The single room house has a
roof with tiles (for the winter,
harder than in islands)
 In the two-storey
house:
 a logia, an open
balcony that is covered
by the ridge of the roof.
(hayati)

7. The mansions/archontika, built by rich people
 Examples in the northern
and central Greece:
Houses of merchants &
craftsmen:

8. The mansions/archontika, built by rich
people
 Examples in the islands,
built by captains,
merchants and
shipowners.

9. II. Principal traditional Jobs
 agriculture
 livestock
 fishing
 forestry
 mine
 maritime
professions

10. III. TRADITIONAL
CELEBRATIONS UNTIL
NOWADAYS

11. Wedding traditions: The bride’s
dowries
 The Wednesday
before the wedding
is the day the bride
invites her relatives
to get the dowry
ready.
 Dowries are made
up of the linen for
the new couple’s
home.
 The bride’s mother
has collected them
over the years, while
waiting for her
daughter to marry.

12. The bride’s dowries
 The bride’s sisters,
friends and cousins
separate the linen and
tie it up in small
parcels
with colourful ribbons.
 People arrive to gaze
upon the beautiful
bedding, the
handmade
tablecloths,the colourfu
l towels, the expensive
carpets that are all set
up in one room for all
to see.

13. Before the wedding: Making the bed
Making the Bed. The bride and her
attendants – all single women – make
up the marital bed.
Friends and relatives throw money, which
symbolizes prosperity, rice which is symbolic
of putting down roots
and a … baby desired as the first born!

14. On the day of the ceremony
Preparing the Groom. The groom is
shaved by the koumbaros (best man).
The bride is prepared by her
koumbara – or maid of honor –
and dressed by her friends.
On the bottom of the bride’s
shoes are written the names of all
her unmarried friends.

15. The ceremony: The rituals of the Greek Orthodox
Church.
The rituals of the Greek Orthodox
Church
The Crowing of the bride and
groom.
Wedding crowns - STEFANA
The common cup

16. The celebrant priest then takes the
arm of the groom and leads him and
his bride around the Holy Table three
times.
Rice is thrown at the newlyweds
for fertility and longevity.

17. Civil wedding (wedding in the
City Hall)
 From 1985 the wedding ceremony can
take place in the City Hall, as well.

18. BAPTISM – A GREEK
ORTHODOX
CHRISTENING

19. The Baptism: A greek orthodox
Christening
The beginning of a baptism: At the
front of the Church or outside the
Church. Babies, represented by
their Godfather or Godmother
renounce Satan.
The Godparent has to spit on the
ground as a symbol to renounce
Satan and also reads a passage
from the Holy Bible.
The Priest pours some oil (that has
been provided by the Godparent)
in to the water. Then the
Godparent cover the baby with oil
from head to toe.
 .
 .

20. The Baptism: A greek orthodox
Christening
After the oil, the baby is dunked
into the water, three times.
Then the Priest will put the baby in
to the arms of the Godfather
covered by a white towel and a
sheet.

21. The baby is blessed with miro (holy
oil all the way from Mt Athos in
Greece) and then his hair is cut.
Then, the baby is dressed in white

22. The Baptism: A greek orthodox
Christening
Walk Around the baptismal Font.
Once the baby is dressed, everyone
walks around the baptismal Font
three times.
The Priest, the Godfather holding
the baby and a child holding the
baptismal candle.
At the end of the service, the
mother of the baby kisses the
hand of the Godfsther/Godmother
and takes the baby back.

23. Celebrating Christmas and New
Year: Singing Carols
 On Christmas and New Year’s Eve,
children, especially boys, often go out
singing 'kalanda' (carols) in the
streets.
 They play drums and triangles as
they sing. Sometimes the will also
carry model boats decorated with
nuts which are painted gold.
 Carrying a boat is a very old
custom in the Greek Islands. We
also decorate fishing boats with
Christmas lights.
 If the children sing well, they might be
given money, as well things to eat like
nuts, sweets and dried figs.

24. Ash Monday. 40 days before
Easter
 The first day of the
Lent
 It is a holiday
 It is celebrated with
outdoor excursions,
the consumption of
shellfish and other
fasting food, a
special kind of azyme
bread, baked only on
that day, named
"lagana" (Greek:
λαγάνα)
 and the widespread

25. GREEK ORTHODOX
EASTER
Easter is the most sacred observance
in the Greek Orthodox faith, and the
preparations and customs still remain
the tradition in modern Greek life.

26. Holy (or Great) Thursday
 Τhe traditional
Easter bread,
tsoureki, is baked,
and eggs are dyed
red (red is the color
of life as well as a
representation of the
blood of Christ).
 From ancient times,
the egg has been a
symbol of the
renewal of life, and
the message of the
red eggs is victory
over death.

27. Holy (or Great) Thursday
 Holy Thursday evening, church
services include a symbolic
representation of the crucifixion,
and the period of mourning
begins.
 In many villages - and in cities
as well - women will sit in church
throughout the night, in
traditional mourning.
 Traditionally, women and
children take flowers to the
church to decorate the Epitaphio
(the symbolic bier of Christ).

28. Holy (or Great) Friday
 The Service of
Lamentation mourns the
death of Christ and the
bier, decorated lavishly
with flowers and bearing
the image of Christ, is
carried on the shoulders
of the faithful in a
procession through the
community to the
cemetery and back.
 Members of the
congregation follow,
carrying candles.

29. Holy (or Great) Saturday
 The midnight Service of the
Resurrection is an occasion attended
by everyone who is able, including
children, where each person holds a
white candle.
 Special candles made for Easter are
called labatha (lah-BAH-thah) and
are often given as gifts to children
from their parents or Godparents.
 When the clock passes midnight, the
Priest calls out "Christos Anesti"
(Christ is risen) and passes the
flame, the light of the Resurrection, to
those nearest him.
 On Holy Saturday, the Eternal Flame
from Jerusalem is brought to Greece
by military jet and is distributed to
waiting Priests who carry it to their
local churches.

30. Easter in Corfu . People hurl clay
pots from windows and balconies
which crash noisily on the streets
below.
Easter in Leonidio. The mass starts at 11
pm and at midnight “Christ is Risen” is heard
from the priest. Shortly thereafter, the sky is
filled with thousands of brightly coloured
handmade aerostata (“hot air balloons”) that
are released by the people with the aim of
reaching as close to God as possible.

31. MAY DAY in Greece – FIRST OF
MAY: PROTOMAGIA
 One very common
commemoration is the
making of a May wreath
which is hung on
doorways, balconies, in
chapels and many other
places.
 People usually enjoy
small trips, listen to
traditional music and
dance, as well as have a
break with a picnic in the
countryside.

32. Sources
 https://www.thespruce.com/greek-
easter-traditions-1705457
 http://ebooks.edu.gr/modules/ebook/s
how.php/DSGL103/57/441,1678/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Mo
nday
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage