Christmas Traditions in Greece

1. MERRY CHRISTMAS……………………….

3. 
Christmas caroling is very popular, and
although you might hear them being sung at
any given moment during the holiday season,
there are actually three "official" caroling
days. The custom is that children go from
house to house singing the carol, with the
accompaniment of a triangle, and residents
of the houses give them a small amount of
money.

4. 


Traditionally the main course of Christmas
dinner in Greece is roast pork
Pork is also cooked with celery, quince or
leek in a casserole
It is made into sausages or minced in pies

5. 
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.

7. 
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

9. 
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.

12. 

On Christmas 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.
If the children sing well, they might be given
money, nuts, sweets and dried figs to eat.

14. 
Christmas Trees are becoming more popular
in Greece, but they aren't traditional.
Instead most houses will have a shallow
wooden bowl with a piece of wire is
suspended across the rim. A sprig of basil
wrapped around a wooden cross hangs from
the wire. Some water is kept in the bowl to
keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day,
someone, usually the mother of the family,
dips the cross and basil into some holy water
and uses it to sprinkle water in each room of
the house.

16. 

In Greece, presents
are often brought to
children by Aghios
Vassilis / Άγιος
Βασίλης (Saint Basil)
on the 1st January.
1st January, New
Years Day, is St
Vasilis's Day who is
also known as St
Basil the Great.

17. 
This is believed to keep the 'Killantzaroi' (bad
spirits) away. The Killantzaroi are meant to
appear only during the 12-day period from
Christmas to the Epiphany (January 6th).
They are supposed to come from the middle
of the earth and get into people's house
through the chimney! The Killantzaroi do
things like putting out fires and making milk
go off. Having a fire burning through the
twelve days of Christmas is also meant to
keep the Killantzaroi away.

19. 
People in Greece also celebrate Epiphany on the
6th January. In the Greek Orthodox Church,
Epiphany celebrates Jesus's baptism when he was
a man. It's also known as 'The Blessing of the
Waters'. There are many events throughout the
country where young men dive into really cold
lakes, rivers and the sea to try to be first to get
a cross which has been blessed by a priest and
thrown into the water. Whoever gets the cross
first is meant to have good luck during the
coming year. Epiphany festivals also include
blessings of boats & ships, music, dancing and
lots of food.

21. 
It is an old tradition during which on
Christmas day people gather big pieces of
wood in central parts of the city and light up
fires so that new-born Jesus can get warm.

23. 
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THEOHARIS
TSIOHARIS
GRIGORIS
HATZIIOANNOU