"The 12 days celebrations/traditions of Greece"

1. Celebrations/traditions of Greece

2. Christmas
New Year
Epiphany

3. Greece is a country where traditions and customs are
a part of everyday life. Most holidays in Greece are
celebrated traditionally, and Christmas is no exception.
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.

5. In Greece , the day before
Christmas, all children use to
joyfully sing carols (kalanta),
from early in the morning, till
noon time. They use to knock
the doors, asking the people to
let them announce the happy
message: “Jesus Christ is born!”
 They rythmically strike
small metallic triangles with a
small metal rod,which they
use as an musical instrument.

6. Listen to traditional Christmas carols

8. Christopsomo literally means “Christ's Bread”.It is
made on Christmas Eve ready to be eaten on
Christmas Day.
It is considered a sacred tradition in homes.
it is said to ensure the well-being of the home in
the year to come. It is decorated with a Cross.

9. According to myth, they are
mischievous goblings,elves or
gnomes.They come to Earth only
during the twelve days of Christmas,
from Christmas Eve to Epiphany
Day, on January, 6th.
These little fellows come (go
out) on Christmas Eve,
roaming around the villages
after midnight, and playing
all sorts of harmless jokes.

10. After 40 days of fasting, the Christmas dinner is
looked forward to with great anticipation by adults
and children alike.
Preparing a "holiday table" means a soup, two or three
main dishes covering the major meats and cooked in
different ways, several salads, a couple of side dishes,
lots of bread, and cheeses.

12. Children use to get their presents on New Year's Eve,
not on Christmas Day, as their "Santa" is Agios
Vasilios, whom Greeks celebrate on January 1st.

13. Agios Vasilios was a Bishop,who lived in 4th century
A.C. He was a very educated man and he used to
look after all poor people.

14. The most important custom,dating back to 4th
century is “Vasilopita”,a traditional cake, in which a
golden coin is hidden inside.
Vasilopita is cut in the houses on New Year's Day, by the
father.One slice of the cake is always cut for Jesus
Christ, one for the house and one for absent family
members.
Each person in the family
gets a slice starting with
the youngest.
The person who finds the
coin is considered to be
the luckiest member of
the family for the year.

15. Ingredients
250 g unsalted butter, softened
220 g sugar
1 small packet of vanilla powder
3 eggs
450 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
250 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
(about 3-4 oranges)
icing sugar and chopped or flaked
almonds, to decorate (optional)

16. • Preheat the oven at about 175 degrees Celsius.
• cream the sugar and butter.
• Add the orange juice, vanilla and mix with a mixer
about 2 minutes.
• mix the flour and baking powder and add to the wet
ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. If you are adding
the coin in the batter, add it now. Pour batter (it
will be thick) in the pan, smoothing the top with a
spatula.Bake for about 45-60 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool.
• sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can make a
design using paper cut outs.Make sure you have a
lucky charm for the person who will get the coin in
their piece.

17. Epiphany is a very important
celebration for the Orthodox
church, which is celebrated
on the 6th of January and is
devoted to the Christening of Jesus
Christ.Very early in the morning on
the 6th of January, children go
from house to house, while singing
the special for the day song, called
“Kalanda of Epiphany”,spreading
around and announcing to people
the holly message of Jesus Christ’s
Christening. People in Greece,
believe that along with the
Christening of Jesus, blessing of the
waters is happening also.