2. Greek Christmas!!!
• Greece is a deeply Orthodox country . So
Christmas is the biggest religious Holiday and
Celebration in our country!
• People here start preparing for Christmas on
November 15 ,when religious fast begins!
• So , those who choose to fast, don’t eat meat
and dairy products from the middle of
November till Christmas Day!
• At Christmas those who fast and young
children receive the Holy Communion. We all
go to church early in the morning. The bells
ring at 5:30am!!
3. Here is a photo of Lenten food served in monasteries during Lent:
beans, olives, vegetable pies, pickles , dried fruit and of course
bread!
4. As time passes and Christmas is approaching Greeks decorate their cities.
Photos of Larissa ,our home city! It should be mentioned that we decorate
Christmas trees and Christmas Boats since we are a nautical country !
6. There also are festivals and events organized to celebrate
Christmas ! Look at the photos of the old mill in Larissa where
children enjoy Christmas time!
10. We also decorate our houses and buy presents for our friends, family and
especially for people who celebrate their name days during this Holy
period!
11. But apart from the decoration, Christmas is also smell and taste! The smell
and taste of traditional sweets being baked while we wait to celebrate
Christmas.They are baklavas, kataifi, diples and melomakarona!
12. Melomakarona is the most famous sweet!
Ingredients
1200 grams flour
1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Skin of one orange grated
500 grams olive oil
250 grams sugar
2/3 of water glass orange juice
1 wine glass of cognac
Syrup
1 glass of water
1 glass of sugar
2 glasses of honey
Instructions
Add one by one all the ingredients in a
bowl, mix well, make balls ,bake at 180o
Celsius for 30’.Boil the syrup well and pour
it over the baked melomakarona. Then pour
melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with
walnuts.
13. Another popular sweet is kourabiedes!!
Ingredients
• 250 grams of butter
• ½ cup of caster sugar
• ½ cup of almonds baked
• 2 vanillas
• 2 tablespoons of cognac
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 3-4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients
Cut the dough whatever shape you
like
Bake at 180 o Celsius for 30’
Sprinkle with caster sugar
14. The sweets are ready on the 24 December when children go door to door
singing Carols ,playing their musical instruments or their triangles. People
give them money and sweets!
15. The same day groups of pupils or soldiers or even grown ups wearing
traditional clothes visit politicians and sing the Carols to them!
16. While the youngest sing the carols mums prepare Christmas lunch! This day
we usually cook pork,(pork chops ,pork steaks ,sausages) in the past all the
villagers used to have their own pigs so they cooked it after a long period
of Lent!
17. Pork cooked in the oven, pork with plumps, pork cooked outside traditionally and pork
with oranges!
18. The Greeks eat a lot of sweets on Christmas Day. They also give
them to friends and relatives as a present during Christmas and
treat all visitors!
