Christmas in Greece..and a little bit about New Year
Falakro Mountain Compared to the Easter celebrations, Christmas in Greece is a rather bleak affair. Just like birthdays traditionally wasn’t celebrated, nor the birth of Christ or the days leading up to his birthday, has been a time of big celebration. Traditionally, the Greeks use to decorate their boats and ships with lights for Christmas, and some people follow this tradition by decorating a copy of a sailboat and display it on a window sill or a table. Another lovely tradition is the children going from door to door to door and from shop to shop, playing triangle and singing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, and songs for the New Year on New Years Eve.
(Photo: Michalis Pornalis)Since I moved to permanently to Greece in 1993 I find that the decorative bit of Christmas has increased a lot, but it’s still like the Greeks don’t quite know what to do with this holiday (at least it’s seems like that to a Norwegian like me, as Norwegian Christmas traditions have roots back to pre-Christian times!). There are no Christmas parties, mistletoe kissing, or even food and drinks made especially for Christmas – except the wonderful melomakarona, Greek Christmas cookies and the vassilopita,, the king cake with a golden coin baked into it, that is shared for good luck at New Year. I was shocked when I discovered that the Greek don’t save their gifts for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, when the Greek Santa comes, but open them the moment they receive them. No secrets here! The Greek Father Christmas, Saint Vassilis, brings gifts for the children on New Year’s Eve. The original Vassilis was a priest in the orthodox church of Egypt, and the first to organize the church’s care for the poor. He died in 379 AD, and was canonized as a saint a few years later. He is celebrated on New Year’s Day – which is also the nameday of Vassiliki. Christmas day is of course the nameday of Christos and Christina. We are open during Christmas and if you want to experience Christmas in Greece you are welcome you both to our restaurant and for a stay at Kairos Garden Villas! On Christmas Eve you can expect a mixture of Greek and Norwegian traditions and mostly Norwegian Christmas food at our restaurant, while on New Year's Eve we stick to the Greek way of celebrating: Playing cards all night long! Eleftheres is a beautiful and relaxing place for a break, also during the winter - and there's a good chance of have snow in the mountains surrounding us.
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Other National Holidays in Greece
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