GREEK CHRISTMAS-NEW YEAR TRADITIONS and CUSTOMS
- 2. Christmas Boat The Christmas boat, or "karavaki" as Greeks refer to it, is the most traditionally Greek custom you'll encounter throughout the holiday season. As sailors, the Greeks decorated boats rather than Christmas trees in the past. The connection among Greece and the sea is the source of the "karavakia" tradition. According to legend, it was a gesture of appreciation to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, for guarding those who worked at sea.
- 3. Vasilopita Cake Vasilopita is the traditional Greek cake or bread served at midnight on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the life of Saint Basil. A coin is pushed through the base of the Vasilopita cake. When cut, it is stated that the finder will have prosperity for the remainder of their year! Vasilopita can be made of a variety of doughs, depending on the region, with almost every family having their own unique recipe.
- 4. Greek Christmas Carols The Greek tradition of kalanda, or singing Christmas carols, on Christmas Eve is one with a long and interesting history. This is a tradition that is still in place today and is a big part of the way Greek celebrate Christmas. The custom of Kalanda, which dates back to Byzantine periods in which children would carry miniature boats and sing songs in honour of Dionysius, has been an integral part of Christmas festivities in Greece for numerous years. The tradition of praising the head of household also began in Ancient Greece
- 5. Greek Traditional Sweets It would be unquestionably hard put to find a Greek house at Christmas time that isn’t overflowing with traditional, Greek Christmas sweets. Some examples are the snowy, sugary kourampiedes and the syrupy melomakarona.
- 6. Greek dessert known as melomakarono appears like an egg and is mostly composed of flour, olive oil, and honey. Sticky sweet and soaked in honey, with a tang of spicy cloves. It is a customary dessert made mostly around the Christmas season. It is also known as finikia. Greek Melomakarona
- 7. Greek Santa The universally recognized symbol of Christmas is the jolly, chubby, red-suited Santa Claus. But in Greece, he’s a little different. 'Agios Vasilis', which equates to Saint Basil or Basil of Caesarea, is the given name of the Greek version of Santa Claus. Saint Basil the Great, one of the Three Hierarchs, became known for tending to the sick, constructing hospitals, and providing for the impoverished; as a result, he earned the title of "the saint who gives gifts at Christmas" in Greece.
- 8. Tradition dictates that on New Year's Eve, shortly after midnight, the homeowner stands in front of the house's doorway and smashes a pomegranate by tossing it on the threshold. For thousands of years, the pomegranate has been associated with good luck, fertility, and prosperity in Greece and Greek mythology. Pomegranates were frequently used in Christmas decorations and hung from house doors during the holiday season. Breaking the pomegranate
- 9. THANKS FOR WATCHING Greece is full of unusual customs that revolve around history, community, and cuisine but in the end the magic of Christmas stays the same…