Traditions and Customs around Europe (Greece and Czeck Republic)
- 1. TRADITIONS & CUSTOMS ACROSS EUROPE
- 3. 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.
- 4. 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.
- 5. 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
- 6. 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.
- 7. 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
- 8. 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.
- 9. 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
- 10. Greece is full of unusual customs that revolve around history, community, and cuisine but in the end the magic of Christmas stays the same…
- 12. carnival is the name given to the three weeks before Monday of lent, when the great fast begins. The main feature of carnival is the disguises that we find all over Greece, as well as in the rest of Europe. Let’s see some of them……
- 13. Among the most well-known customs, which are preserved to this day during carnival, is the gaitanaki It has 12 long ribbons each a different colour
- 14. This is how different regions in Greece celebrate carnival…. Skyros The dominant figures of Skyros for the carnival are the Old Man, Corella and Frank. A tradition of many years with Dionysian roots, the Old Man and the Corella recall a natural disaster that destroyed all the herds of the island.
- 15. Zakynthos A traditional peddler goes around the island and announces the carnival program The events close with the very entertaining "Funeral of the Mask". This is a re-enactment – parody of a funeral with lots of laughs.
- 16. PatrasCarnival is the largest event of its kind in Greece It has more than 180 years of history. The events begin on 17 January and last up to Monday of lent When it is finally time for the festival to end a lot of festivities happen Such as the burning of the float of the carnival king. Also a lot of other activities take place such as concerts, dances, and countless fireworks.
- 18. Easter for Christian church oEaster (Pasha) is one of the biggest celebrations oIn 325 AD the First Ecumenical Council established the celebration of Easter oFrom the Byzantine years until today Christians prepare for the Easter holidays and preserve their Easter customs
- 19. Mrs. Lent (H Kyra Sarakosti) oThe fasting lasted 40 days before Easter. oMrs. Lent constituted a fasting diary. o Each Saturday Greek people cut off a leg till the Holy Saturday o She was represented having 7 legs which symbolized the 7 weeks and had no mouth since she was fasting.
- 20. Lazarus oIn many parts of Greece in order to depict the Resurrection of Lazarus as well as to symbolize the victory of Christ over death, they make a small statue of Lazarus out of dough.
- 21. The palm trees oPalm Sunday, honoring Christ’s triumphal entry at Jerusalem oThe temples are decorated with branches of palm trees
- 22. The Greek Easter breads (tsoureki) oThe Easter rolls are made on Holy Thursday o The Greeks decorate them with stripes of dough and nuts
- 23. Red Easter eggs oOn Holy Thursday the Greeks dye red eggs oThe red color symbolizes the new life coming out of the eggshell in the same way Jesus rose from the tomb.
- 24. Epitaph oHoly Friday constitutes a day of mourning. oAt noon girls decorate the Epitaph with flowers oIn some parts of the country the Epitaph is decorated on the evening of Holy Thursday after the Twelve Gospels. oThe procession of the Epitaph around the church takes place the same day.
- 25. The night of the Resurrection oOn the evening of Holy Saturday believers light their white candles with the Holy Light oThey attend the liturgy of Resurrection. o At homes they cross the upper part of the front door with the Holy Light.
- 26. Easter Sunday oAll families gather together, eating and celebrating. oThe most common dish is the Easter lamb cooked either on the spit or in the oven. oThe Easter lamb symbolizes the appellation that is used for Jesus in Scripture oGreek people, use to scramble the red eggs with each.
- 27. ◦ Celebrating the Easter holidays in Europe creates a big canvas of traditions ◦ More than anything, Easter is a calendar holiday when people are traveling to see their beloved ones and reconnecting with their family. Greece, Pasha England, Easter Sweden, Påskdagen Czech, Velikonoce France, Paques
- 28. CZECH TRADITIONS Barbora Vymlátilová, Kateřina Vaňková, Amálie Kulatá, Eliška Lakomá, Vojtěch Mrnka, Jan Kořenovský
- 29. MASS • Listening to priest • About one hour • Singing • Every Sunday morning
- 30. EASTER
- 31. EASTER ◦ Maundy Thursday (Green Thursday) ◦ Good Friday (Great Friday) ◦ Holy Saturday (White Saturday) ◦ Easter Sunday ◦ Easter Monday
- 32. Klapání ◦ From Thursday to Saturday ◦ Klapačky, hrkačky, řehtačky ◦ Boys between the age of 6 and 13
- 33. Traditional food ◦ Fancy bread ◦ Paschal Lamb
- 34. Maundy Thursday ◦ Easter Bunny or Easter Han ◦ Eat one green thing
- 35. Easter Sunday ◦ raiding an Easter whip ◦ Egg coloring
- 39. IMPORTANT DATES
- 40. FIRST OF JANURY ◦ Public holiday ◦ 1993 – Independent Czech Republic
- 41. VICTORY DAY ◦ May 8th ◦ Public holiday ◦ Victory over Nazism Day
- 43. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN‘S DAY ◦ March 8th ◦ Women‘s rights, violence, equality,..
- 44. FIRST MAY ◦ International Workers‘ Day (Labour Day) - Public holiday - 1890 – USA - Socialism – mandatory parade ◦ First May (Holiday of love) - 30 April – maypole - 31 May – Maypole Felling - Kiss under a blooming tree
- 46. MOTHER‘S DAY ◦ Second Sunday in May
- 47. The Day of the Slavic Heralds of Cyril and Methodius 5.7. ◦ Brothers from Thessaloniki came to Great Moravia to preach the faith in 863
- 49. The day of the burning Master Jan Hus 6.7. ◦ Priest, reformer and preacher ◦ 1415 in Constance ◦ He fought for the change of the church
- 51. Czech Statehood Day 28.9. ◦ Memory of the Czech prince Wenceslaus murder (935)
- 53. The day of the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak state 28.10. ◦ Independence from Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (1918)
- 55. All Saints' Day 1.11. ◦ Christian holiday - commemoration of All Saints
- 56. Memory of deceased 2.11. ◦ People remember their deceased loved ones
- 57. Day of struggle for freedom and democracy and International Student Day 17.11. ◦ 1939 - The closure of universities by the Nazis ◦ 1989 - Velvet Revolution - Prague demonstration against the communist regime
- 58. FREED
- 60. CHRISTMAS
- 63. 24th December • Morning • Decorating a tree
- 64. FAMILY HOLIDAYS
- 65. BIRTHDAY • Aren’t celebrated every year • Birthday cake and candles are not to be missed • Huge variety of possible presents
- 66. NAMEDAY • Naming a child and names in calendar • Minor celebrations
- 67. BAPTISM • Christian celebration • 2. name is given to a baby • On decline because of atheism in Czechia
- 68. JUBILEE • Celebration of special birthday or wedding anniversary • Birthday Jubilee - Bigger than usual - every 10 years • Wedding Jubilee - Family reunion and symbolic redoing of marriage ceremonial - Different names for different number of year that spouses are together
- 69. FUNERAL • Final farewell to the deceased and opportunity to meet distant relatives • 4 stages of funeral - farewell in the church - ceremonial march to the cemeter - blessing of the grave ◦ - placing the remains in the grave • Can be followed by requiem prayer and funeral feast
- 71. RESOURCES ◦ https://theses.cz/id/zrwsw8/Svtky_a_tradice_v_souasn_rodin_s_pedkolnmi_dtmi.txt ◦ https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pohřeb ◦ https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Výročí_svatby ◦ https://motherclub.cz/wp-content/uploads/fly-images/1204/detska-oslava-narozeniny-deti-zabava-1036x608-c.jpg ◦ https://cdnm.westwing.com/image/upload/v1/contenthub/app/uploads/cz/2022/03/15152329/co-pripravit-na-oslavu-60-5.jpeg ◦ https://nova-ott-images-tn.ssl.cdn.cra.cz/r991x558n/1a3bc599-32ae-4d60-a15e-0f9efd99c8d9 ◦ https://pismenkov.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hazeni-kytici.jpg ◦ https://cdn.megapixel.cz/gallery/w1380h900/3/452243.jpg?v=1616602377 ◦ https://www.svatebnizbozi.cz/media/clanky/auta/dekorace-na-svatebni-auta-F0153.jpg ◦ https://www.farnostsalvator.cz/public/upload/krest.jpg ◦ https://liberecka.drbna.cz/files/drbna/images/page/2013/07/14/1000x1000-1373792187-zlata-svatba-dobri-4.jpg ◦ https://g.denik.cz/57/34/20121016-ova5-pohreb-lipa4.jpg ◦