Christmas around the world: in Greece
Du fait de la culture orthodoxe en Grèce, Christmas est beaucoup moins célébrée que Pâques. Dès le début de décembre, on peut cependant admirer dans les vitrines des magasins l’arrangement festif des lumières et des guirlandes colorées.
Traditions
On Christmas Eve, children gather to ring doorbells to sing the calends and receive change in exchange. Back home, they will enjoy the melomakarona (honey cookies) and kourabiedes (small almond-based cakes) made by mothers. They can also be found in many Greek pastry shops and bakeries.
Le lendemain, on se lève tôt pour se rendre à l’église pour la célébration de la naissance de Jesus. La famille se réunit ensuite autour d’un repas où seront servies les spécialités traditionnelles : la dinde farcie aux marrons, noix, amandes et raisins de Corinthe (galopoula) accompagnée de pommes de terre au four, le rôti de porcelet au jus de citron (gourounopoulo psito) et, comme dessert, le gâteau aux noix et au miel (melomacarona).
In Greece, we are starting to see some Christmas trees around Christmas time, but until now, models of sailing ships decorated with illuminated lights were the decorations seen everywhere at Christmas time.
Traditionally, children receive their gifts on the 1ster January, Saint Basil's Day.
The festivities end on January 6 (a public holiday), which commemorates the baptism of Jesus. On this day, the priest immerses a cross in the sea (or in a pool, depending on the location), and the bravest young men jump into the very cold water to retrieve it.
?ala christougenna!
