Christmas in Greece

Christmas in Greece is a very special and important celebration. Everything is decorated and there is a feeling of joy everywhere. Moreover, women make delicious goodies. Finally, for the children Christmas is a good time to relax and have fun since school stops for two weeks.

Decoration

The hauses look shiny because people decorate them with beautiful ornaments. In Greece we decorate the Christmas tree with light (bulbs), bands and beautiful small ornaments.

Christmas Carols

The Christmas Carols is a favourite habit of the children. On Christmas Eve children go round from door to door and sing the Christmas Carols with a triangle. For their effost they get candies and money.
The Carols are not the same in every part of Greece. They are different from place to place. In Arta the Christmas Carols go like this:

Kalin imeran archontes Good morning to you Lords
Ki an ine o orismos sas and if you wish let us inform you
Hristou ti thia genesi about the birth of Christ
Na mbo sto archontiko sas
Hristos genate simeron Chris is being born today
En Bithleem tin poli in the city of Bethlehem
I urani agalonte and the heavens are rejoicing
Heri I ktisis oli and so is the whole world
En to spileo tiktete he is being born in a cave
En fatni ton alogon in the horses crib
O vasilefs ton uranon the king of heavens
Ke piitis ton olon and creator of everything

Baking the Christmas cake (Hristopsomo)

Baking the Christmas cake is an old habit. The preparations for the Christmas cake is a stictly christian custom. Every place makes own Christmas cake in its own way.

The onion

The people hang an onion at the door of their house because they believe it will protect them from evil.
How to make the onion: housewives make the onion thirty days before Christmas Eve. It consists of a big red onion and twelve feathers or a goose or a dove.

Christmas sweets

Before the housewives welcome Christmas they prepare various goodies for the Christmas table and to offer them to their visitors.
Sugared Bun (Kourambiedes)
Small honey cakes (Melomakarona)
Triangle (Trigona)
Turnovers (Diples)

The goblins

The goblins are an old tradition of our country. They appear every Christmas. The are ugly, mischierous and weird creatures. They are hairy and they snick into houses. At nights they steal the food. When they finish eating they start to dance. Everybody, but especially the villagers, are afraid to go out when it gets dark. In many villages they spread hot coal so that the goblins wan’t approach.