Pentecost – The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Pentecost (from the Greek ‘pentekostos’, meaning the fiftieth day) is a ‘moveable feast’ celebrated each year on the fiftieth day after Easter and ten days after the Feast of the Ascension of...
Category: Greek Customs traditions & celebrations
April Fool’s Day – The Ancient Greek Origins
‘April Fools’ Day’ or ‘All Fools’ Day’, a day of practical jokes, hoaxes and pranks, falls on the first of April, the month which, incidentally, is named after the Greek goddess of...
Kottabos – An Ancient Greek Wine -Throwing Contest
Why not Party like an ancient Greek? Let the wine flow freely and drink from cups decorated with decadent scenes intended to set the atmosphere for a crazy game of kottabos. The...
Kyra Sarakosti – Mrs. Lent – a Greek Easter Tradition
Kyra Sarakosti Mrs. Lent or Lady Lent Kyra Sarakosti, Mrs. Lent or Lady Lent, is a charming, old Greek custom, connected to Lent, the seven week, (forty days) period of fasting...
Gamelion – the Ancient Greek Month of February
Gamelion, the month of marriage, was the seventh month of the Attic calendar of ancient Greece which coincides with the modern day month of February. The word derives from the Greek γαμηλίa (gamēlía),...
Hekatombaion – First Month of the Ancient Attic Calendar
In the Gregorian calendar July is named after Julius Caesar who was born in this month. However, for the ancient Athenians July, known as Hekatombaion, named after the Hekatomb a procession of...
Goddess Maia and Greek May Day Traditions
The Ancient Greek Goddess Maia The month of May, a month celebrating spring and the summer ahead, a month of rebirth, nuture and flowers. May takes its name from Maia, in...
Patras Carnival – The Largest and Craziest in Greece
Carnival season is here and if you’re lucky enough to be in Greece, head for Patras, home to the Patras Carnival. Patras, a vibrant, lively city, the third largest in the country,...
The 10 Week Run Up to Greek Easter
We’ve only just about recovered from Christmas and New Year, and here in Greece, the Greeks, ever on the lookout for a reason to celebrate, (actually, they don’t need a reason )...
The Naked Sponge Divers of Kalymnos Greece
Owing to the fact that only 18% of the rocky, infertile land of the small volcanic island of Kalymnos, one of the Dodecanese in the southeast Aegean, Greece, was suitable for cultivation, the...
