Greeker than the Greeks

It's all about Greece, Greeks and all things Greeker!

Category: Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Traditional Greek Christmas boat. Karavaki (Little boat)

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Karavaki – The Greek Christmas Boat

  The practice of decorating sailing boats with Christmas lights, a fabulous Greek Christmas tradition is making a comeback. More often than not these Christmas boats are seen on the islands, where the habit originated...

The pomegranate, an ancient symbol of prosperity and good luck.

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations / Greek Mythology

The Pomegranate – Greek Origins and Myths

    The pomegranate, a rosy-hued fruit, bursting with plentiful, ruby-red, jewel-like seeds, are the oldest cultivated fruit, dating back to 3000 B.C. where they first appeared in Persia, before spreading to India, North...

Greek Independence Day 25 March

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Greek Independence Day – 25 March – History and Traditions

  On the 25th of March (in Greece, a national holiday, established in 1838 with a Royal Decree by King Otto’s government), Greece, along with Greeks all over the world, will be celebrating the...

Apokreas - Greek Carnival

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations / My life & Thoughts

Apokreas – Greek Carnival

    I first arrived in Greece, at the beginning of February 1977, the winter season, no tourists and not much happening. I spent about ten days here before making a quick trip back...

Epiphany in Greece - Theophania - Ton Foton - 6 January

Greek Customs traditions & celebrations / Greek Saints

Epiphany in Greece – Theophania – Ton Foton – 6 January

    It’s the sixth of January and Christmas has officially come to an end and it is Epiphany; called “Ton Foton” in Greece: “The Festival of Lights” This Feast Day is known as...

Kalanda – Greek Carol Singing

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Kalanda – Greek Carol Singing

  The history of Carol Singing   Singing Christmas carols is said to have its origins in ancient Greece. Commencing on the first day of the twelve days of Dionysus, the origins of today’s...

Traditional Greek Christmas Sweets

Greek Cuisine / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Recipes For Traditional Greek Christmas Sweets

    Christmas in Greece, as anywhere else in the world, involves large quantities of food.  In any Greek home over the Christmas season, kourabides, melomakarona and dipples, can be found piled high on...

Kallikantzaroi – Greek Christmas Goblins

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

Kallikantzaroi – Greek Christmas Goblins

    Many of the same customs and traditions as well as folklore are practiced and believed all over the World no matter where they originated. Through the years the stories have been tweaked...

Greek Baptism

Greek Customs traditions & celebrations / My life & Thoughts

The Battle of the Greek Baptism

    You wouldn’t believe the battles which occur in Greek families when choosing a child’s name, there have been stories of fisticuffs, even stabbings, and pistols at dawn! Choose may not be the...

The Greek Panigiri – Celebrate Greek-Style

Greece: ancient and modern / Greek Customs traditions & celebrations

The Greek Panigiri – Celebrate Greek-Style

    During the summer months, all over Greece, from the tiniest of churches in the tiniest of villages, to the largest of cathedrals in the towns, Greeks keep a centuries old tradition alive;...