Tuesday, December 30, 2008

MY WORLD TUESDAY: Christmas and New Years Eve customs in Greece






Christmas in Greece means a Christmas Tree, plastic or natural, lights and decoration in the houses and out of them, presents for everybody and a special Christmas lunch with the family or friends or both!
We also make traditional sweets like melomakarona,diples ,kourabiedes and isli.

The children use to sing the Christmas carols on 24th of December, the New Year's carols on 31st and the Epiphany's carols on 5th of January.

The housekeepers give them money and sweets for their songs. On New Years Eve we gather to houses or restaurants and we welcome the New Year. We use to put a Squill or a pomegranate or some branches of olive tree outside our doors in order to have luck all the next year and we enter our house with wishes.
We cut Santa Claus' pie in pieces and split it.

Everyone takes one piece. That pie has a hidden coin in it and whoever finds it will have a very lucky year. I forgot to tell you that for us Santa comes in the night before 1st January!
At the Epiphany the priests bless the waters and then they go from house to house holding a cross and a basil branch to bless them as well. In this way kalikatzaroi
are leaving earth and people are safe again, as an old legend says. You see these nasty creatures compete to cut down the huge wooden stake which holds the earth in place, with a big saw. But the column is very thick and the sawing seems to go on forever.

All these happen in fifteen days and in that period kids don't have school- that means we all sleep longer- and we just cook, drink, relax, buy gifts and visit friends and relatives.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

Happy Christmas everybody!!!
I wish you had a very good time yesterday and that you didn't eat sooo much as I did and still am!
Our Christmas programme was saying: church at 7.30 in the morning, opening presents after church, eating Christmas supper with our parents, coffee and chocolate cake in front of the fireplace and tea-party -for women only- at my bridesmaid's house in the afternoon! Unfortunalely it changed a lot!

While we were at the church my father-in-low collapsed! He's a 91 years old man with heart problems. We transfer him to a doctor and then to the hospital. Luckily it wasn't anything serious and he returned home at five o'clock in the afternoon. My hubby and his brother were with their father all the time so our Christmas supper had only one man, my father and five women, my mother, my mother-in-low, my daughters and me. We had opened our presents in the morining in a great hurry because my husband had to leave with his father and also we didn't want to dissappoint our children who were waiting for this day for a long time...


In the afternoon we all were very tired with all the days running but I couldn't miss my bridesmaid's tea-party. It was an opportunity for me to relax and laugh with my girl-friends.
Her house was beautifully bedighted, like it was a part of a magazine!

Look at her tree...


the decoration of her tables (two of them)...



the delicacies...

She even had a present for each of us set in the cups...


Everything was perfect and we had a very relaxing time!


Imagine that she did all these despite she hadn't water because of a damage at the delivery pipe of the water!!!

While I was returning back home I was thinking how everything can change from the one time to another. And that nothing is more significant than health...


*
Now a short message for Soula and Filippa, my friends who live in Italy and have two lovely children, George and Eleftheria (my god-daughter):
---HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOLKS---
It's been 17 years since we married you ,hasn't it?
We wish you'll be so happy as you're now for ever and ever!!!


Sunday, December 21, 2008

Christmas preparations!

Hello dear friends!
I missed you a lot all these days! I had a serious problem with my internet connection and that's why I couldn't visit or answer to your kind comments!
*
During that time I tried to finish some belated works.

I finished my kitchen curtains...

(Don't they look pretty?)

I made our Christmas sweets ( isli ) using the help of my little one...


I went for the Christmas shopping and I decorated my house...


(These are real presents and not just decoration!)


*
I can't really describe my feelings,
when last Thursday the mailman came and brought me two presents from my dear friends Maria from Austria...



...and Anette from Norway!


Santa came for me before Christmas! I felt like a little child - so happy and touched at the same time...
As you've already seen, your special presents found their place in my decoration...
Merry Christmas girls and thanks for your sweet surprises!


Thursday, December 11, 2008

SkyWatch : Turmoil in the sky and...earth!

Alarums and excursions dominate these days in Greece!
How this will end nobody can say!
Even the sky looks to face off an intenseness with the clouds fighting!!!


To see more beautiful photos visit:


Monday, December 8, 2008

MY WORLD TUESDAY: A sad and black day


Dear Friends,
today was a difficult day for us - Greeks.
That's why my content won't be the hap
py one I had planned to post.
*
A young, 15 years old boy was killed by a policeman when he appeared in the middle of gunfights between the police and the anarchists who were distroying several shops around Athens.

Alexis, 15 years old

That was the first checker of the domino. Students around Greece refused to go to their schools and demostrated for the murder. Then anarchists took the occasion to distroy more buildings. The political parties demostrated too against the goverment's policy and the police's harshness.


I watch the news and I can't believe my eyes! So anger from everybody...
I feel pity for the boy and his parents...
I feel sad for the policeman - murderer- who has three chilren...
I feel sorry for the owners of the shops who waited for Christmas to work under this difficult economic crisis...
*
Chaos...! My heart is bleeding...


Thursday, December 4, 2008

SkyWatch Friday : Thoughts in front of the sunset!

As the sun is sinking behind the hill, I can't stop wondering what other people are doing at the same time around the world! Maybe they're sleeping or eating or working. Maybe they are drinking a cup of hot coffee or discussing how they will manage to get through with the economic crisis which afflict all the world.
Whatever you're doing , wherever you are, remember that...
...life is beautiful despite the difficulties!


To see more beautiful photos visit:

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

ABC WEDNESDAY: T for Christmas-Tree!

Ow, what a mess in my house!
Boxes and lots of
ornaments of the Christmas-tree.
I hope I'll finish today with everything!
Wait to see the photo of my beautifully bedight living room - That is if I manage to decorate un
til tomorrow!!!

.
.
.
.
.
After several hours and tiredness I finished our tree!!!
My girls helped me a little because they had tests at school- that means a lot of reading...- and my hubby has a terrible cold- plus his favourite football team was playing a serious game and he watched it at the TV.
So...I finally did all the work by myself!
And despite everything I enjoy it!!!
Don't you think it worth it?