Epiphany

The festive Holidays Season, in Greece, ends on Epiphany Day (January 6) when the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus and the priests throw a cross in the sea, rivers, lakes or even water reservoirs. In the islands and the seaside towns, young men dive to retrieve the cross and the person, that catches, it is considered blessed. In the other areas the cross is tied on a ribbon and retrieved back by the priest.

In the past on Epiphany Eve carolers went around the houses to sing about the baptism of Jesus. Nowadays the custom tends to be forgotten and is kept only in villages.

Epiphany carols

Σήμερα τα φώτα κι ο φωτισμός
η χαρά μεγάλη κι ο αγιασμός.
Κάτω στον Ιορδάνη τον ποταμό
κάθετ' η κυρά μας η Παναγιά.
Όργανo βαστάει, κερί κρατεί
και τον Αϊ-Γιάννη παρακαλεί.
'Αϊ-Γιάννη αφέντη και βαπτιστή
βάπτισε κι εμένα Θεού παιδί.
Ν' ανεβώ στον ουρανό
να μαζέψω ρόδα και λίβανο.

Today is the day of Light and Illumination

The joy is enormous and the blessing

Our Lady sits down at the river Jordan

Holding a musical instrument and a candle

And asks St. John

“St. John Baptist please baptize my and God’s child

To go to heaven to gather roses and incense”

Christmas Holidays Sweets

In Greece every house is filled with the traditional Christmas Holidays Sweets, “melomakarona” (also called phoenikia) which are honey and walnut cookies and “kourambiedes”, almond and icing sugar cookies. In some areas of Greece especially in Peloponese “diples” (or aftakia, meaning small ears ) a kind of fried pastry covered with syrup and walnuts.

Recipes

MELOMAKARONA

2 cups oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

1 cup fine semolina

1 kilo soft flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Lemon and Orange zest

Simple syrup: (In a pot, mix together 1 cup each of water, honey and sugar and bring to boil while stirring constantly.)

Crushed walnuts

Preheat oven to 200c

Beat oil well with mixer, then add the sugar, zests, orange juice, semolina, and then, a little at a time, the flour mixed with the baking soda.

Form the dough into small shapes, as the pastries will get quite big while baking. Make sure the oven is hot before baking, otherwise the pastries will flatten. Bake for about 30 minutes until pastries are firm and golden brown.

When completely cooled, arrange in rows in a serving plate and pour warm syrup over them. Sprinkle with crushed walnuts.

KOURAMBIEDES

2 kilos soft flour

1 kilo butter

300 grams powdered sugar

300 grams crushed roasted almonds

1 small glass cognac

1 teaspoon baking soda

Rosewater

Preheat oven to 175c

Whiten the butter by beating by hand for ½ hour. Add the sugar, cognac, almonds and finally the flour, mixed with the baking soda. Continue to beat until all ingredients are well mixed.

Mold into crescent or round shapes and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with rosewater, then roll in the powder sugar.

DIPLES

6 cups flour

1 cup sugar

10 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Oil for frying

1 1/2 cups honey

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup chopped walnuts

A dash of cinnamon

Place flour in a bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla, eggs and baking powder. Knead until dough is smooth and firm.

Let rest for 30 minutes

Cut dough in small pieces and roll out to sheets. With a knife cut sheets into 2 inch wide strips

Heat oil

Fry “diples” both sides. When done place them on paper to absorb excess oil and then in a serving plate. Sprinkle with nuts.

Syrup: In a saucepan bring to boil the water, the honey and the cinnamon while stirring constantly.

Pour the syrup over the "diples".

Bon appétit !!

Listen to the New Year's Carols

Greek New Year Carols

New Year's Carols

ΤΑ ΚΑΛΑΝΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΧΡΟΝΙΑΣ

New Year Carols

Αρχιμηνιά κι αρχιχρονιά
ψηλή μου δεντρολιβανιά,
κι αρχή - κι αρχή καλός μας χρόνος,
εκκλησιά - εκκλησιά με τ' άγιο θρόνος.

Αρχή που βγήκε ο Χριστός
άγιος και πνευματικός,
στη γη - στη γη να περπατήσει
και να μας - και να μας καλοκαρδίσει.

Άγιος Βασίλης έρχεται
- άρχοντες το κατέχετε -
από - από την Καισαρεία
είσαι αρχό - είσαι αρχόντισσα, κυρία.

Βαστάει εικόνα και χαρτί
με το Χριστό το λυτρωτή,
χαρτί - χαρτί και καλαμάρι,
δες και με - δες και με το παλικάρι.

It’s the beginning of the month, beginning of the year
High incense tree
Beginning of my good year
Church with the Holy Seat

It’s the beginning of our Christ
Saint and spiritual
He got out to walk on earth
And to welcome us

St. Basil is coming
From Caesaria
You know that
May you long live, my lady

He holds (St. Basil) an icon and a piece of paper
With the picture of Christ our Saviour
A piece of paper and a quill
Please look at me, the young man.

New Year's Traditions

On New Year’s Eve children go around the houses singing New Year’s carols "kalanda" using metal triangles and they are offered sweets and money.

At exactly midnight on December 31 the father or the older person in the household turns off the main power switch so "new light" will come with the New Year. Then a special kind of cake called "vassilopita" containing a coin is cut along the members of the family and friends. Every person and even the pets of the household are entitled to one piece. One piece is dedicated to Jesus, one to St. Basil and one to the house itself. Whoever finds the coin in his piece is considered to be lucky for the whole year. Gifts are exchanged at that moment or on the following morning, St. Basil's Day (January 1).

The New Year in Greece is not only celebrated as the first day of the year but they also celebrate it as St. Basil's day. St. Basil is one of the founders of the Greek Orthodox Church. The people of Greece believe that he died on New Year Day so they honour him and remember him for his generosity and kindness to the poor on that day.

According to the legend St. Basil was the archbishop of Caesaria when, the Cappadocian Prefect cruelly intended went to collect taxes. The people, full of fear, asked for their bishop’s protection. He told them to bring any valuable things they had in their houses go together with him to welcome the Prefect. But St. Basil had such an appearance and conviction that the Prefect finally didn’t accept the people’s presents. So St. Basil tried to return their valuables. But it was very difficult because they had offered many similar items: rings, necklaces, coins etc., so St. Basil ordered to make small pies in each one he put one of the items. The following day he gave each Christian one pie. And then the miracle happened! Inside their pies they found whatever they had given.

On New Year Day the farmers' families in Greece take plates of seeds to the church to get them blessed by the priest to start off the New Year.

Listen to Christmas Songs in Greek and French

Greek Christmas Carols

Minuit chrétien

Christmas Wishes

Καλά Χριστούγεννα - Joyeux Noël

Christmas celebration in Belgium

At Christmas we organize a big party with our family, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grand- parents. On the24th December we generally eat stuffed turkey and a chocolate yule log. Before midnight we offer each other presents which have bien placed under the Christmas tree by father Christmas. At midnight we go to the mass then we drink hot chocolate or hot wine.


We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year for 2007

Christmas decorations in Belgium

Two weeks before the 25th december, we decorate our houses with brightly coloured garlands, Christmas balls that we hang on the christmas tree and also strings of lights. Many people put a cribe under the Christmas tree with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, a donkey and an ox, the Magi and sheperds there are also many decorations in the streets.

Greek Christmas Carols

Καλήν ημέρα άρχοντες
και αν είναι ορισμός σας
Χριστού τη θεία γέννηση
να πω να πω στο αρχοντικό σας

Χριστός γεννάται σήμερον
εν Βηθλεέμ τη πόλει
οι ουρανοί αγάλλονται
χαίρει η κτίσις όλη.

Εδώ που τραγουδήσαμε
πέτρα να μην ραγίσει
και ο νοικοκύρης του σπιτιού
χρόνια πολλά να ζήσει.



Good day gentlemen
And if you so wish
May I sign in your house
About Christ's birth

Christ is born today
In the town of Bethlehem
The sky is rejoiced
The nature is happy.

Here that we have sung
(We wish that) the house would be intact
and the lord of the house
would live for many years

Christmas Traditions

In Greece, there are many Christmas customs that are similar, yet slightly different from the West.

While other cultures have Christmas elves, the Greek equivalent is not so benign. They are called "Kallikantzaroi" and are monkey-like mischievous black almost invariably male creatures.

There are a number of beliefs connected with these spirits, which are supposed to be a species of goblins that appear only during the 12-day period from Christmas to the Epiphany (January 6). These creatures are believed to come from the center of the earth where they try to cut the tree that supports the earth with a hand-saw and to slip into people's house through the chimney at night. More mischievous than actually evil, the "Killantzaroi" do things like extinguishing fires, ride astride people's backs, braid horses' tails, and sour the milk. Descriptions of them vary, and in one area they are believed to wear wooden or iron boots, the better to kick people, while other areas insist that they are hooved, not booted. In folktales, the twelve days of their power figure in a "wicked stepmother" story where a young girl is forced to walk alone to a mill through the twelve days, because her stepmother is hoping that the "Kallikantzaroi" will snatch her away.

Some households used to keep fires burning through the twelve days, to keep the spirits from entering by the chimney. A "yule log" in this case used to be a massive log set on end in the chimney, is burning or at least smouldering for the entire period. Protective herbs such as hyssop, thistle, and asparagus were suspended by the fireplace, to keep the "Kallicantzaroi" away. Other households, perhaps less devout, leave the kitchen strainer out so the Kallikantzari will spend the whole night trying to count its holes or trying to bribe them, would put meat out for the them . On Epiphany, the ceremonial blessing of the waters by the local priest was believed to settle the nasty creatures until the next year. Some local festivals still include representations of these entities, which may be a survival from Dionysian festivals.

Christmas In Greece

Christmas is widely celebrated in Greece but Easter is still considered the main holiday.
Christmas officially begins on Christmas Eve when children walk the streets traveling from house to house singing a special Christmas carol called "kalanda" (announcing the birth of Christ and offering good wishes) accompanied by steel triangles and drums. Afterwards, the children are usually given sweets and money in appreciation.
In Greece, Christmas Day becomes the main attraction by both adults and children alike. Pork, roasted, in the oven used to be the traditional meal but in the last decades especially in the cities they have turkey stuffed with minced meat, chestnuts, rice and pine-cone seeds and on every table there are loaves of 'christopsomo' ('Christ bread'). This bread is usually made in large sweet loaves of various shapes and the crusts used to be engraved and decorated in some way that reflected the family's profession. Nowadays they are round loaves of bread decorated with the cross.
In Greek homes, Christmas trees were not commonly used in the past, but the last half of the century every house decorates a Christmas tree with a shining star on top in remembrance of the Bethlehem star and usually at the bottom there is a manger with Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. Decorations with missletoe and colourful lights adorn the balconies and gardens.

Our school celebrates its 100th birthday

This year, our school celebrates its centennal.
This gives us the occasion to organize a great party at wich we will invite all the villagers.
At the moment, we are building a model of the school at scale 1/25th.We are currenthy looking for our alumni(former pupils of the school) .To help us we found negisters dating back from 1895 until now.We are also going to paste some old photos of our predecessors on posters.
How old is your school?

Our school celebrates its 100th birthday

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