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.