Comenius ProjectTrain for Europe –
TheComenius Express
THE GREEK TEAM: Model Experimental
Junior High School of the University of Macedonia,
Thessaloniki
Uherské Hradiště, the Czech Republic17th – 21st Sept, 2012
Matthew Leonidis & Theo Karapanagiotis
Who gives you presents at Christmas ? As in almost all Christian countries gifts are brought by Santa Claus, but, in fact, the symbolism refers to St. Vasileios. St. Vasileios was one of the three Great Hierarchs (Arch bishops) for the Greek Orthodox Church still celebrated as the Patrons of Education because they were very educated and wise men.His region was subject to high taxing and therefore all citizens offered their jewellery and other valuables but they were never collected by the officials. So, they were put in pies and offered back to the people. This is how our tradition of the New Year pie with the lucky coin in it started.
St. Vasileios
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
What is your traditional Christmas meal ?
The traditional Christmas meal in our
country mainly consists of fried pork pieces as well as stuffed turkey.
Matthew Leonidis & Theo Karapanagiotis
Describe your traditional costumes. When do you wear them ?
Costume For MenOur traditional costume consists of a white shirt, a white skirt (foustanella) and a vest of different colors named «fermeli» which is very difficult to construct. Apart from these, basic role in our traditional costume play the “tsarouchia” which are the traditional shoes.Traditional costumes are only worn in national celebrations.
Costume For Women Of course, there are traditional dresses/costumes for women. Some of them you can see in the following link
Foustanella
Embroidered vest
Tsarouchia
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
Do you have a feast typical of your country ?
In my country there is a feast which is called «Clean» Monday also known as
Pure Monday or Lent Monday (the equivalent to Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday for the British or the Mardi
Gras as the Americans call it) and it is a movable feast that occurs at the
beginning of the 7th week before the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.
“Clean” Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus celebrated with
outdoor excursions. During this feast eating meat, poultry and dairy
products are traditionally forbidden to the Greek Orthodox Christians as it is the first day of Lent and marks the 40-
day fasting period before Easter. Traditionally we eat seafood and we
fly colourful kites.
Matthew Leonidis & Theo Karapanagiotis
Do you celebrate any special day ?(Mother’s Day, Children’s
day, Establishment of you country, etc.)
We celebrate the establishment of our country on 25th March. Furthermore, we also celebrate Mother’s day and Father’s day which are very important for us since we have a unique relationship with our whole family !
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
Easter is the most important celebration for the Greek Orthodox Christians. Most people fast for 40 days. On Easter Sunday many Greeks, especially in the villages, traditionally grill the lamb on a skew and have some time with their families. They also …. red eggs. In the following link you can find Greek Easter recipes!
How do you celebrate Easter?
Matthew Leonidis & Theo Karapanagiotis
Do you celebrate Halloween / All saints‘ Day / Autumn feast ?
We may not celebrate Halloween but we have the “Tsiknopempti”, which is a
Thursday during the 3rd week of the 3-week Carnival period when everyone dresses up what they want and have barbeques. This is where it took its
name from: the smell of burning flesh !
What is the religion of your country ?
The Greek Orthodox denomination,
Christianity, which represents the majority of
the population, is constitutionally
recognized as the "prevailing religion" of Greece. Other Christian
doctrines are Catholicism and Protestantism and
other religions are Judaism and Islam.
Matthew Leonidis & Theo Karapanagiotis
Do people in your country go to church regularly ?Generally, the Greek
people are considered to be very
religious. Many people in Greece
attend the Sunday Services/Mass. The
majority of the population also
attend the Services during Christmas and most certainly during
the Holy Week at Easter. At the end of
these Services/Masses
people also receive the Holy Communion.
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
Could you show us your traditional dance and sing a traditional song? (You can prepare a short performance or record a video.)
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
Theo Karapanagiotis & Matthew Leonidis
Thank you very much!