Greece

1st Primary School of Komotini

In the villages tend to hang on walls and doors complete braids of garlic clove over the nail, ie garifalakia to drive the slander that "pinning" the happiness of their home.

For the Christmas table Christmas cake is blessed bread he will support the life of the landlord and his family. They use good flour and expensive materials, such as rose water, honey, sesame, cinnamon and cloves. They gather the women of the house and until the yeast, sing, "Christ is born, the light goes up, the leaven to general '. Knead the dough, take half the dough and make a loop. With the rest make cross with strips of dough in the center and put an unbroken nut symbolizing fertility. The remaining surface design shapes with a fork to make the "evil eye" and "nail" the slander. The landlord of the house gets the Christmas cake, the crosses, the cuts and distributes to all those present at the table, like symbolism of Holy Communion, Christ gave the Bread of life to the whole human family.

The customs of Komotini

In Komotini Christmas carols not say, but the New Year by turning night with lighted lanterns which are trimmed with ribbons and steamers and sing carols from a printed book. Children holding hammers wooden, painted in many colors, and they knock on doors and collect chickpeas, figs, carob, oranges, nuts. But not money.

The Greek Festival of Epiphany, or 'The Blessing of the Waters', is held every year on January 6 throughout all of Greece. This is the special occasion when many daring young Greek men brave the chilly waters to dive for a cross after it has been blessed by a priest and thrown into the water. For his gallantry, the first man who recovers the cross is said to have good luck throughout the coming year. The day long festival also features the blessing of small boats and ships, and later on affords entertainment, music, dancing and food to all those present.

Traditions about the Kallikantzaroi vary from region to region, but in general they are half-animal, half-human monsters, black, hairy, with huge heads, glaring red eyes, goats' or asses' ears, blood-red tongues hanging out, ferocious tusks, monkeys' arms, and long curved nails, and commonly they have the foot of some beast. "From dawn till sunset they hide themselves in dark and dank places .., but at night they issue forth and run wildly to and fro, rending and crushing those who cross their path. Destruction and waste, greed and lust mark their course." When a house is not prepared against their coming, "by chimney and door alike they swarm in, and make havoc of the home; in sheer wanton mischief they overturn and break all the furniture, devour the Christmas pork, befoul all the water and wine and food which remains, and leave the occupants half dead with fright or violence." Many like or far worse pranks do they play, until at the crowing of the third cock they get them away to their dens. The signal for their final departure does not come until the Epiphany, when the "Blessing of the Waters" takes place. Some of the hallowed water is put into vessels, and with these and with incense the priests sometimes make a round of the village, sprinkling the people and their houses

The traditional sweets and dishes we made for our European friends

"Faith makes all things possible,

Hope makes all things work,

Love makes all things beautiful,

May you have all the three for this Christmas

Merry Christmas!"

Οur wishes

Christmas in Italy is ... a magic

In Italy Christmas season is from December 22nd  to January 6th, but the decorations start usually on December 8th .

  We decorate our homes with a Christmas trees and a Nativity Scene.

In Italy you can feel that Christmas is coming from Christmas lights on town ...

Here you can see our friend Francesco, very young photo-reporter from Formia - Italy

We have taken photos of Christmas trees during our trips.

and we made Christmas trees to decorate our homes

Naples is the city of cribs and if you come to Naples , you will see many old and very precious Neapolitan Nativity scenes, of ‘700 and ‘800, in museums and churches. The Museo di San Martino has a huge display of "Presepi" . Others ones are in the Royal Palace of Caserta.

In Naples  we have a whole street of famous  nativity scene  makers.  The name of this street is via San Gregorio Armeno  and in this period of the year it is very crowded and full of colourful lights.  If you visit  churches in  Naples in this period , you can hear wonderful carols, like "Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle" in Neapolitan language and  watch live Nativity scenes.

Walking in the streets you can see bagpipers playing traditional Christmas carols. In Molise, near Venafro, Scapoli is internationally famous for being the home of bagpipes. In Scapoli there is the " Museo della Zampogna", bigpipe's museum.

We made Cribs in our homes

Christmas season is a fine time for people : families  get  together,  cook  many  things  to 

eat,    and  exchange  gifts,  grandparents and children make their own "Presepe". Pupils are happy because schools are closed from December 22nd to January 6th

         What do we eat at Christmas?

In our homes it smells good at Christmas and each Region has its traditions.

On Christmas Eve we have a big dinner with the whole family and we eat many kinds of fish, especially sea fruits with spaghetti and eels. Then there are vegetables, pies and dried fruit .  Mothers and grandmothers make many traditional sweets like struffoli,  mostaccioli, rococò and cassata siciliana. The most popular are struffoli. Struffoli are little balls of dough fried and then covered with honey and confetti. Mostaccioli are diamonds covered with chocolate . Rococo’ are cookies made with almonds. Cassata is a cake made with ricotta cheese and chocolate,glazed and decorated with candied fruit. We also eat a cake called Panettone  and a cake called Pandoro, typical Italian Christmas cakes. After this big dinner we usually play Tombola. Lunch on Christmas is vegetables in broth , boiled meat , baked lamb, sweets.

Christmas time is a special season for children because they usually receive many presents and money. On December 13rd St. Lucia arrives and brings  gifts to good children. All children write letters to Santa Claus and receive presents from him on December 25th.

On January 6th arrives,on a broomstick, an ugly but kind witch called Befana. She visits Italian children and puts sweets and presents in children’s stockings but ash and coal to bad children.        " La Befana vien di notte

con le scarpe tutte rotte

Il cappello alla Romana

Viva via la Befana!"

During the Christmas season we feast  the New Year, on December 31 st . 

At midnight we celebrate with champagne and fireworks, exchange wishes and kisses.

Typical Italian

New Year's Eve dinner

Christmas time ... in Spain

City lights make Christmas atmosphere deeper 

Christmas time is,

almost everywhere, a time of celebration of peace, happiness, health and wealth, and in where, the family, plays a capital rol

Catalan tradition: Tió de Nadal

A log from the forest gets into our homes (particularly if children living in) in mid December. The log, el Tió, has to be covered with a blanket in order to protect it from winter's cold. Then, the family of the house feed every day el tió with fruit and sweets. On the Eve of Chritsmas kids and adults hit the log with sticks while asking it for Christmas presents, which misteriously appear under the blanket...

Christmas mood at school

Childrens write greetings postcards

Songs and singing brings the group joy and instant good mood.

Typical Catalan and Spanish dessert of The Magi celebration day (January the 6th). Yummy!

CAT - TORTELL DE REIS

SPA - ROSCÓN DE REYES

ENG - MAGI ROUND CAKE

Christmas and New Year

in Ukraine

St. Nicholas, Sviatyi Mykolai, comes to Ukraine on December 19th. The night is often called "Magic Night" or just St. Nicholas Day. It is seen as a children's festival and a gift-giving day.

Since that day New year and Christmas preparations begin. New Year's celebrations are held at schools and kindergartens.

Did Moroz, also known as Father Frost is a mythical character in Slavic tradition who gives gifts to children like Santa Claus. He distributes them to children at kindergartens and schools on the eve of Christmas and New Year.

Did Moroz is always accompanied by his granddaughter and helper, a Snow Maiden or snowflake girl called Snihuron'ka. She is always young and beautiful.

For the Ukrainian people Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year. It is celebrated solemnly, as well as merrily, according to ancient customs that have come down through ages.

Ukrainian Christmas festivities begin on

Christmas Eve, January 6th and end on the

Feast of Epiphany, January 19th.

The Christmas Eve supper or Sviata Vecheria (Holy Supper) brings the family together to partake in special foods and begin the holiday with many customs and traditions which reach back to antiquity. The rituals of the Christmas Eve are dedicated to God, to the walfare of the family, and to the remembrance of the ancestors.

A didukh (meaning grandfather) is a sheaf of wheat stalks or made of mixed grain stalks. It is placed under the icons in the house. In Ukraine it is a very important Christmas tradition because the stalks of grain symbolize all the ancestors of the family, and it is believed that their spirits reside in it during the holidays.