customs

Christmas and New Year Customs in Crete



There are many old Christmas and New Year
customs in Crete that are still in use nowadays and make the holidays more
special. 

Christmas and New Year Customs in Crete



There are many old Christmas and New Year
customs in Crete that are still in use nowadays and make the holidays more
special. 

Christmas and New Year Customs in Crete



There are many old Christmas and New Year
customs in Crete that are still in use nowadays and make the holidays more
special. 

Christmas and New Year Customs in Crete



There are many old Christmas and New Year
customs in Crete that are still in use nowadays and make the holidays more
special. 

Christmas and New Year Customs in Crete

There are many old Christmas and New Year customs in Crete that are still in use nowadays and make the holidays more special. 

Pomegranate breaking

It is an old popular New Year’s custom all over Greece and it involves the breaking of a pomegranate at the entrance of the house. The pomegranate is a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck. In the morning of New Year’s Day, the host of the house takes a pomegranate in the church and, after it is blessed, he returns it home. While entering the house with his right leg (for good luck), he throws and breaks the pomegranate, in order for the arils to go everywhere. In the meantime, he says the phrase “may we have health, happiness and joy for the New Year and as many pounds in our pockets as arils in the pomegranate

Pork slaughtering

Pork slaughtering is one of the oldest customs. Every family used to have a pig in their yard, in order to slaughter it on New Year’s Eve. Its meat was used for: sausages, apakia, pihti, siglina, omathies (see the recipes section).

Christ’s Bread

The kneading of this bread is a Christian custom and is considered a divine act. Women prepare the dough with devotion and patience. They use expensive ingredients, like fine flour, rose water, honey, sesame, cinnamon and clove. During the kneading they say: “Christ is born, light goes up, so as for the yeast to be ready”. Half the dough is used to make a round loaf and the rest of it to make a cross on the loaf. In the middle they put a walnut or an egg to symbolize fertility. The Christ’s bread is considered blessed bread that supports the life of the family. It is sliced during the Christmas dinner.

The New Year’s Pie and the Coin

The cutting of the New Year’s Pie (Vasilopita) is one of the few primitive customs still in use. During the celebrations in honour of Saturn (Kronia, Saturnalia), both in Ancient Greece and in Rome, they used to make pies, inside of which they used to put coins. The one that had the piece with the coin was considered lucky.

The orthodox tradition connected the same custom with the New Year’s Pie. So, every New Year’s Eve this pie is cut in front of the whole family by the family leader. The first piece is given to Christ, the second to the house and the rest of them to every family member. The owner of the piece with the coin is considered the lucky man of the year!

  

”Podariko”

Cretan people are famous for their hospitality, but the first day of the year they are extremely cautious about the person that enters first their house. This first entering is called “podariko” and they ask a lucky person or children that are innocent and goodhearted to come first in their house.

”The Good Hand”

One of the favourite customs for young children is the “Good Hand”. It is very common for people to give money to children (especially grandchildren and nieces and nephews) that visit a house on New Year’s Day. Some decades before, the “Good Hand” was the only present children used to get and sometimes it was only a treat, because there weren’t toy shops and people didn’t use to have much money.

Sea Onion for Charm

The sea onion (Scilla maritima) is a common Cretan wild plant that looks like a large onion. The animals don’t eat it, because it is poisonous and it can cause skin rush. Even out of the ground and hanged, it continues blossoming. People believe that its vital force can be passed onto them. That’s why they hang sea onions in their houses. This is an ancient custom for good luck, but nowadays it tends to disappear.