Religion
The population is 97% Greek Orthodox Christians together (with the remaining 3% of Catholics, Muslims and Jews). According to the history of Orthodoxy, was Paul who first came to the greek world to preach Christianity in 49AD. But the real founder of the Orthodox Church was the Emperor Constantine the Great, Christianity in the 4th century rebuilt. Officially separated and, as in all European countries, the State and the greek Orthodox Church, butGreek Orthodox Church has great power in Greek society.
Baptism
Children of Orthodox families are normally baptized shortly after birth. Orthodoxy sees baptism as more than a simple washing, but a rebirth. Baptism is by complete immersion because baptizo word "means" - in water. During the service, the water is blessed and the baby is completely immersed in water three times in the name of the Holy Trinity. After the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church a nameOrthodox Christian origin should be given to the child at his baptism. The child is anointed with olive oil and then in new clothes bought especially for this reason alone. Four hair from the baby's head in sign of the cross cutting. The role of parents is important to make God the child is unable to make the necessary confession of faith, are the sponsors and to accept responsibility.
Marriage
Within the Orthodox Church, marriageis seen as an act of God, which he justifies the connection of two men in one. Marriage in the Orthodox Church has two parts: the betrothal and crowning.
The commitment includes: The exchange of rings, the procession, the declaration of intent, and the lighting of candles. The priest blesses the rings keeps in his right hand and makes the sign of the cross on the head groom and bride. The exchange of rings symbolizes the inseparable from ChristianMarriage and the rings are placed in the right hands, because it is the right hand of God blesses him and the right hand of God, that Christ had risen.
The coronation includes: The readings of the Epistle and the Gospel, the blessing of the Cup of the town, the dance of Isaiah, and then the removal of crowns. The focus of the coronation ceremony is the exchange of wedding crowns (Stefana), which are connected by a ribbon to symbolize the unity of the couple and the presence ofChrist blesses and joins the couple and presents them as king and queen of their home. The priest takes the two crowns and blesses the bride and groom in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then set the crowns on their heads. The Koumbaro (best man), then steps behind the bride and groom and the flame goes out three times as a witness for the maintenance of the Union. Serve the wine is drunk by the couple from the cup common footprintthe couple from then on will share everything in life. While three of the priests sang hymns leading the spouses in a circle around the table (the dance of Isaiah), where the Gospel and the Cross are set. The circle symbolizes eternity and the circle three times in honor of the Holy Spirit. Walk To conclude the ceremony, the priest removes the crowns, ending a marriage.
There is no exchange of vows. There are a number of pendingfunctions of a married couple, and what they expect private affair, to maintain its responsibility. Finally there is the greeting of the couple. Divorce is rare in the Orthodox Church.
National Holidays
Before January - New Year
Sixth January - Epiphany
Orthodox recognize this as the day of the baptism of Jesus and that is the day on which the association with water from trees, so it is on this day, that the traditionalBlessing of water takes place. Part of the ritual is when the priest throws the cross in the cold waters in January and brave young men and freezing temperatures to dip in and recover. He places the lovers of the cross on the surface luck throughout the year.
30th January - Day Three Heirarchs
This festival commemorates the school of St. Basil, Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom, St even though each has its own special day to honorJanuary 30th individually, it pays tribute to collectively as the patron of education, as well as the fathers of the Orthodox and literacy training into account.
25th March - This day has a dual status as a national and religious holidays:
- The Feast of the Annunciation
Brands to announce the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary who was born to conceive a child of the Son of God
- Greek Independence Day
The celebration of the start ofGreek Revolution, when the Greeks rebelled against the oppressive Ottoman Empire which had occupied Greece for 400 years. After a long and bloody struggle finally was granted independence by the Treaty of Constantinople in 1832.
Easter
The greek Orthodox Easter on the Julian calendar while the Western church uses the Gregorian calendar, and so the festival does not usually pay the same day. Greek Orthodox Easter was the Sunday after the first fallfull moon of the vernal equinox and therefore the Easter holidays in terms of moving parts.
Green Monday
This is the first day of Orthodox Lent, which occurs at the beginning of the 7th Featuring weeks before Easter Sunday as a "clean" because Christians are called to begin the holy season with "clean heart and good intentions." Marks the beginning of Lent, a period when the Greeks to meat, fish, poultry andDiary. Families gather to celebrate the landscapes and beaches with a picnic outdoors and the widespread habit of kites.
Megali Evthomatha (Holy Week)
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and church services to commemorate the last week in the life of Jesus Christ every day.
Maundy Thursday
Thursday morning service commemorating the Last Supper and the betrayal of Christ and 'the day that the Greeks are preparing the eggs red. boiled eggs are dyed redWill the blood of Christ.
Good Friday - the procession of the funeral oration of Christ.
The epitaph is a large cloth embroidered with the image of Christ. On this day, Greek women and children to go to church to decorate the coffin symbolic (epitaph implementation), with flowers. Deposition of Christ is again adopted in the Church in the evening and resumed the epitaph of the church and carried through the streets in solemn procession.
Holy Saturday
SaturdayMidnight Mass is the celebration of Christ's resurrection. Everyone needs a spark off the Church. Shortly before midnight, the lights of the church are extinguished. At midnight, the priests come from behind with a lighted candle altar with the Holy Light of the Resurrection. He will say "anesti Christos" (Christ has risen), which is the answer "Alithos anesti" (Truly he is risen) and it is from someone in the church of candlelight and then the flamepassed from candle to candle, filling the church with light. The bells are ringing with joy and fireworks this year. The people return home with lighted candles in their care and their homes before entering into a cross with the smoke of candles at the entrance to bless his people. They feast on a thick soup of sweet Magiritsa Agnelli and herbs and crack the eggs red. Each person takes an egg and challengers attempt to break all the eggs. The owner of the lastuncracked egg is fortunate for the rest of the year saved.
Easter Day
Visits to relatives and friends and the Easter lunch, this is truly a feast is made will be shared. Roasted lamb on a spit in the middle of the table is accompanied by salad, rice, vegetables and bread. Retsina, Ouzo, and the flow of wine to ensure the celebrations that last all day and night.
Easter Monday
A day of low profile with all the preparation work and backSchool.
Before May - Labour Day
The day, organized a festival of flowers in many parts of Greece and many Greeks collect flowers, wreaths to hang their doors.
15th August - Assumption
The feast of Our Lady announced that it is the holiest day of summer ', as they move to heaven of the Virgin Mary does for her death.
28th October - Ohi
The famous "Day" No dictator in 1940 that the greek recalled IoannaItalian territory Metaxas rejected the application based on Axis dictator allow greek, then Greece in World War II by the Allies.
25th December - Christmas
Although the importance of winning, Christmas itself is not as important as Passover, the Greeks, like the belief centers around the resurrection, rather than birth or death of Jesus Christ.
December 26 - Boxing
Name Days
In Greece the name of a personDay is as important as her birthday is always celebrated. heavy emphasis on the child's name and the process of selecting a name follows fairly rigid conventions. Children are never for their parents, but in general, will no longer be named after their grandparents, with the oldest son of the family is after his paternal grandfather and the oldest daughter is named after the paternal grandmother named.
The names are mostly of religious origin. AfterGreek Orthodox tradition, nearly every day of the year is dedicated to the martyrs, a Christian or a saint. If someone takes its name from one of these saints on this day is his feast day is celebrated.
Some popular saint of days:
Seventh January - Yiannis / Yianna
10th January - Grigoris
17th January - Antonis / Antonia
Third February - Stamatis / Stamatia
10th February - Charalambous
25th March - Evangelos / Vangelis
15th April - Leonidas
23rd April -Yiorgos / Yiorgia
Fifth of May - Irini
21st May - Constantinos / Constantina / Eleni
29th June - Petros / Pavlos
Seventh July - Kyriaki
20th July - Elias / Eliana
24thJuly - Christina
August sixth - Sortiris / Sortira
15th August - Maria / Despina (married)
August 30th - Alexandros
14th September - Stavros / Stavroula
17th September - Sophia
29th September - Kyriakos
20th October - Artemis
23rd October - Iakovos
26th October - Dimitris / Dimitra
8th November -Michalis / Angelos / Gavriel, / Stamatis
14th November - Philippos / Philippa
21st November - Maria / Despina (unmarried)
30th November - Andreas
Fifth December - Savvas
Sixth December - Nikos / Nikolas / Nikoleta / Nikolina
27th December - Stefano / Stephania
Each island or area in Greece has a patron saint, and people living in that area often name the child after its patron saint, for example:
S. Dimitrios - Thessaloniki
S. Andrea - Patras
St Dionysus - Zakynthos
St.Gerassimos - Kefalonia
St Spyridon - Corfu
St Nectarios - Aegina
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