Spending Christmas Day...the Greek way!
You may commonly believe that Greece is a holiday destination only for the Summer, but nonetheless, next time you are trying to decide where to go on your Christmas holidays and still haven't made up your mind, do consider spending Christmas in Greece. Take this opportunity and learn about its seasonal traditions plus the delicious Christmas Day meal.
It is Christmas Day and you are luckily spending your Christmas holiday as a guest in a Greek home. Read on and discover what to expect as far as decorations are concerned, as well as, what will be served on the Christmas Day Greek table.
Almost every household across the country buys and decorates a Christmas tree a few days before Christmas which they will put away just after the Epiphany celebrated on the 6th of January. In some houses, especially if you are located on an island or an area near the sea, you will find a boat decorated instead of a tree. This is due to the fact that Greece has a long and glorious marine history and the country is today one of the world’s mightiest shipping nations. The boat is usually wooden, decorated with Christmas lights and placed as a centrepiece in the house’s living room.
The lady of the house will have made her best in order to present guests with an interestingly decorated Christmas Day table with a festive tablecloth and runners, cotton napkins and her formal dishware and cutlery for the occasion. In Greek houses we also see seasonal decorations using oranges, pomegranates, chestnuts and pine nuts plus plenty of mistletoe in bouquets.
Food-wise be prepared for a large feast with a variety of mouthwatering dishes, salty and sweet alike, which uphold age-old traditions and honour culinary customs. The absolute master, meat-wise, is definitely pork whose consumption is connected to festivities since the times of Ancient Greece. Lemon pork with celery is the most common recipe throughout the country but the lady of the house may also honour the "western" stuffed turkey too. As a starter, you will be served with egg-lemon chicken and rice soup called ‘soupa avgolemono”. Then, there are usually “yiaprakia” to continue with which are stuffed cabbage leaves with rice and minced meat. Salad-wise, the Christmas Day table will offer tzatziki, cabbage and carrot salad and lettuce salad toped with olive oil, olives and squeezed lemon. If you are not a great fan of pork and turkey, you may find that the lady of the house has also prepared roast lamb with sage and thyme too. If you are not a meat eater then opt for the salads and, of course, the numerous side dishes of home baked pies plus oven baked potatoes, as well as a selection of cheeses from the platter and freshly baked country bread which is always present on the Greek table.
After the Christmas Day meal, indulge in some Greek coffee or a glass of liqueur assorted with Christopsomo Christmas bread which is very popular across Greece, plus a large selection of sweet Christmas teasers such as "melomakarona" honey cakes, 'kourabiedes" almond short-breads and diples made of flour, honey and plenty of walnuts.
"Kala Christougena" - Merry Christmas!
