Christmas customs in Syros
For Syros, as well as for whole Greece square of Hermoupoli
People decorate their houses with Christmas trees or a boat (which is more traditional) and they hang lights and decorations everywhere. They decorate their houses, their doors, their balconies or their gardens.
Some children send their letters to Santa Claus and they get their presents on Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve. Children usually sing carols in the street on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. They go from door to door and people give them money or sweets.
At Christmas the family eat together. They usually eat roast turkey or other kind of meat and they make traditional sweets such as “melomakarona”, “kourabiethes” and “diples”.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, the family have a feast again. They eat together and, at midnight, a few minutes after the changing of the year, they cut the New Year’s cake which is called “Vasilopita”. In the cake there is a coin. Whoever finds the coin in his or her piece is the “lucky” one of the New Year.
The same night whoever goes into the house first should use his or her right foot to get in! This is called “podariko” and they let the “lucky” one of the house do it(usually a child of the family)so that there will be luck in the house all through the year. They also break a pomegranate on the floor in front of their doors. The seeds that spread everywhere symbolize the thousands of good things that are going to happen to the family during the new year.
The 6 of January is the day of the Epiphany. It’s the day that Jesus was baptized in the river “Iordanis’. So the people in Syros gather near the sea where a priest throws a big cross in the water. Then a lot of young men dive in the water trying to find the cross. Whoever finds the cross is the “blessed” one of the year. He or she carries the cross on a tray and goes round the town all day so that everyone can get the blessing of the cross.
In the evening before the Epiphany, the children go round the town again singing carols. They are the only carols which are sung late in the afternoon as the sun is setting. Children carry lanterns with them which glow in the evening. The same day the priests go from house to house carrying a cross and a bunch of basil which they soak in blessed water and sprinkle in every room of each house in the town. This way every family gets the “blessing” of the New Year.
TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS RECIPES:
There are some traditional sweets that we make in Syros during the Christmas period. The most characteristic ones are “kourabiethes”, “melomakarona”, “diples” and “vasilopita”.
“Kourabiedes” are like round or egg-shaped cookies which are made with flour, milk butter, (which should be of very good quality), sugar, almonds and flower water. They are rolled in icing sugar and smell wonderful!
“Melomakarona” or “phoinekia” as they are called in Syros are made with semolina, flour, sugar, oil, orange juice, orange peel and brandy. They are flavoured with cinnamon and clove and they era given the shape of small cookies. After they are baked, they are put in thick syrop made with thyme honey and ground nuts.
“Diples” is another traditional sweet which smells of honey and cinnamon. They are made with flour, sugar, eggs and cinnamon. First we mix the ingredients and we get a thick batter. Then we fry them in very hot oil and they become like big crunchy crisps .We strain from the oil and pour honey and spread ground nuts all over them. They are delicious!
The most characteristic sweet of New Year’s Day is “Vasilopita”. Its name means the “pie of Saint Vasileios” because we celebrate Saint Vasileios’s Day on the first day of January. There are numerous variations for making the “Vasilopita”. The most favourite recipes are the “brioche” version and the “cake” version. In both versions you need flour, eggs, butter, sugar, orange juice, brandy, vanilla extract or mastic extract (for the brioche version), baking powder or yeast and in some cases nuts and raisins.
Of course you shouldn’t forget to put a coin in the dough before you get it in the oven. When it gets cold, it is iced with icing sugar and decorated with small Christmas ornaments. Some people write the number of the New Year on the surface, using chocolate or glaze.
This cake is cut just after midnight between the 31 of December and the 1 of January. In Syros , it is customary to cut the first pieces of “Vasilopita” for Jesus Christ, Saint Vasileios, Virgin Mary, “the poor man”, as well as one piece for the “house” of the family. After they have finished with these pieces, they start cutting one piece for every member of the family starting with the “lord” of the house( the father in the family) anticipating for the moment that someone will shout “I found it!” meaning that he or she has found the coin in their piece.
These are the most characteristic customs and traditional recipes about Christmas in Syros , Greece
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!
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