Culture
Cultural expressions and ways of life, past as well as contemporary.
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Theophany
January 6th marks the Feast of the Theophany—a sign from God for Orthodox Christians in Greece—while serving as Christmas Eve in Serbia and Russia. It is worth remembering that more than 200 million Orthodox Christians worldwide celebrate Christmas on January 7th, as they follow the Julian calendar. Except… in Greece.
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South Side
As this year draws to a close, everyone agrees that Christmas 2023 feels “a bit like our Orthodox Easter”—in other words, a moment of spring. This impression is further reinforced by the mild weather, especially in the south, between the Peloponnese and the Aegean islands. “The Nativity, in all its Light,” as the priest in this Peloponnesian village puts it, in his own way.
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Christmas in Thessaly
Thessaly is a historic, largely agricultural region of Greece, situated in the northern part of the country—south of Macedonia and east of Epirus. Its vast plain is encircled by mountainous terrain, including Mount Olympus to the north and the expansive Pindus massif. As of December 2023, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, the region is part of the 14% of Greek territory currently covered in snow—a figure well above the average recorded since 2004.
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Christmas Pig
In every traditional culture, time is defined by the meaning it holds for human beings, in connection with the tasks they must carry out throughout the year. Life is paced by the cycles of day and night, the seasons, and the harvests. This relationship between humanity, nature, and weather conditions—along with the impact these factors have on the means of subsistence—largely shapes the unfolding of daily time, as well as the structure of the calendar, which is then termed “traditional”.
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Last book, final poem…
The first Greek Nobel laureate—Yórgos (or Georges) Séféris (1900-1971), the pen name of the poet and diplomat Yórgos Seferiádis—continued to surprise, captivate, and—when necessary—shake us, right up to the very end. It was during the regime of the Colonels (1967-1974) that Séféris died from post-operative complications on September 20, 1971; two days later, his funeral served as a major political demonstration. Once again, he defied the odds.
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Sixty years ago…
Sixty years ago, on October 24, 1963, a telegram from the Swedish Academy announced a major event: the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Yórgos Séféris—the pen name of the poet Yórgos Seferiádis (1900-1971), who was also a diplomat. The great Greek poet received the prize “for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture,” according to the Stockholm-based Academy. This first Nobel Prize for a Greek, awarded in 1963, holds one of the most illustrious places in the nation’s literature..