It's almost Christmas in Greece!

Kalanta

Last year in Egypt, we couldn't visit St. Catherine's Monastery at Sinai because it was closed for the Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7, the day we were there. I was kind of wondering if the Greek Christmas would also not be until January, since they are Orthodox here as well. But Christmas is on the 25th here, tomorrow.

This morning the kids of the neighborhood came around singing the Kalanta, Christmas carols. Traditionally they sang these to bless the house and keep away the Kallikantzari, little mischievous Christmas creatures that prey on people during the 12 days of Christmas (Dec. 25 - Jan. 6). The yule log was lit in the fireplace because these creatures (some thought they wore wooden or iron boots, better for kicking people) came into the house through the fireplace. So much for Santa!

Anyway, I found this little tidbit somewhere in one of the Orthodox websites (good thing I am not writing a paper, that was a terrible citation job):

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"Although Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25, some still use the Julian calendar ("old calendar") for their religious calendar. The Julian calendar is the predecessor to the Gregorian calendar ("new calendar") that is now the civil calendar of the western world. The Julian calendar is 13 days different from the Gregorian, so December 25 on the Julian calendar occurs on January 7 on the Gregorian calendar and Epiphany on January 19. Those who use the Julian calendar include the Churches of Jerusalem, Russia and Serbia, and the monasteries on Mt. Athos."

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An interesting side note: Mt. Athos, in Northern Greece, is a mountain that is home to around 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries. You can only access it by boat, and only men are allowed to go there. St. Catherine's in Egypt is also Greek Orthodox, one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world. Coptic Christians in Egypt, and some Eastern Orthodox countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, and I think the Armenian church celebrates on the 6th (all due to calendar changes).

All that to say, here I am, and Christmas is tomorrow, woohoo! It definitely feels different here without all the commercialism and frenzy of the Western Christmas. Here Easter is a much bigger deal (and they do celebrate Easter on the Orthodox date).