If you happen to live in a city outside of Greece that has a large population of Greek diaspora, you may have noticed big parades of men proudly wearing skirts and carrying the Greek flag every March 25th (or some day close to it).
Continue reading March 25th: a Greek 2-for-1-Special Holiday
Last Sunday was a special day for my family. My new grandson was brought to church for the first time following the same kind of practice going back thousands of years. The same practice as when Jesus was brought to the synagogue when he was a baby.
Continue reading A Baby is Blessed
I’m not talking about beautiful sunsets, stunning wildlife, or Abe Lincoln’s likeness in a potato chip. I’m talking inexplicable, logic defying phenomena that emotionally moves you to the core. I do.
Continue reading Do You Believe In Miracles?
Ah, Great Lent. That multi-week period of time where every orthodox child develops a love-hate relationship with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
New Year’s celebrations seem to be rather universal. Parties with friends, booze with friends, food with friends, fireworks and/or gunshots with friends. You know… the usual.
Continue reading Happy New Year, the Greek Way
In the Eastern Orthodox faith, days that commemorate a particular saint, holy event, or the angels are called feast days. Is it called a feast day because there is a feast? No. Can food be part of the equation? Yes.
Continue reading Feast Days in the Orthodox Church
If a bunch of cows is a herd, if geese gather in gaggles, and seagulls fly in a flock, what do you call a bunch of Greeks? A good time, of course! With lots and lots of food. Lots of food. Did I mention that there’s food?
Continue reading A Gathering of Greeks
September 8th is the feast day of the Nativity (birth) of the Virgin Mary. In Greek Orthodox tradition, feast days are holy days that commemorate significant events related to the church. They may mark the births and/or deaths of saints, or other momentous occasions. This particular feast day marks the day that Orthodox Christians commemorate the birth of the Virgin Mary. In Greek she is called the Theotokos, or Mother of God.
Continue reading The Nativity of the Virgin Mary
As far as I can tell, Greeks in Greece don’t actually own pets. I will admit that this presumption is based on limited observations, but I’ve really never seen anyone there with the stereotypical pet. One of my cousins once had some small birds (parakeets, I think), but I just don’t recall ever seeing anyone with pets like dogs or cats. Now don’t get me wrong, cats and dogs are definitely there. They just don’t seem to “belong” to anyone.
Continue reading Greeks and their “Pets”
Mostly Greek 