folklore

The Greek Ministry of Culture recently submitted an application to UNESCO in hopes that by the time of the traditional village celebrations of Epirus' Syrrako and Vlasti on August 15, they will be included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The...

The word Γούρι (Gouri) means both "good luck" and "good luck charm" in Greek. Objects and practices which have been considered to attract good luck are part of ancient customs that have existed through the ages -- and are...

A series of performances of Greek traditional dances will start on Sunday, August 18 in Athens and will continue until September 22. In central Athens' Philopappou Hill, at the ''Dora Stratou'' theater, performances will be held for five days every...

Breaking the pomegranate on New Year's Day is an Ancient Greek holiday tradition, with its origins in the Peloponnese or Serres, and later spreading over the entire nation. In Greek folklore, the pomegranate has served as a symbol of strength since...

One of the oldest customs Greeks follow with the advent of the New Year is called “podariko”, from the root pod-, or foot, roughly meaning “good foot.”  Loosely translated, this means that the person who first sets foot in your...

For many Greeks, the new year will not go well if they don't play cards on New Year's Eve. And if they do play cards and lose, then the new year will be full of bad luck. But if...

Merominia, a method of predicting the weather, dates back to antiquity and involves the observation and interpretation of weather phenomena. The name Merominia is derived from the words mera (day) and minia (months) and is based on the premise...

One of the most interesting customs of Greece is that of Klidonas, a tradition with ancient roots, that takes place on the feast day of Agios Ioannis (Saint John) on June 24. The feast includes jumping over fires, while...

"When tradition unites" was the title of the music and dancing event that took place in Mykonos on Saturday May 21. The event was a "meeting place" for the amateur dancing group of Mykonos "Oi Anemomyloi" and the students'...

This weekend from May 21 through May 23 the unusual ancient folklore and legend of fire-walking lives on in Greece. Dating back to Pagan times, Anastenaria is a traditional ritual of fire-walking celebrated in a few places in Northern Greece...