New Year's Day

Smashing a pomegranate on New Year’s Day is an Ancient Greek custom that continues to this day as the fruit is considered a symbol of good fortune.

The story of the Greek Orthodox custom of the Vasilopita, or the New Year's cake with a lucky coin inside, began in Asia Minor, and more specifically in the city of Caesarea in Cappadocia, more than 1600 years ago. This...

The city of Athens will welcome the New Year with live music at Syntagma Square on Saturday night and an all-night party with DJs at the Varvakeios Municipal Market. Festivities at Syntagma Square will start at 22:30, where...

Saint Basil is remembered by the Greek people as the figure who bore gifts and helped children and the poor at Christmastime.

Behind today’s mythical Santa Claus from the North Pole, is a real saint – St. Nicholas. How he came to be today’s gift-giving jolly figure from the North Pole is a fascinating story all by itself.  By Lisa Bitel Santa Claus...

The world knows Santa Claus as the symbol of Christmas, who brings kids toys, but he is actually a modernized version of Saint Nicholas, the devoted Greek bishop who lived in the fourth century in the Lycian town of...

A total of 932 Covid-19 cases were detected over the last day, according to an announcement by the Greek government on New Year's Eve.

Winter storm ''Zenobia'' might have begun to recede on Tuesday; however, a new cold snap is expected in the coming days, this time bringing more thunderstorms, freezing temperatures and snowfall to Greece. Most of the country began its New Year's Eve...

What is now a worldwide tradition, began exactly 100 years ago, in 1920, by Greek immigrant Peter (Pete) Pantages.

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...