Santa Claus
Culture
This Christmas Tell Your Children the Real Santa Claus Story
guest -
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...
events
10 Christmas Villages to Open Across Athens
Ten Christmas villages with activities for children are to open in neighborhoods across Athens December 23-January 6.
Culture
Seven Christmas Customs That Are Uniquely Greek
Most Christmas customs like the Christmas tree, singing the carols or exchanging gifts that are observed in Western countries have become universal
Europe
The Real Face of Santa Claus – or Saint Nicholas – Recreated
Despite the many myths surrounding some Christmas characters, certain legendary figures are actually rooted in history, and Saint Nicholas, otherwise known as Santa Claus, is one of them. Scientists at Liverpool John Moores University used his skull to reconstruct...
Culture
Greece Celebrates the Real Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas
Greece celebrates Saint Nicholas, who according to the Christian Orthodox faith is the predecessor of Santa Claus, on December 6th.
The omnipresent, joyous, white-bearded man who dressed in red most of the time, became particularly popular in the 19th century,...
Ancient Greece
Saint Nicholas’ Tomb Unearthed in Turkey
The tomb of Saint Nicholas, also known as “Santa Claus,” and the floor on which he walked, inside the St. Nicholas Church in the town of Myra in today's southern Turkey have been unearthed by archeologists.
Living between 270 and...
Culture
The Historical Origins of Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas
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...
Greece
Thessaloniki Has Finally Located its Santa for 2019
Authorities in Greece's great city of Thessaloniki announced on Thursday afternoon that they had finally found the Santa for whom they had been searching for weeks.
Following weeks of casting, rehearsals, interviews and thorough ...Christmassy-type investigations, Greece's second-largest city has...
Greece
Greek Postal Service Has Santa's Helpers Answer Children's Letters
For the past 27 years, the Hellenic Post (ELTA) has offered a special service to children who send letters to Santa Claus: the kids get a reply letter from "Santa's helpers", telling them that their letter has been forwarded...
Greece
Touching Letter of Greek 8-Year-Old to Santa Claus
What would an average 8-year-old boy ask from Santa Claus for Christmas? A tablet, an iPhone, a PSX 2017, would be the normal guess.
But little Alexis is a fourth-grader in crisis-stricken Greece and his wishes are more modest, to...