The National Herald...write “Καλά Χριστούγεννα” on the ornaments, or write...

The National HeraldDecember 26, 2009 - January 1, 2010

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CHRISTMAS 20092 THE NATIONAL HERALD, DECEMBER 26, 2009 - JANUARY 1, 2010

The National HeraldA weekly publication of the NATIONAL HERALD, INC.

(ΕΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΚΗΡΥΞ),reporting the news and addressing

the issues of paramount interest to the Greek American community

of the United States of America.

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We have beheld His glory, gloryas of the only begotten Son of theFather. John 1:14

To the Most Reverend Hierar-chs, the Reverend Priests and Dea-cons, the Monks and Nuns, thePresidents and Members of theParish Councils of the Greek Ortho-dox Communities, the Distin-guished Archons of the EcumenicalPatriarchate, the Day, Afternoon,and Church Schools, the Philopto-chos Sisterhoods, the Youth, theHellenic Organizations, and the en-tire Greek Orthodox Family inAmerica

Beloved Brothers and Sisters inChrist,

On this holy feast of the Nativityof our Lord Jesus Christ, we gatherin joyous celebration of the Onewho gives us rebirth and new life.We offer praise to God for Hisabundant grace and for His divineplan for our redemption and salva-tion. We do this in a manner that isfilled with beauty, honor and glory,as this is what is due to the com-memoration of a uniquely miracu-lous and wonderful event by whichGod became man and dwelt amongus.

Through our celebration of theNativity of Christ, our souls andminds are directed to contemplatethe glory of His Incarnation. Wehear and sing of this in the hymns

of the feast. We read the passagesfrom the Holy Scriptures that tell ofthe angels giving glory to God inthe highest and of the shepherds re-turning to their flocks glorifyingand praising God for all that theyhad heard and seen (Luke 2:14,

20).This glory of the Incarnation re-

vealed in the Nativity of Christ con-tinued throughout His life and min-istry as He took upon himself thechallenges of our human condition.His life in communion with God and

humanity was an exaltation of whathuman life was intended to be.Christ by word and deed showedthat the chains of sin could be bro-ken and the permanency of deathovercome. Through faith in Himand the salvation offered, we couldknow and experience a blessed lifeof peace and joy forever.

Further, the glory of the Incarna-tion was revealed through ourLord's message of grace and truth.This was not a message that wasdependent on the glory and mightof military victory. It was not asso-ciated with the earthly glory of po-litical power. The glory of the In-carnation was revealed through Hislove for us and through the Gospelof truth. He proclaimed, " I havecome that they might have life, andthat they might have it more abun-dantly " (John 10:10). In grace andtruth He offered to us the love ofGod. Into a world that was marredby animosity, greed, and pride, Hebrought a beautiful and enduringwitness of divine love; and into aworld burdened by deceit and vainpursuits, He proclaimed the truthand nature of our creation, our be-ing, and our relationship with God.

Finally, the glory of the Incarna-tion is revealed in the transformingpower of Jesus' presence. Whatwas lost in the Fall of Adam and Eveis found in His Incarnation and itsamazing consequences. Through

His appearance among us, our Lordleads us out of the darkness of eviland into the uncreated light of eter-nal truth. As He dwells with us, Heeffects our transformation from sinto holiness. As the Good Shepherd,He guides us from despair to hope.As the Incarnate Word of God, Heshows us the way to overcome ouralienation so that we might live infull and eternal communion withHim. As our Master, He leads usout of the wilderness and into par-adise.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters,On the day of our Lord's birth, theglory of His Incarnation was re-vealed to all of those who wereblessed to witness this unique andtranscendent act of God's love. Inour commemoration of this holyday, may we all bear witness to theglory of the Incarnation throughthe witness of what our Lord hasdone for us and by His loving andsaving presence in our midst. Mayour thoughts and words express theglory and honor that belongs to theOne who became flesh and dweltamong us (John 1:14). And mayour experience of the glory of HisIncarnation lead us to tell everyoneof what we have seen and heard sothat all will come and worshipHim.

With paternal love in Christ, † DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America

Archiepiscopal Encyclical on the Nativity of Christ 2009

200103/586

By Maria A. KaramitsosSpecial to The National Herald

It’s been a rough year all around,with many losing their jobs andothers in fear of a similar fate.

We all like to give at holiday time,but we need to watch our pennies.Before you say ‘humbug,’ read onfor some imaginative gift ideas tosatisfy everyone on your list. Noneed to cut your gift list – just be alittle more creative in your gift giv-ing. Many of these can be fun pro-jects to do with children. Giftsmade with your own hands, withlove and from the heart, are best ofall.

EDIBLE GIFTSThis category has a wide range

of applications. The question is,what’s your specialty? If it’s pastit-sio, why not make small pans ofpastitsio to give as gifts? That’s one

less thing the recipient has to makefor dinner or a holiday celebration.If it’s cookies or other sweets, whynot pack a box or cookie tin? Every-one loves homemade sweets, espe-cially at the holidays. Christopso-mo, the traditional Christmasbread, makes a nice gift too. Tie anice ribbon around it. People givefruit cake or Italian panettone atthe holidays, why not Greek holi-day bread? Going to a party? Takethis a step further and preparesomething for the hostess. Callahead to find out information ontheme or what else is being served.She’ll appreciate having a little lesswork.

HOMEMADE GIFTSOK, I know you’re thinking, I

can’t draw or sew, etc. There is somuch you can do! For general gifts,use fabric and felt to make Christ-mas placemats. Cut the fabric the

size of a placement. Cut out holi-days shapes with felt and glue themon, or have the kiddies draw them.Make Christmas stockings and putpeople’s names on them. Go to thecraft store, and buy ball ornamentsthat you can decorate. Use glitter,marker or paint, and then add apretty ribbon. Have a special photoof someone? Is there a place that isvery special to someone? Frame thephoto, or make a collage of photosand other pictures that reflect theirspecial place. This should inspiresome other ideas, and they’re all in-expensive. Kids’ drawings makegreat gifts too. Have them draw apicture especially for that person.Make crosses, make bookmarkswith religious verses on them,make a nativity scene – remindpeople the reason for the season.

Now for a hostess gift with aslightly different approach: givethe hostess a card and tell her you

are creating a special keepsake toremember the event. Take photosof the guests, buffet, décor, and es-pecially the hostess. Create a spe-cial photo book, and include a copyof the invitation if you receivedone. The hostess will love it.

To put a Greek twist on some ofthese ideas paint a Greek flag orwrite “Καλά Χριστούγεννα” on theornaments, or write people’s namesin Greek. Someone longing for thesea? Look online or in your own al-bums for photos of Greek beaches.Paste them on a board or framethem and give it as a gift. CreateGreek flash cards for kids, usingyour photos.

Have multiple generations liv-ing? Snap a photo of those three orfour generations in your family;frame, and you have a fantastic giftfor a very proud grand or great-

Great Christmas Gift Ideas on a Budget

Continued on page 17

CHRISTMAS 2009THE NATIONAL HERALD, DECEMBER 26, 2009 - JANUARY 1, 2010 3

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Most people around theworld equate Santa Clauswith Saint Nicholas. Popu-

lar legend proclaims that the origi-nal Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas,who we know to have been born inTurkey in the 4th Century. He wasvery pious from an early age, de-voting his life to Christianity. He be-came widely known for his gen-erosity for the poor. The Romansscorned him for these acts, forwhich he was imprisoned and tor-tured. When Constantine becameemperor of Rome, he allowedNicholas to go free. Constantine be-came a Christian and convened theCouncil of Nicaea in 325. Nicholaswas a delegate to the council. He isespecially noted for his love of chil-dren and for his generosity. He isthe patron saint of sailors, Sicily,Greece, and Russia. He is also, ofcourse, the patron saint of children.This is why so many equate himwith Santa Claus.

The Dutch are credited withkeeping the legend of SaintNicholas alive. In 16th century Hol-land, Dutch children would placetheir wooden shoes by the hearth inhopes that they would be filledwith a treat. (Perhaps the precursorto hanging Christmas stockings?)The Dutch spelled Saint Nicholas asSint Nikolaas, which became cor-rupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, inAnglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822,Clement C. Moore composed his fa-mous poem, "A Visit from St. Nick,"which was later published as"T’was The Night Before Christ-mas." Moore is credited with creat-ing the modern image of SantaClaus as a jolly fat man in a red suit.

So where does Saint Basil comein?

The Greeks associate gift-givingwith Saint Basil. Saint Basil is fond-ly remembered for his kindness andgenerosity to the sick and the poor,especially to children. Because hisfeast day is celebrated on January1, it is on this day that Greeks tradi-tionally exchange gifts.

Saint Basil was born in 330 ADin Caesaria, in Asia Minor. He wasone of six children, who all, inci-dentally, became saints of thechurch. His family, many of whichbecame bishops, priests and nuns,was said to be the greatest Christ-ian family of the 4th century. Hestudied in Constantinople andAthens and was one of the greatestwriters and speakers of the Ortho-dox Church. Though revered in allof Orthodox Christendom, he chose

to return to his hometown, and wasordained Bishop of Caesaria in 370AD.

Saint Basil composed rules formonastic life, which are still inpractice today. He prepared a Di-vine Liturgy, which now is celebrat-ed only 10 times a year, including:during the Lenten period, Christ-mas Eve, and on January 1, the an-niversary of his passing. He was thefirst bishop to establish orphanagesand homes for the elderly.

Few were ever bestowed the ti-tle, “Great.” Basil was given this ti-tle because he conquered thehearts and souls of men for JesusChrist. He dedicated his life andteachings to Christ. He passedaway on January 1, 379 AD, atthe age of 49.

Depending on the textconsulted, the remainderof the story differs. Ac-cording to the book,“Vassilopita: The Storyof St. Basil and theNew Year’s Cake,”by Anna Marini andtranslated andadapted by FatherStavros Kofinas,Julian theApostate, em-peror of theEaster Ro-man Empire,a l s oknown asB y z a n -tium, wasto passthrough Cae-saria on theway to Per-sia. Basil andthe people ofthe districtr e c e i v e dhim. Inci-dentally, Ju-lian andBasil hadb e e ns c h o o l -mates inAthens. Itwas cus-tomary forthe em-peror to de-mand gifts worthy of his royalty.Basil had nothing of value. He of-fered three loaves of bread madewith barley, which greatly insultedJulian. He ordered his servants tocut blades of grass and presentthem to Basil as a gift. Basil was in-sulted, and he was sure to point itout.

“Oh Emperor!” said Basil. “We

offered you gifts from among thethings we eat, just as you request-ed. As is fitting, your majesty hasrepaid us with gifts from among thethings that he eats.” Julian was fu-rious, and he swore, that upon hisreturn, he’d burn the city and takethe people of the district as his pris-oners. He would severely punishBasil for this act.

Basil returned to the city andtold the people of the impendingthreat. He advisedhis people tog a t h e r

their valuables inone place, and when the emperorneared, they’d throw armfuls ofthese goods at him. Since the em-peror was greedy and loved money,Basil was convinced the posses-sions would distract him and he’dneglect to carry out his threat.

The people followed Basil’s de-cree. They gathered all their gold,

silver and precious stones andplaced them in the sacristy. Hewrote the name of the owner oneach piece. When they learned ofthe emperor’s visit, Basil advisedeveryone to fast for three days. To-gether, they climbed Mount Didy-mos, and met in a church at thevery top, which was dedicated tothe Virgin Mary. They prayed toMary, and asked her to make theemperor change his mind. Basil

witnessed the holyarmy of angels

s u r r o u n dt h e

m o u n t a i n .

From the throne of the Virgin, heheard her say, “Send for SaintMerkourios.”

Merkourios appeared clad in ar-mor, and Mary ordered him to de-stroy the emperor. She then hand-ed Basil a book, describing the cre-ation of the world. At the begin-ning, the word “tell” was inscribed,

and at the end, was written, “theend.” After having this vision, Basilreturned to the city and went to thechurch of Saint Merkourios. Themartyr’s relics, which were keptthere, were missing. Basil wentback up the mountain to reassurethe people, and told them, that Ju-lian had no longer existed. He told

everyone what had hap-pened, and for theirgratitude, the peoplegave all their posses-sions to God who had

saved them. Basilpraised them, andreturned to them

one-third of theirp o s s e s s i o n s .With the rest ofthe money, hebuilt a hospi-tal, a homefor the elder-ly, a hosteland an or-phanage.

Thoughthis storyhas passedon, accord-ing to Fa-ther Kofi-nas, hestated inthe bookthat a sec-ond ver-sion of thestory devel-oped, whichexplainedthe story of

the Vasilo-pita.

VasilopitaO t h e r

texts, as wellas folk legendtell of a crueln o b l e m a nfrom Cap-

padocia (somesay Em-

p e r o rValens)went toB a s i l

and de-m a n d e d

all the city’streasures, or he’d destroy the

city. The people of the districtbrought Basil all of their gold jewel-ry. The bishop prayed through thenight for the city to be saved. In themorning, this nobleman arrivedand his soldiers surrounded thecity. The nobleman went to thechurch and found Basil waiting forhim outside. He was pale and weak

from fasting. The nobleman de-manded the city’s wealth. Basil ex-plained that the city’s wealth wasthe poor and hungry people, whosuffered at the hands of the rich.The nobleman threatened Basil. Hesaid he’d take all of Basil’s posses-sions. “If you think you have foundriches here,” Basil told him, “lookall you want. All I have is the robe Iam wearing.”

The nobleman threatened to puthim in chains and then kill him.Basil basically told him to goahead, so then he’d return to his“homeland in heaven.” Enraged,the nobleman ordered an attack ofthe city. “Your greediness will de-stroy you,” Basil said.

Basil then showed him a largechest that contained the gold. Be-fore the nobleman could see whatwas inside, a horseman, bathed inradiant light, rode up with soldiers.The nobleman and his army van-ished and never returned. Thehorseman is said to have been SaintMerkourios. All praised God.

Basil knew he had to return thepossessions to the people, however,he feared that greed would takethem over and they would try toclaim the gold of others as well. Heprayed and prayed, and came upwith a solution. He called hishelpers to bake small loaves ofbread, and to put a few pieces ofgold inside each loaf. He then dis-tributed them to the faithful, andwhen the loaves were cut, eachfamily found their valuables. In re-membrance of this event, we bakebread on New Year’s Day and in-clude a coin or piece of jewelry in-side.

Since we commemorate SaintBasil on January 1, it is that daythat Greeks typically exchangegifts, rather than Christmas Day.

New Year’s Tradition Among the platters of sweets,

plus dried fruits and nuts, the NewYear’s table always includes Vasilo-pita. This bread is placed in the cen-ter of the table to honor Saint Basilthe Great. The cake is dedicated tohim and also referred to as “royalbread.”

All the guests are to gatheraround the table. The head of thehousehold will cross himself, andpray to God to bless the food anddrink present. He then lifts theVasilopita, kissed it, and may pass itaround for everyone else to kiss itas well. When the bread returns tohim, using a knife, he makes thesign of the cross over the bread.The cake is cut into pieces. Some

Saint Nicholas or Saint Basil?



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Βest wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year

to our friends and all Hellenes

Merry Christmas

201274/144


HELLENIC SOCIETY PAIDEIAΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ ΠΑΙ∆ΕΙΑ

Centers for Hellenic Studies Paideia

Center for Hellenic Studies PaideiaUCONN campus

28 Dog Lane, PO BOX 818, Storrs, CT 06268Tel/Fax: (860)429-8518 • Email: [email protected]

www.paideiaonline.org3780/514

December 2009

Dear Friends of Hellenic Studies in America:

During this special holiday season, we write to you to wish you healthand happiness and to thank you for your continued support and dedicationto the noble mission of Hellenic Studies in America. You would be glad toknow that your support gives life to a host of valuable Paideia programshere and in Greece. Specifically, the Center and the Chapel on theUniversity of Connecticut campus continue to host programs that highlightthe Greek Language and Culture. Paideia has expanded programs onUniversity campuses across the country and to most well knownUniversities in Greece. Also, Paideia continues to expand its languageprograms in high schools. The high school teachers have a deepappreciation of Greek learning and many of them participate in anenrichment program in Greece sponsored by Paideia.

Paideia’s College Study Abroad in Greece Program experienced a rapidgrowth. Last year, approximately 500 attended a summer, winterintersession, semester or a full-year program at the Aristotle Universityand the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, the University of theAegean, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, at theNational Center for Marine Research in Rhodes. The significance of theseprograms conveys an idea of how far we have come over the years.

We are now working for the most significant phase in Paideia’s history.The Open Air Classical Greek Theater at University of Connecticut and The

Center for Hellenic Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Both projects

have entered the construction stage . At UCONN half of the theater

construction has been already completed in a joint effort with

Pangregorian Organization of Connecticut. At URI in a joint effort with

PanRodian Society of America “Apollon”, Greek Orthodox Churhes and

Organizations of RI, footings and concrete foundations walls are being

erected. A Theater, together with an Educational Building and a Greek

Orthodox Chapel, will constitute one of the most significant educational

and cultural complexes of Hellenism and Orthodoxy in an academic

campus out of Greece. It will be a site to behold and will serve as an

example for other Greek-American communities to emulate, for other

Hellenic Studies Programs to repeat.

As you celebrate these Holy Days, please consider making a contribution

to Paideia so that the UCONN Theater can be completed by the target date

of September 2010 and the URI Center for Hellenic Studies by fall 2012.

Please mail your donation for UCONN or URI Center for Hellenic Studies

at 28 Dog Lane, Storrs, CT 06268.

Please remember that everything Paideia achieved thus far is due to

your loving support.

Our wishes to you and yours for A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy

and Healthy New Year.

May all your wishes come true!

By Angelike ContisThe National Herald Staff Writer

“The biggest Christmas Treein Europe”. At some pointafter I’d moved to Greece

in the late 1990s, this is how theCity of Athens referred to the “tree”it erected each year, amongst greatfanfare, in Syntagma Square.

Over the decade I lived inAthens, it was rarely an actual tree,as in a green, balsam-smellingthing. Most years, it was a metallicbehemoth with synthetic green“branches” and lights. Each year,the tree was different, making youwonder what happened to the pre-vious year’s tree. Was there a placesomewhere outside Larissa, for in-stance, where there was “TheBiggest Christmas Tree Forest inEurope”? Or were the trees sent toother E.U. countries, in a rotatingcycle of holiday cheer?

But nobody else seemed to com-plain and Athenians delighted intheir tree. Syntagma square was al-so transformed into a little Christ-mas village on some years, com-plete with synthetic snow and littlewooden houses. As Christmas ap-proached, music was piped overthe loudspeakers and concertsabounded. Trolleys flashed “KalaXristougenna” (Merry Christmas),delaying your reaction time forhopping on the right vehicle.

While Christmas may be a tadless commercial in Greece than inthe United States, a little distanceoff, on Ermou street, shopping waswell under way. People haulingbags pushed in and out of shops,running up credit card debt. (Banksfueled this trend by offering “holi-day loans”.) Though friends ex-changed small gifts, shoppers werefocused on finding the perfect out-fit for upcoming parties; evenwomen who dressed conservativelywere tempted by sequined, gaudyget-ups.

Shop windows were decoratedwith all the familiar Western glit-tery snowflakes and portly Santas –but there were also traditionaltouches like decorated boats. Sea-sonal shops popped up each year,selling ornaments that were in-evitably 100 percent Made in Chi-na. Kiosks sold cards for good caus-es, such as the Spastics Society andUNICEF.

Though Westernized visions ofChristmas, like Santa hats andChristmas lights, have made in-roads, Greek society continues toemphasize New Year’s as the maintime for celebration. One of my fa-vorite Christmas gifts for family in

the U.S. were flouria, or the charmsthat used to be baked in the vasilo-pita bread. Today, flouria are toofancy to bake –often made of goldor silver, with ribbons. (Vasilopita-cutting rituals are a big deal atGreek offices and often spill intoFebruary.) Some of the most beauti-ful flouria featured doves or pome-granates.

Athens often empties for Christ-mas, as urbanites flee the capitalfor wintry destinations like skitown Arahova and Pilion or theirfamilial villages. “The Great Exo-dus” and “Great Hassles (Talepo-ria)” are the titles of news reportsabout the traffic.

We made a tradition of spendingas much time as possible in thecoastal town of Iria, in the Argolid,where my parents have purchasedand renovated an old schoolhouse.The neighbors would treat us to big

bags of mandarins and orangesfrom their groves – and then give usfunny looks when we said we didn’tmind the stone house’s lack of heat.After all, if our hats and Nemeawine didn’t warm us enough, therewas always a space for us by thefireplace of our friends down theroad.

We enjoyed the seaside life, but Ifound Christmas in the Pelopon-nese somewhat stark. We oftendrove to my father’s village, aboutan hour away, in the higher eleva-tions near Tripoli. Yes, my auntsdecorated their home with a littleartificial tree and ornaments andTheia Voula made even larger ver-sions of her already super-sizedkourambiedes (sugar cookies), butthings were quiet. My aunts main-tained a strict fast before Christ-mas. Like many Greeks, they alsodidn’t emphasize gift-giving. Some-

times, Theia Dina would presentme with a little present, but therewas no pressure to make it amandatory ritual. There was alsothe timing of the Christmas mass –a chilly 5am! The first time I heardthe church bells summoning us tothe service, it was an un-jollyshock.

In the old days, villagers wouldslaughter pigs before Christmas, forwhat was often a rare meat dinner.Today, meat dinners are easier tocome by. The peak of Christmas atmy aunts’ house was always a biglunch. There were also plenty ofchats by the woodstove as wepeeked out the kitchen window atthe sometimes snow-covered ceme-tery on the hill that was lit up withlights for the holidays.

Receiving carolers clearly madethe holidays for my aunts’ genera-tion. They would beam as the few

remaining youngsters in the villagewould visit, banging triangles andsinging. Today, children accept eu-ros; when my father was a child inthe 1940s, the boys would accept acup of wheat, an orange or somenuts – often filling up huge sacks.

In Greece, children enthusiasti-cally take place in caroling on bothChristmas and New Years. Back inAthens, I often stopped kids mid-song to pay. It may sound Scrooge-like, but the children looked re-lieved, as they had many morestops to go. Every year, news storiesemerged of bullies stealing smallercarolers’ considerable profits. I wassurprised, the first time he ap-peared, of yet another kind of holi-day visitor at my door– the localsanitation worker. These non-singing visitors collect an annualtip during the holidays.

When in the Argolid, we often

visited nearby Nafplio town to shopfor food and shop for small gifts. Itwas easy to discern the Athenians.During the holidays, locals wouldshout boisterous greetings rightand left, while the city-slickerswould gush on cell phones, some-times quite obvious in their at-tempts to make the person on theother end of the line jealous. Whilethe rosy-faced Nafpliote menwould allow their jackets to flyopen, their Athenian counterpartstended to have their long coats but-toned up and scarves wrappedtight.

Back at the schoolhouse, therewere few carolers, though friendsfrom Athens often visited. For me,the holidays were also a key oppor-tunity to pursue my hobby- pickingolives. As I worked on the trees inthe back, I noticed that the foreignfarm workers next door worked re-gardless of the holiday.

We usually returned to Athensfor New Years, because it was – asone socialite friend liked to remindus – the time of year with “the mostimportant parties of the year”. Af-ter spending a few New Year’s evesinching through traffic, we stoppedseeking out “important parties”,and opted instead for those inwalking distance.

New Year’s Eve in Greece – as inother countries – was punctuatedby fireworks and champagne. Andas soon as the year changes, every-one is on their cell phones. (Later,they’ll smash pomegranates bytheir door for good luck.) Openbottles of alcohol are OK there, so ifyou were out with friends, chanceswere that someone in your “parea”had a champagne bottle you’d bepassing around. What is also social-ly OK – much more sadly - is drivingdrunk. Though “alchotests” (al-chohol tests by police) are on therise, I remember seeing cars slidingall over the road as if they were onblack ice on many New Year’s Eves.

This sobering thought aside,happy memories of the holidays inGreece bubble in my mind as Iwrite. One image that predomi-nates is walking home from myfriends’ place after celebrations andmorning breakfast together on Jan-uary 1, 2000. I was slightly limping(from dancing) but also grinning inthe knowledge that we’d squeezedthe night out to its last drop. A rosylight was dawning on beautiful/ug-ly Athens. Our conversations aboutour dreams and plans for the newmillennium still echoed in my ears.

KAI TOU XRONOU!(TILL NEXT YEAR)

The Holidays in Today’s Greece

CHRISTMAS 2009THE NATIONAL HERALD, DECEMBER 26, 2009 - JANUARY 1, 2010 7©

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Wishing you peace, joyand happiness

this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

A Friend


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Many things that we havecome to identify with Christ-mas have Greek and Christ-

ian roots. Let’s take a look at some ofthem.

CHRISTMAS COMES FROMGREEK

It is said that the word Christ-mas originates from the Olde Eng-lish "cristes masse," which means"Christ's mass." The name Christ,however, traces its origins to theGreek language, which was the lan-guage spoken by Christ himself.The Greek form of the work wasΧριστός, (Christos), which means,"anointed one."

ABBREVIATION THEN STEMSFROM THE GREEK

Christmas is sort of a long word,so at some point, someone devisedan abbreviation: X-mas. The originof X-mas is the use of the Greek let-ter “X” (chi), which is the first letterof the word Χριστός, “Christos,”meaning Christ. Early Christians allunderstood this, since Greek was

the official language of the educat-ed as well as that of the church. Lat-er Christians didn’t understand themeaning, and found it disrespect-ful, so it never became widespread,though many use it today, not real-izing why.

So the next time you say, “X-mas,” know that you aren’t beingdisrespectful – you’re using the ear-ly Christian shorthand!

CHRISTMAS CAROLS WITHGREEK ORIGIN

The word “carols” originatesfrom a Greek dance, calledχοράυλην, (choravlein), meaning adance accompanied by flute music.The dance became popularthroughout Europe, particularlywith the French, who replaced theflute accompaniment with singing.Carols were then sung severaltimes a year. By the 1600s, carolswere only sung at Christmastime.Most popular Christmas carolswere written in the 1700s and1800s.

The Greek carols, called kalanta,are traditionally sung by childrenon the day and evening beforeChristmas and New Year’s.

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMASOrthodox Christians observe the

“Dodekaimeron,” or 12 holidaysbetween Christmas and Epiphany.These days are very special days.Some say this tradition of 12 daysled to the idea for the creation ofthe popular Christmas song, “The12 Days of Christmas.”

CANDY CANE AN ODE TOCHRISTIAN ROOTS

The delicious red and whitestriped candy we all know and lovewas created with religion in mind.The candies had been around forcenturies, however, it wasn’t untilthe 1900s that they were paintedred and white, and bent in theshape of a cane. One story tracesback to a candy maker in Indiana,who wanted to tell the story ofChristmas using candy as his sym-bol.

He incorporated several sym-bols of Christ's love and sacrificethrough the candy cane. He select-ed a plain white peppermint stick.The color white symbolizes the pu-rity and sinless nature of Jesus.Then, he added three small stripesto symbolize the pain inflicted up-on Jesus before His death on thecross. There are three of them torepresent the Holy Trinity. Headded a bold stripe to represent theblood Jesus shed for mankind.

He bent the candy for several

r ea sons .W h e nlooked atwith thecrook on top,

it invokes theimage of ashepherd'sstaff, whichsymbolizes

Jesus asthe shepherd of man. Whenturned upside down, it resem-bles the letter “J,” symboliz-ing the first letter in Jesus'name. The candy makermade these special candycanes for Christmas, so allwould remember whatChristmas is all about.

A UNIQUELY GREEKLEGEND - EVIL

CHRISTMAS ELVESAn old legend re-

volves around theKallikantzari, orKallintzari, whowere like elves,though not so nice.Rather, they wereevil, hairy crea-tures, which cameout on the nightbefore Christmasto make it a liv-ing hell. Theywould come in-to the homesthrough thechimney, putout the fire,s c r e a m ,steal food,sour themilk, andeven rideon people’sbacks and kickthem. While children in the Westwent to bed thinking of Santa andpresents, children in Greece wentto bed in fear of the kallikantzari.

It’s believed that the legend ofthe kallintzari dates all the wayback to the ancient god Dionysusand his half man, half animal ser-vants, the Satyrs.

It was even believed that if aman was born on Christmas day, hewas doomed to become akallikantzari at some point in hislife.

Kallikantzari appear only duringthe 12-day (Dodekaimeron) period

between Christmas andEpiphany. They are said to

emerge from the cen-ter of the earth, and

enter a home throughthe chimney. Inciden-tally, isn’t that howSanta gets into ourhomes? Hmmm.However, the fire istypically kept burningall day to keep them

out.Another method for

keeping thekallikantzari out in-volves a bowl of waterand some basil. Tradi-tionally, as the main sym-

bol of the season, there is abowl filled with water, anda piece of wire suspendedover the top. A sprig of basilis wrapped with a smallwooden cross, and hung

from the wire. The waterkeeps the basil fresh.

Once a day, a member of thehousehold, typically the mother,dips the basil in some holy water

and sprinkles it throughout thehouse, to keep the kallikantzariaway.

Surely, there are more parallelsfrom Greek and Christian lore tocurrent tradition. Many of thesestories are based on legend, so per-haps you have heard a different sto-ry. Nonetheless, they are fun storiesto share at this time of the year.

Popular Christmas Legends have Greek and Christian Roots

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Joyous Holiday Season

and a Peaceful New Year!

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By Angelike ContisThe National Herald Staff Writer

“Ho,ho, ho,” is not ut-tered by just any-one. A select

group of men have not only utteredthe words, but “been” Santa Clausfor youngsters’ benefit. We peekedbehind the beards of a couple ofthem, to hear about the experience.

“You can always find padding,but you can’t find a good disposi-tion,” says Andrew Yiannakos.Jolliness is just as important asbody type, he says, adding: “I’m nolightweight.” Mr. Yiannakos hasbeen Santa at countless Christmasparties at Brooklyn’s St. Constan-tine and Helen Cathedral since1980.

Mr. Yiannakos started out with a$19.99 outfit from a departmentstore. But unsatisfied with “fakebuttons and cheesy cotton balltrim”, he worked his way up to a$200-250 costume, plus a “pricybeard and wig ensemble”.

A good outfit is key when chil-dren start doubting and probingthe entire Santa proposition – andjolly Santa himself. Eight is thetricky age when this begins, Mr.Yiannakos has observed. But he’salso seen adults become upsetwhen they receive a broken candycane. “People are kids at all ages,”he now believes.

The reactions on children’s facesmake it all worth while, Mr. Yian-nakos says, adding, “especially

when young kids are absolutelyblown away.” When it comes to giftrequests, however, he has a rule:“You absolutely can’t make anypromises.”

When a child starts specifyingwhat they’d like, he just informsthem: “Your job is to make sureyou’re a good boy or girl. My job isto pick the presents.” He advises, “Agood Santa should control the con-versation.”

Santa Yiannakos, who is a tech-nology project manager at an in-vestment bank “in the North Pole”,says he may reprise his role at St.Constantine and Helen this year –though a younger Santa is also be-ing considered.

Brooklynite Lou Chougranes al-so plays the role of Santa, but not ina suit. Each year, he loads up his carfull of toys for his niece andnephew – and drives to his sister’shouse on Christmas Eve. The chil-dren are sleeping when he arrives,because his sister tells her six andfour year old: “If you don’t sleep,Santa Claus won’t come.” Whenthey wake up, however, the giftsare there.

“It’s tradition,” says Mr.Chougranes, who teaches teenswith developmental disabilities at aRockland County public school. Headds, “It reminds me of the joy Ihad on Christmas morning whenI’d see the presents. I rememberscreaming in the house, ‘He came!He Came!’”

The teacher’s grandfather, EliasChougranes, used to dress up like

Santa Claus every year for his sixgrandchildren. “We knew it was Pa-pou,” recalls Mr. Chougranes of hisgrandfather, who immigrated tothe United States when he was 12and was “very Americanized”. Afterall, their Papou had lean figure andhe didn’t arrive on Christmas Eve.Perhaps also his outfit and longwhite beard were a little differentfrom other Santas. But the cousinsappreciated the special gifts, suchas board games, he brought foreach.

Today his grandfather’s red-and-white costume is “tucked away inthe attic”, says Mr. Chougranes.The family has 8mm films of Pa-pou’s Christmases too.

Mr. Chougranes will do his bestto help his niece and nephew con-tinue to believe. He notes: “Theyhave an older cousin, who’s 11. Heno longer believes in Santa Claus.”The adults have convinced thecousin not to say anything to theyounger ones.

During the holidays, theteacher’s thoughts return to his stu-dents, especially those who live ingroup homes. “It makes me thank-ful for having a loving family andhaving family that nurtured andloved me when I was their age,” Mr.Chougranes notes, adding: “I don’ttake anything for granted.” Hepoints out that those who’d like tohelp out children like his studentscan volunteer their time or moneyto the Special Olympics, the Associ-ation for Retarded Citizens andBest Buddies.

By Angelike Contis The National Herald Staff Writer

Want to adopt a brown bear?How about buy a cute T-shirt or calendar advertising

a Greek cause? Charities in Greeceoffer a host of presents, benefitingchildren in trouble and the country’simperiled flora and fauna alike. Hereare a few ideas of items that can bepurchased from afar in the New Year.

CHILDREN’S CHARITIESCerebral Palsy Greece – One of

actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ favoritecharities has an extensive Internetcatalogue of Christmas cards, orna-ments, calendars, New Year’s“flouria” charms. There are alsonon-seasonal, tasteful items in thecatalogue such as tote bags, worrybeads and mugs. Order forms areavailable online to be faxed ormailed. (117 M. Argyroupoli16452, Tel. 210-965-0916, Fax.

210-963-7124, www.eps-ath.gr)

MAKE-A-WISH GREECEThe Greek branch of the interna-

tional nonprofit has helped over 500children in Greece facing seriousmedical problems make a dreamcome true since 1996. You can pur-chase their bilingual cookbooks anddiaries, a line of attractive bags - andeven yoyos - all at affordable prices.A catalogue of previous years’ giftitems can be downloaded onlinefrom their website. ( Tel +(30) 210-9637-660, www.makeawish.gr)

The Smile of the Child- ToHamogelo Tou Paidiou is one ofGreece’s most successful charities,with offices in Athens and through-out the country. It is committed tohelping children in trouble, includ-

ing abused and missing children. Ontheir website, shoppers can find arange of products, from colorful bathand beach towels with the nonprof-it’s logo to “bobonieres”(wedding/baptism favors). The or-ganization also sells Greek Christ-mas cards. (16 Stournari St., Athens106 83, Tel +(30) 210-330-6140,www.hamogelo.gr)

ENVIRONMENT/ANIMALCHARITIES

Arcturos – This non-profit orga-nization is best known for its cam-paigns to protect the 250 Greekbrown bears remaining in northernGreece. Arcturos, which also main-tains an animal refuge, offers peoplethe chance to support a bear for 50euros/yearor to become a guardian –for 200 euros/year - of bears like

Tasoula and Duke. You can also pur-chase items from baby’s onesies tofleece jackets with Arcturos’ hand-some logo. (3 Rogoti St., Thessaloni-ki 54624, tel +(30)2310-555920)

Hellenic Ornithological Organi-zation – Support Greece’s richbirdlife by buying stuffed birds, pins,notebooks or sweatshirts from thecountry’s only nonprofit devotedsolely to the protection of wild birdsare their habitats. (24 Vas. IrakleioSt., Athens, 10682, Tel/fax. +(30)210 8228704, www.ornithologiki.gr)

Nine Lives – A small but devotedgroup of Greek and internationalvolunteers feed 150 stray cats in cen-tral areas of Athens every day. Theyalso spay/neuter every new cat thatis dumped there and try to find lov-

ing homes for as many as possible. Ifyou’d like to support their worth-while efforts, purchase Nine Lives’2010 calendar, featuring plenty of fe-line pinup beauties. (For more info:www.ninelivesgreece.com).

Peliti – Support Greece’s impor-tant “arc” of native seed varieties, bypurchasing a 2010 calendar (15 eu-ros, including shipping). Founded in1995 in northern Greece’s Drama re-gion by Panagioti Sainatoudis, theorganization has established an ex-change of heirloom varieties of seedsand animals. Thousands of farmerstake place in an annual swap of thesevarieties, going against the tide ofimporting engineered seed varietiesin order to preserve the country’srich biodiversity. Peliti needs yoursupport this year, as they purchased

their own small tract of land in 2009.(Mesochori, Paranestiou Post Office,66035, Tel. +(30) 25240-22059,www.peliti.gr)

WWF – The World Wildlife Fundhas a full Christmas catalogue ofgifts on their website, includingstuffed animals (available atwww.iristoys.gr) and Greek-lan-guage books (sold at www.kastanio-tis.gr). Because these items are dis-persed at various shops, it might on-ly be convenient to shop WWF prod-ucts if in Greece. (26 Philellinon St.,Athens, 10558, Tel. +(30) 210-331-4893, www.wwf.gr).

Note: With some charities youcan pay by credit card. Others re-quire bank transfers, which can haveextra expenses involved. Check witheach, before ordering, about howlong it takes to receive products andwhat the extra shipping costs andshipping time is expected to be.

Being Santa

Greek Charity Gifts, Year-Round

Andrew Yiannakos with wife Thalia, and Santa.


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A Very Merry

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A Happy, Peaceful

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New Year


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Merry Christmasand a Happy Healthy

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By Eleni KostopoulosThe National Herald Staff Writer

For some of us this holiday sea-son, financial concerns loommore so than other times of

the year. Managing to afford giftsfor our loved ones can be a chal-lenging venture. But the economicrecession also reminds us that it’smore important than ever to helpthose around us, those whoseshortcomings far exceed any frus-trations we may deal with in dailylife. More than any other group ofindividuals who could benefit fromour help, are indeed the most help-less: children.

PEDIATRIC CANCERIn the United States in 2007, ap-

proximately 10,400 children underage 15 were diagnosed with cancerand about 1,545 children will diefrom the disease, according to can-cer.gov. On average, one to twochildren develop the disease eachyear for every 10,000 children inthe United States. Among the 12major types of childhood cancers,leukemias (blood cell cancers) andcancers of the brain and centralnervous system account for more

than half of the new cases. Aboutone-third of childhood cancers areleukemias. The most common typeof leukemia in children is acutelymphoblastic leukemia. The mostcommon solid tumors are brain tu-mors (e.g., gliomas and medul-loblastomas), with other solid tu-mors (e.g., neuroblastomas, Wilmstumors) being less common.

RONALD MCDONALD HOUSEHELPS

Organizations, like Ronald Mc-Donald House of New York, haveserved as pillars to families goingthough deeply emotional and fi-nancial distresses. The Greek Divi-sion of Ronald McDonald Housebegan in 1979, with the partner-ship of President Emeritus VivianHarris and Mrs. Niki Sideris. Mrs.Sideris has since raised substantialfunds for children and families des-perate for hope (Greek and non-Greek alike) because she believesthat “pediatric cancer does not rec-ognize differences in nationality,race or religion.”

The Ronald McDonald House iswhat many refer to as a home awayfrom home. According to the orga-nization’s Web site (rmdh.org), “For

these families Ronald McDonaldHouse is an oasis of acceptance, un-derstanding and caring. The Houseprovides a safe, affordable and sup-portive environment in which fami-lies can meet and share experienceswith other families in similar cir-cumstances. English lessons are of-fered to help overcome languagebarriers. The children share birth-days and holidays. They can createarts and crafts, learn to play an in-strument or join in game and movienights. Volunteers accompany thechildren and families on tripsaround New York City to museums,sporting events and performances.All of these activities help return tothese children some of the sense ofchildhood that cancer has tried totake away. Medical experts in thefield of pediatric oncology agreethat the Ronald McDonald programplays a key role in the children's re-covery process.” Since the foundingof the Greek Division thousands up-on thousands of Greek childrenhave stayed at the House.

FUNDRAISING EVENTSThe Ronald McDonald House

Greek Division held its annualChristmas party on Monday, De-

cember 7, at the historic BohemianNational Hall, located on the sameblock as the Ronald McDonaldHouse on New York's Upper EastSide, in order to protect the chil-dren staying RMH from possible ex-posure to the H1N1 influenza virus.During her address, Mrs. Siderisdiscussed the passion and inner firenecessary to create the philan-thropic institution that hosts pedi-atric cancer patients from Greeceand Cyprus in New York while theyundergo treatment.

If your company would like toplan a philanthropic event, consid-er organizing a fundraiser to bene-fit the House in New York. Yourcompany’s employees can helpmake a difference by organizingevents such as golf outings, dancesand block parties throughout theyear.

2009 marks the 30th Anniver-sary of the creation of the Greek Di-vision of Ronald McDonald Houseof New York and for Mrs. Sideris’,more than 20 years as the Division’sChairman. For more informationon the Greek Division, and how youcan help, please contact Mrs. NikiSideris at 212.639.0100 [email protected].

By Eleni KostopoulosThe National Herald Staff Writer

What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year? Clothes? Elec-tronics? Something luxuri-

ous for your home? What about thesimplicity of…company?

For the 58 residents at St.Michael’s Home for the Aged inYonkers, NY, two of whom are 100years-young, the greatest holidaypresents are the presence of others.

“[The residents] don’t want an-other dress or another scarf; the mostimportant thing to them is interac-tion with others,” Bishop Andonios ofPhasiane, director of the Home, toldThe National Herald.

“They especially enjoy whenyoung children visit because it re-minds them very much of theirgrandchildren- it’s as if they are theirgrandchildren.”

For years, the New York State - De-partment of Health certified residen-tial adult care facility under the aegisof the Greek Orthodox Archdioceseof America, has received hundreds ofvisitors from youth organizations,

community groups and individualand crowds of volunteers.

“Some of the residents, about 20or so, go home for the holidays, butmost of them don’t- either becauseit’s too difficult and disruptive forthem or they don’t have families to gohome too,” said Bishop Andonios.

That’s why, he said, Christmas

Day is made to be as festive as possi-ble- with an adorned tree and a deli-cious meal to be enjoyed by the resi-dents.

So far this holiday season, severalinstitutions have devoted their timeand love to the residents for the holi-day season, including the Holy Trini-ty Cathedral of New York City which

distributed gifts to the elderly and theIntercollegiate Hellenic Society(IHS), members of which recentlyvisited the Home. Beyond Christmas,St. Michael’s Home, according toBishop Andonios, is open to visitorswithout limited hours, and a volun-teer group of about 25 to 30 people(which was once comprised of all

women, but now includes men aswell) come in every Monday to inter-act with residents.

Human interaction for seniors isvital to their well-being, according tothe Foundation for Senior Living. “Aswe grow older, our human connec-tions may gradually dissipate asfriends pass away or develop disabili-ties that prevent them from driving toget-togethers,” writes Guy Mikkel-son. “This slow loss of friendships canbe devastating, particularly for se-niors who have established a lifetimeof social interaction. If you have anaging parent, you have probably wit-nessed first-hand the feelings of de-pression and isolation that can devel-op when a spouse, family member orfriend passes away.

“Life may be profoundly disruptedfor the one who is left behind, espe-cially if there was dependence on thedeceased person for social interac-tion. Just as science has shown theimportance of human interaction inthe development of an infant, studiesalso show that socialization remainsjust as important as we age. Duringthese later years, family membersshould keep an aging loved one in-

volved in life to whatever extent ispossible. The memories and laughterthat can be shared among familymembers can be just as effective, ifnot more, than medication for a se-nior’s well-being.”

According Bishop Andonios, it isthis social interaction that bringssmiles to the faces of St. Michael’sresidents.

The programs and services of St.Michael's Home, according to theHome’s Web site, are “specificallydesigned for those individuals whomay have decreased powers of mo-bility and/or mental awareness.While not certified as such, theHome does offer a level of ‘assistedliving’ in a Greek Orthodox envi-ronment and the staff assists thosewho need help with certain dutiessuch as bathing, dressing, etc. At alltimes, every effort is made to main-tain the physical and intellectualintegrity of the residents while en-couraging them to preserve theirindependence and dignity.”

To find out more about the Home,or how you can help during the holi-day season, or all year-round, visitStMichaelsHome.org.

Conquering Pediatric Cancer

St. Michael’s Home for the Aged and the Gift That Keeps on Giving

CHRISTMAS 2009THE NATIONAL HERALD, DECEMBER 26, 2009 - JANUARY 1, 2010 13W

R

Stephen G. and Thelma S. Yeonas

Rejoice in the spirit of Christmas!

May love and hope be in your heartsthis holiday season

and throughout the coming year!

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ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΑΠΟ∆ΗΜΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ (Σ.Α.Ε.)ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑ ΑΜΕΡΙΚΗΣ

WORLD COUNCIL OF HELLENES ABROAD (S.A.E.)USA REGION

801 W. Adams Str., Suite 235, Chicago, Illinois 60607Tel.: (312) 627-1821 • Fax: (312) 627-1943

E-mail: [email protected] • [email protected]/718

A Christmas and New Year's Message

«Necessary and Inevitable Changes»

In 2008, and to a greater extent in 2009, there have been major changes in our lives and challenges to humanity as a whole. As we reach the end of 2009, weare left with large wounds, feelings of anxiety, and tribulations regarding the social, economic and political situations of both our homelands. Yet 2009 reinforces our knowledge that change is both necessary and unavoidable, both in the conditions of our lives and the way we think about them. Thisis especially true regarding things that reveal the manifestations of the pathological elements in our countries, those that are dysfunctional or which do notserve the society as a whole.

Let us embrace these realizations so we may see things clearly and work to create a setting where the young men and women of today may reverse these eco-nomic and social injustices, the current crises, lawlessness and corruption in public life, loss of values, and the degradation and destruction of our environ-ment.

As Hellenes we have a great responsibility and perhaps an obligation to help create a more humane world that is in harmony with nature. It is in our nature,one we carry through our great ancestral and spiritual heritage.

In seeking and redefining our cultural identity, we must work collectively for the revival of Hellenic Paideia- Hellenic Education, which possesses all the funda-mental principles and values necessary for a peaceful world, in harmony with nature, and one that promotes progress and prosperity. As Greek Americans wemust ask ourselves what can we create in our own communities to preserve and safeguard these values through strengthening the teaching and dissemina-tion of Hellenic Paideia.

In the spirit of Christmas, let the antidotes to fear, anxiety and insecurity reign: those of love, solidarity, unity and optimism. Love, solidarity and unity are theelements that create bonds and strengthen our society. Optimism will help us to comprehend and act upon the lessons we have learned through the painfulevents of the recent past; it may then aid in correcting past mistakes.

With our warm thoughts, especially towards our fellow countrymen in need, I hope with all my heart that the New Year brings prosperity, progress and peaceto all humanity and personal health and happiness to every Greek American family.

T.G. Spyropoulos,SAE USA Coordinator


WWEE WWIISSHH YYOOUU WWEE WWIISSHH YYOOUU AA MMEERRRRYY CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS AA MMEERRRRYY CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS

AANNDD AA HHAAPPPPYYAANNDD AA HHAAPPPPYYAANNDD PPRROOSSPPEERROOUUSS NNEEWW YYEEAARRAANNDD PPRROOSSPPEERROOUUSS NNEEWW YYEEAARR

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and throughout the Υear

Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL)PO Box 6954

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By Georgia KofinasSpecial to The National Herald

Ifyou are ever invited to a pan-Hellenic Christmas dinner,you will likely be amazed at

the array of different holiday foodsthat are presented at the table. De-spite Greece’s geographical size, itsdifferent regions host rich tradi-tions of holiday fair, with variationseven within each region makingthe diversity of flavors more evi-dent. Differences are also found

among traditions and food habitsof the mainland inhabitants, the is-landers, urban societies and villagefolk. Each region holds strong to itsculinary tradition especially duringthe winter holiday season wherecelebrations begin after ChristmasDay and last for 12 days (literallyadhering to the “12 Days of Christ-mas”). A richly-laden table will in-clude soups, appetizers, first cours-es, roasts of meat and poultry, ac-companiments, salads anddesserts.

Adopted from the culinary tradi-tions of America, the baked stuffedturkey is gaining ground in popu-larity as a main dish at the GreekChristmas table. The huge bird wasnot known to Greece before the1800s, but it is now being success-fully raised on most of Greece’spoultry farms, making it morereadily available for both urbanand provincial households. Be-cause Greeks are noted for adapt-ing foreign foods to their cuisine,turkey has found its way into re-gional cuisines with a differentflair. One recipe from Corinth callsfor cutting up the turkey and mak-ing it a stew, while other regionsroast the whole bird on a spit asthey would a whole lamb or goat;however, for Christmas most fami-lies prefer the classic roast stuffedturkey. Ever-popular is the stuffingwith ground meat, pine nuts orwalnuts, raisins, rice, spices andchestnuts. Originally the recipe fora rich pilaf, this is a stuffing whichwas introduced by the Greeks ofConstantinople.

Until turkey became a more af-fordable commodity, chicken wasthe choice for meat both for rea-sons of prudence and its suitabilityfor presenting a stuffed bird at theChristmas table. Even now, agrari-an societies are more apt to includechicken in the Christmas holidaydishes since most provincial fami-lies raise chickens for their eggsand meat. Each region has itschicken specialty and presents it ina number of ways. In Macedonia, inthe area around Thessaloniki, theChristmas specialty is known as“misoura”, a dish of stuffed chickensurrounded by cuts of lamb, porkand beef, covered with leeks andherbs and slowly baked in a largecovered roasting pan. In the area ofKavala in Thrace, the locals stuff achicken with the classic groundbeef and rice mixture, covered withpickled cabbage (“toursi”) andslowly cooked it in a large pot.Some regions simply boil a chickento make “avgolemono” (egg-lemon) soup which is served at thebeginning of the Christmas dinnerwith other starters.

The most popular meat serveduniversally in Greece at Christmasis pork. Both on the mainland andin the islands, there is a rich tradi-tion of what is called “hirosfagia”,or “hog slaughtering”. A specialhog is raised and fed for the solepurpose of being slaughtered a fewdays before the Christmas holidays.This hog is then cut up and pre-pared in various ways. The islandsof the Cyclades and Dodecanese,including Crete, slowly bake theirpork with an abundance of herbsand spices or simply seasoned withsalt, pepper, garlic and lemon andbaked with potatoes. In the moun-tainous regions of central Greece,pork is cut up and braised withleeks or celery and often finishedwith “avgolemono” sauce, whereasin Macedonia pork is used in a pot-roast with spices and wine. TheIonian Islands offer an unusual“marriage” of tastes by braisingpork with cauliflower or cabbage.Less traditional, but not uncom-mon, lamb or goat dishes maketheir way to the Christmas feast asan alternative to pork. Usually themeat is baked with potatoes orstewed with vegetables and com-bined with avgolemono sauce.

Other meat dishes that appearon the Christmas table include “yi-aprakia”, especially popular inKozani in northern Greece and the

southern Dodecanese islands.Stuffed with ground pork, lamb orbeef, these cabbage rolls symbolizethe swaddling clothes of the InfantChrist. The Pontian Greeks who mi-grated to northern Greece genera-tions ago from the Black Sea re-place fresh cabbage leaves withpickled ones to give a sharper fla-vor to their version called “sar-mades”. Regional differences dic-tate whether the cabbage rolls aremade with tomato sauce or avgole-mono, but both versions are equal-

ly tasty. More often than not, cab-bage rolls are among the first of theculinary treasures to be offered atthe table, often accompanied byhomemade sausages, head cheeseand salted pork.

No traditional Greek Christmasdinner is complete without a pita.Because leeks are now in season inGreece, they are often used in com-bination with other greens or herbsin a filling with feta or other softcheese to make “prasopita”, a fa-vorite in both Roumeli and Mace-donia. “Kreatopites”, or meat pites,are mainly associated with the re-gions of Epirus and the Ionian Is-lands, where skillful hands spendhours making homemade phyllo

and preparing the meat filling. Porkor lamb is preferred as a filling forthe holiday pites with chicken as asecond choice. The meat is cut upin small cubes, braised with onionsand herbs and combined withcheese, eggs, and spices. Quite of-ten the phyllo is first baked to alight crisp before being layeredwith the meat filling so that the liq-uids are absorbed, which keeps thepita from getting soggy.

Regardless of how much foodyou have eaten there is alwaysroom for a sweet ending to the fes-tive meal. Of course, serving Euro-pean and American desserts has be-come very fashionable with a fullarray of cheesecakes, tortes andchocolate delights. However, noone will refuse the rich traditionalGreek Christmas sweets made withthe indigenous age-old ingredients,including nuts, dried fruits, honeyand spices. The classic sweetsfound universally in Greece are“melomacarona” (syrupy honeycookies), “kourambiedes” (buttercookies), “diples” (honeyed frieddough) and various kinds of bakla-va.

However, each region of Greecehas its own specialty based on theingredients available and the localfood traditions. The most charac-teristic sweets of the Christmas hol-idays are those that wrap phyllowith nut fillings as they representthe swaddling clothes of the InfantChrist not unlike the symbolism ofstuffed cabbage leaves. In Konitsa,at the far northern corner ofGreece, and in Epirus, these sweetsare actually called “spargana”which mean “swaddling clothes”.The basic taste is that of baklava,but the technique of combiningphyllo with a filling varies from re-gion to region.

Fried dough or batter is the basisfor a large category of holidaysweets with numerous regionalvariations.” The region of Mani isnoted for its “Lalaggia”, a twistedthick chord of dough fried and eat-en as a savory treat on ChristmasDay. Other regions dip the “lalag-gia” in honey or serve them withsprinkled sugar. “Diples”, fried thinribbons of dough drizzled with

honey and sprinkled with nuts, arefavored in the areas of Arcadia,Mani and Argos in the Peloponneseand on the island of Rhodes. TheCretans have “xirotigana” whichconsists of basically uses the same

ingredients, but the frying tech-nique to create perfectly symmetri-cal swirls calls for experienced“know-how”. “Loukoumades”,“tiganites” or “lalaggites” are littlepuff balls of fried batter either with

or without yeast, drizzled withhoney or sprinkled with cinnamonand nuts. Regional varieties in-clude adding to the basic recipe


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Traditional Regional Holiday Foods, a mosaic of flavors at the Christmas table



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The American Hellenic Instituteand Its Affiliates

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wish alla Merry Christmas

and a Joyous New Year

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send their best wishes to their friends, patients

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MERRY CHRISTMAS • XΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ

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such flavorings as mastic, orangejuice or “raki” (a white spirit similarto ouzo).

Christmas Day is only the begin-ning of the holidays in Greece asopposed to most western Europeanand American societies where theChristmas tree, along with otherdecorations, is often dismantledand packed away the next day. InGreece, gatherings of family andfriends continue the celebrationsthrough the New Year and untilEpiphany on January 6th. Consid-ering the rich repertoire of tradi-tional holiday foods, it certainlydoes take twelve days to try themall out!

In keeping with the older tradi-tion of serving pork for Christmas, Iam sharing with you one of my fa-vorite recipes for a main coursewhich can be made all through theholiday season. Following that is arecipe from Messinia (Kalamata)for stuffed kourambiedes.

Spiced Roast Porkin Wine Sauce

(This recipe is from Verroia, a re-gion in central Macedonia.) For 6-8 servingsIngredients: 4 lbs. pork (preferably debonedfrom the loin)6 garlic cloves, quartered 2 large onions cut in quarters1 cup dry red wine1/3 cup red wine vinegarJuice of 2 lemons1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoonsbutter melted 3 bay leaves1 tablespoon cuminFreshly ground pepperSalt

Wash and pat dry the pork witha paper towel. Lay pork flat on awork surface and rub all over withhalf of the lemon juice. Make smallincisions in the flesh and presspieces of garlic in them. Seasonmeat all over with cumin, salt andpepper. Roll up the meat and tiewith string.

Place meat in a large roastingpan (with a lid) and arrange onionsand bay leaves around the meat.Pour over the wine and vinegar, re-maining lemon juice and oil-buttermixture. Add 2 cups water to thepan and cover with the lid.

Bake in a preheated oven at220? F for about 2-3 hours basting

meat occasionally with pan juices.Turn over halfway through cook-ing. Check for doneness.

Remove liquid from roastingpan and place in a saucepan. Allowmeat to set for about 20-30 minutesbefore cutting.

Measure the pan liquid. Forevery cup of liquid you will need 1teaspoon of corn starch to thicken itfor the sauce. Mix the corn starchwith a little red wine and stir intothe pan juices. Simmer over a lowflame until gravy-thick.

Remove the string, slice themeat and arrange in a platter. Gar-

nish with Greek style oreganobaked potatoes or rice pilaf andserve the gravy on the side.

Karidopitakia(stuffed kourambiedes)

(From the area of Messinia thesedelectable little “pouches” arestuffed with an aromatic filling ofnuts, spices, brandy and rosewater)

For about 30-40 piecesIngredients:2 3/4 (2 and three fourths) lbs. allpurpose flour2 1/2 cups butter2 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts1 1/3 (one and one third) cup reg-ular sugar1 1/3 (one and one third) cupmilk, warmed2 egg yolks, beaten1/2 cup brandy1/2 cup rose water (can be re-

placed with orange blossom water)2 tablespoons ground cinnamon1 teaspoon baking soda

About 2 1/2 lbs. powdered sug-ar for rolling

Melt butter in pan and addwarm milk to which has beenadded 4 tablespoons of the sugar.Slowly add flour stirring constantlywith wire whisk until blended. Re-move from heat.

Dilute the baking soda in half ofthe brandy and add to dough mix-ture. When cooled, add egg yolksand mix well with hands to create asoft dough.

In medium bowl combine wal-nuts, cinnamon, the remaining sug-ar and brandy and half the rosewa-ter to make the filling.

Pinch off pieces of dough thesize of a large meatball and flattenout in the palm of your hand. Place1 teaspoonful of filling in center ofdough. Fold dough around the fill-ing pinching the edges together toform a small pouch. Arrange inshallow baking pan not too closetogether.

Bake in moderate oven for about20 minutes, being careful not toover-brown. When they are still alittle warm, sprinkle with remain-ing rosewater and roll in powderedsugar. If sugar is absorbed afterkaridopitakia have completelycooled, sprinkle with more pow-dered sugar.

Note: For a more subtle flavoryou may substitute rosewater with1 teaspoon vanilla or almond fla-voring diluted in 1/2 cup water.

Traditional Regional Holiday Foods, a

mosaic of flavors at the Christmas tableContinued from page 15


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New Jersey

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PPEEAACCEE OONN EEAARRTTHH

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grandparent. Have some cool oldfamily photos? Frame them and giftthem. Here’s an example to sparkyour imagination: if your daughteris in Greek dance, frame an oldphoto of Mom, Yiayia or anotherrelative in their costume.

This is an opportune time for Yi-ayia or Mom to pass along familyrecipes. Purchase a pretty journaland handwrite them inside, orhandwrite on separate sheets toplace in a binder that the recipientcan add to later. Handwriting therecipes takes more time, but makesit an even more treasured keepsakewhen you’re gone. Turn it into ascrapbook with family photos andstories. Take it a step further, andparents and grandparents canvideotape themselves telling thefamily history: experiences inGreece prior to leaving, immigrat-ing to America, if they camethrough Ellis Island, starting a newlife, etc.

There’s also a wealth of informa-tion online for making low costgifts, like candles, soap, bath saltsand more. Or, simply ask Yiayia toshow you!

PERSONALIZED GIFTSPeople love personalized gifts.

Grandparents, godparents, auntsand uncles and others love giftsmade with kids’ photos inthem. Online photo siteslike Snapfish, Shutter-fly and Kodak Galleryoffer options to putphotos onc o f f e ecups, keyc h a i n s ,p o s t e r s ,calendarsand more.You canmake a spe-cial photobrag book for agrandparent withall of their grand-children in it. These aregenerally pretty inexpen-sive.

Sites like PersonalizationMall and Personal Creations offerother personalized items that won’tbreak the bank.

FAMILY HEIRLOOMSParents and grandparents, why

wait until you’re gone to pass on afamily treasure? Pass them alongnow, and watch the recipients en-joy them.

INEXPENSIVE GIFTSCheck out catalogs like Lillian

Vernon and LTD Commodities andothers for inexpensive gift ideas.Purchase some Christmas décor-type items, or functional items forthe home, for not a lot of money.Find them online as well.

EXCHANGESWe all have lots of books, CDs,

DVDs and even toys that are notused anymore. Pass them down tothe next generation of kids in theneighborhood. For kids’ parties,each can bring something to ex-change; a great idea for adult par-ties too. Everyone brings some-thing, everyone gets something.Recipe exchanges are fun too. Thiscould be a creative gift to partygo-ers at a potluck: beforehand, sendthe hostess a copy of the recipe youwill bring. Everyone leaves with abooklet of recipes.

LOOK NO FURTHER THANYOUR CHURCH

Church bazaars are a great placeto find gifts. They’re not expensive,and even better, you support yourchurch. Also, check the bookstore:icons, books, CDs and DVDs aregreat gifts for godchildren. Make adonation to the church in the recip-ient’s name. Every little bit helps.

UNIQUE GREEK GIFTSWe all know Greeks embody the

entrepreneurial spirit, and so many

have stores, either online or tradi-tional brick and mortar, that we canfind great Greek related gifts. Hereare some ideas.

For clothing products, check outwww.crystalcosmos.com. Here youcan purchase unique clothing withSwarovski jewels on it. For the kids,check out www.loukoumaki.com,for some really cute t-shirts, one-sies and more. At www.ellinasmul-timedia, find DVDs on the lives ofsaints, specialty items like apronsand coffee cups with Greek-relatedsayings, etc. Get educational prod-ucts for kids as well. West-coastbased www.greekbaby.com hasbooks, gift items, CDs and more. Al-so, there are many great books byGreek authors, for both childrenand adults.

For the music lover in your life,Greek CDs are always a good gift. Ifyou don’t have a Greek music storein your area, here are a couple ofones to check out online:www.greektownmusic.com andwww.greekmusic.com. Find DVDsand other gifts there as well.

Check out your local Greek storefor gift ideas. Perhaps someone isgetting married soon and could usea stephanothiki, or a hanging can-dili for their new home. There’smore there to find.

Get personalized wood frames,carved with Greek sayings, or cedarplanks with a Greek name on it.

There are more interestinggift ideas available at

www.kantyli.com. Subscriptions to

Greek Americanpublications are

a wonder-ful gift –it’s not justone gift -

every timean issue ar-rives, the re-cipient re-ceives another

gift. Howabout a sub-

scription to TheNational Herald?

In terms of magazines,check out GreekCircle,

Greek America or Odyssey.There’s no shortage of Greek-relat-ed news out there.

CHARITABLE GIVINGHere’s your opportunity to give

a child a gift that lasts a lifetime.Take the child to a holiday soupkitchen and work together, helpingthose less fortunate. At home, com-bine items to donate to a foodpantry. Kids learn best by example.

The National Hellenic Museumis a spectacular institution to sup-port. Make a donation in the recipi-ent’s name or purchase them amembership. You just gave a giftthat will last throughout the entireyear.

Make a donation in a friend’sname to their favorite charity, orga-nization or church. It doesn’t mat-ter how much - even $5 is wel-comed. Donate to charities or insti-tutions such as Saint Iakovos Camp& Retreat Center, Greek AmericanRehabilitation and Care Centre,Saint Basil Academy, Hellenic Col-lege/Holy Cross School of Theolo-gy or how about the Metropolis ofMexico, which is in need of funds tosupport its work, or to an organiza-tion representing their part ofGreece. Give the person a card thatsays “a donation was made in yourname to XYZ.” The amount is notimportant; it’s that you supportedsomething they feel strongly about.

If shopping online, support theministries of the Archdiocese byshopping throughhttp://www.goodsearch.com/good-shop.aspx.

ARE THE WHEELS TURNING?These ideas should get you go-

ing, and inspire you to create orpurchase some wonderful gifts ormake donations for the holiday sea-son, that won’t break the bank.Merry Christmas and Happy GiftGiving!

Gift Ideas on a BudgetContinued from page 2


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A blessed and joyous Christmas and a peaceful, healthy and full of grace

and progress New Year to all.

Peter & Aphrodite Skeadas

Ευφρόσυνα ΧριστούγενναΕιρηνικό, υγιεινό και πλήρες χάριτος

και προόδου Νέο Ετος για όλους

Πίτερ και Αφροδίτη Σκιαδά

201202/513

The Hellenic Orthodox Churchof Lowell Holy Trinity

Established 1900Designated a National Historic Place in 1977

WISHING EVERYONEA VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

andA HEALTHY and HAPPY

NEW YEAR

Very Rev. NIKOLAOS D. PELEKOUDAS

LEWIS G. DEMETRAKOPOULOS, President

The Parish Council

Choir, Philoptochos, Sunday School

The Principal and Staff

of the Hellenic American Academy

Established 1906

By Aphrodite MatsakisSpecial to The National Herald

“It was the best of times. It wasthe worst of times,” wrote CharlesDickens in his novel, “The Tale ofTwo Cities” – and so the holidayscan feel for many of us. The festivi-ties, the sharing of gifts and the ex-tra time with family and friends canmake the holidays the “best oftimes.” The holidays also point usto spiritual and humanitarian con-cerns and make us think moreabout others, providing a welcomebreak from the usual focus on ourown problems.

Along with the extra socializing,the Christmas message of joy andhope can boost the spirits – somuch so that suicide rates decline.According to The Center for SuicidePrevention, the highest frequencyof suicides occurs in August, notDecember. The Christmas spirit of“peace on earth” and “goodwill to-wards all” can also lead to a tempo-rary “cease fire” between warringrelatives and friends; and in somecases to a longer term spirit of rec-onciliation and forgiveness.

During World War I, it even ledto a spontaneous truce between en-emy soldiers. Despite the officialdisapproval of military comman-ders on all sides, in both 1914 and1915 French, English and Germansoldiers could be found exchangingChristmas gifts of whiskey andchocolate instead of gunfire. Someeven held football matches.

On the other hand, the holidayscan precipitate an attack of the“holiday blues.” Even people withno history of emotional problemscan find themselves feeling sad andlonely next to the most brightly litChristmas tree. For those mourningthe absence of a loved one due todeath, illness or military duty, theholidays can feel like the “worst oftimes” – as it can for those experi-encing a divorce or a broken friend-ship or family tie. Christmas can al-so arouse memories of past holi-days which were painful or trau-matic.

The contrast between the sad-ness inside with the merriment out-side can be excruciating. Trying toshove aside the sadness, instead ofacknowledging it, is yet anotherstressor, as is having to pretend thatall is well in order not to upset oth-ers.

My work with gold-star mothersand military widows who sufferedtremendously because they felt itmandatory to maintain a stoic si-lence about their losses made merealize how fortunate Greek Ameri-

cans are to come from a traditionthat acknowledges and honors loss,rather than denying it. In additionto our memorial services, it’s usual-ly acceptable for a missing lovedone to be mentioned at a holidaygathering or for slices of the Vasilo-pita to be set aside for absent or de-ceased family members, even longdead grandparents.

Financial pressures loom largeat holiday time. According to the2009 American Psychological Asso-ciation’s “Stress in America Study,”some 70 percent of American fami-lies identified financial anxieties astheir major life stressor. A third oftheir children also expressed wor-ries about “having enough.” The fi-nancial pressures resulting fromgift giving, entertainment or travelcan be compounded by the timepressures involved in the plethoraof Christmas activities, which al-though enjoyable, can also be phys-ically fatiguing, especially sincenormal day to day responsibilitiesmust also be met.

Then there’s that pesky Eris, theGoddess of Discord and Strife, thetwin sister of Ares, God of War.Sometimes she worms her way intothe best planned holiday eventhoping to spread animosity by res-urrecting old resentments and cre-ating new ones. She’s so good ather job that in one myth Zeus calledupon her to turn brother againstbrother. Using one of her favoriteweapons, jealousy, she causedAtreus (the father of Agamemnonand Menelaos of Trojan War fame)to banish his twin brother Thyestes.In fact Eris is credited with startingthe entire Trojan War.

Furious at not being invited toone of the most spectacular eventsMount Olympus, the wedding ofThetis and Peleus, Eris arrivedunannounced and threw an applebearing the inscription “To theFairest” into the crowd of heavenlywedding guests. The ensuing argu-ment between Aphrodite, Athenaand Hera over who deserved theapple ultimately led to the abduc-tion of Helen by Paris; and the restis history.

Like Thetis, we won’t invite Eristo our spectacular holiday event.But she may show up anyway andinterfere with our Christmas cheerby arousing jealousy in our heartstowards those we feel are more suc-cessful, loved, happier, talented orattractive than we are. Trying toget rid of Eris by pretending she is-n’t there or by ordering her to leavewon’t work. She’s a goddess; you’rea mortal. The best way is to listen toher.

According to psychologist KarlJung, jealousy has both negativeand positive aspects. Negative jeal-ousy is based on the erroneous be-lief that if your rival was weakenedor no longer existed, you’d havewhat you wanted. However, elimi-nating competition will not neces-sarily grant you the abilities or suc-cess you so desire. For example, ifyou envy someone for losingweight, their absence or demisewon’t make you thinner.

In positive jealousy, someonehas traits or a situation which youwant, but which you haven’t yet de-veloped or are afraid to develop.The challenge here is to identifyyour jealousies and the hopes andwishes underlying them. Some ofthe qualities or advantages whichyou envy may be unattainable dueto circumstances beyond your con-trol; and you are entitled to grieveyour inability to ever have them.Others, however, could possibly beacquired, either in whole or in part.If you’re able to direct the powerfulenergy of your jealousy towardsthose dreams, then perhaps Eris’visit wasn’t in vain.

Then there’s Dionysus, bestknown as God of Wine. In smalldoses, he’s been known to help peo-ple be more affectionate, generousand forgiving and free them to en-joy the moment. On the otherhand, Dionysus, especially toomuch of him, can bring out the“worst” in people – anger, abusive-ness, and other disruptions.

The holidays can be the “best oftimes” because they provide uswith time away from our usual rou-tines and pressures. But they canbe the “worst of times” because,like birthdays, they mark the pas-sage of time and remind us of ourmortality. New Year’s Resolutionsmake us aware of resolutions we

failed to keep the previous yearsand make ask ourselves “milliondollar” questions, such as, “Whatdo I really want out of life?” Thisforces us to confront Hades, God ofthe Underworld.

Although most of us think ofHades as the god of physical death,he can also represents the end of arelationship, a purpose, a hope or away of being. Psychologically, hesymbolizes our personal “under-world” – our unconscious thoughtsand wishes and our forgotten mem-ories, all of which can be arousedby significant events such as theholidays.

“Hades is not evil or Satanic, noran enemy of mankind,” Philip May-erson points out in his book, “Clas-sical Mythology in Literature, Artand Music.” But he is grim andnone of us like how depressed andcut off from others we feel when inthe middle of singing a Christmascarol we suddenly find ourselves inhis realm. To Jung, however, thereare instances when visiting Hades,like feeling blue, can be a friend,not a foe.

“Hades’ other name was Pluto,which in Greek means wealth, rich-es and the god’s invisible fullnesswas symbolized by the image of thecornucopia that he held in hishands, overflowing with fruits andvegetables or with jewels, gold andsilver. Hades is the god presiding inour depressions, our anxieties, ouremotional upheavals and our griefwith the power to bring illumina-tion and renewal,” writes AriannaStassinopoulous in her book, “TheGods of Greece”.

“Only after we .... become famil-iar with the realm of Hades can wediscover that there are riches to befound in the dimness, coldness anddarkness of what mystics refer to asthe dark night of the soul,” explains

Dr. Jean Bolen in her book, “Godsin Every Man.”

Descending into the realm ofHades can be a means to rest andreplenish oneself after a period ofoverexertion; a type of a retreat, atime of looking inward which per-mits us to uncover underdevel-oped, suppressed or entirely newlongings and talents wishing to as-sert themselves, such as a desire toredirect the course of one’s life. Inthis sense, the holiday blues canlead to the discovery of new poten-tials and new sources of innerstrength, joy and purpose. For suchreasons Hades is also known as the“Good Counselor.”

“Minor descents into Hades arethe stuff of everyday life,” writesBolen, especially during the holi-days or afterwards, when theeveryday problems forgotten dueto the holiday season return; andany disappointments, longings orother feelings not attended to dur-ing the holidays begin to emerge.However, not all feelings of empti-ness and depression can be viewedin a positive light. For those suffer-ing from a genuine clinical depres-sion rather than a case of the holi-day blues, visiting Hades may notlead to fruitful introspection, but todespair.

No single symptom – whether itbe fatigue; sadness; indecision;feelings of hopelessness, helpless-

ness, worthlessness and guilt; ordifficulties eating, sleeping or con-centrating or interacting

with others — necessarilymeans one is clinically depressed.The holiday blues usually involveone or two of these symptoms,which do not persist, but come andgo and which, for the most part donot disrupt functioning. However,having several of these symptomsconsistently for two weeks or more,especially when they interfere witheveryday activities or includethoughts of death or suicide, cansignal a biological depression thatneeds immediate professional at-tention.

Depression is the most commonpsychiatric problem in our country.About 16% of Americans will prob-ably experience a clinical depres-sion of at least two weeks durationat some point in their life.

If you suspect you might be de-pressed or suffering from SeasonalAffective Disorder (SAD) due to thelack of sunlight during the winter,there is no shame in seeking helpand no point to suffering needless-ly.

In Greek mythology, Dionysusdescended into Hades to rescue hismother; Orpheus, his beloved Eury-dice; and Hercules, his friend The-seus. But we mortals who sufferfrom depression or SAD have tosave ourselves.

Those Holiday Blues – Friend or Foe?

say, the first cut is for Christ, thesecond for Saint Basil, one for thepoor (usually the largest piece), thenext for anyone named Vasilios orVasiliki, who on this day celebratetheir feast day, and then the head ofthe household, then for every mem-ber of the household and everyguest.

The bread has a special surpriseinside. The person who receives thepiece with a coin or piece of jewelryin it, is said to receive many bless-ings throughout the year.

Many families cut the bread justprior to midnight, and then shut offthe lights and wish everyone HappyNew Year, to signify the dawn of theNew Year.

Others observe this tradition onNew Year’s Day.

New Year’s Day, as the beginningof the year, is a day of renewal. Insome areas, on this day, priests

bless homes and their inhabitants.A recipe for Vasilopita is includedin this issue.

Hopefully you will receive thelucky coin this year, and have ayear full of blessings! Happy NewYear!

ADOPTING WESTERNTRADITION

Over the last 15 years or so, theGreeks in Greece have been adopt-ing Christmas customs from theWest. It is common these days, tosee Santa Claus milling around aswell as for children to have a photowith Santa.

For some, the Christmas tree hasalso entered the home, and pre-sents are underneath the tree.While some wait for New Year’sDay, as the traditional day of ex-change, others are now openingtheir presents on Christmas as well.Nonetheless, the tradition of theVasilopita and the commemorationof Saint Basil Day remain steadfast.

Saint Nicholas or Saint Basil?Continued from page 4

The National Herald

wishes its readers

and their loved ones

a Happy

Holiday Season!


TO ALL OF OUR GREEK FRIENDS IN AMERICA AND GREECE

WE WISH YOU A HEALTHY

HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS HOLIDAY SEASON!

The Medical Center

of Boston International, Inc.

Contact information:Medical Center of Boston International, Inc.

411 Waverly Oaks Road, Suite 333Waltham, MA 02452

Tel.: (781) 894-8858 • Fax: (781) 894-8856

ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑΚΑΙ ΕΥΤΥΧΙΣΜΕΝΟΣ Ο ΚΑΙΝΟΥΡΓΙΟΣ ΧΡΟΝΟΣ

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ö

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Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin, MD, FACC

President and CEO,

Medical Center of Boston International, Inc.


200425/3

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Professor D. G. Kousoulas

wishesto the readers of

«The National Herald»

Happy Holidaysand a Peaceful New Year!

200717/49

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Merrick Funeral Home2039 Merrick Avenue, Merrick, NY 11566-3434

Tel.: (516) 378-0303

THADDEUS W. BAXTER

S. NOEL BAXTER

WAYNE C. BAXTER

DANFORD BAXTER

JAMES F. GAVIGAN - MANAGER

Best Wishes for

Merry Christmas Happy and Prosperous

New Year

N.F. Walker, Inc.

200701/173

1140 Franklin Ave., Suite #214Garden City, NY 11530Tel.: (516) 248-2153Fax: (516) 248-3822Visit us at: www.marathonpayroll.com

&Merry Christmas

A Happy New Year

... we go the distance

Accurate on Time Complete Payroll Services

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Τhe Saint Louis Greek American Community

200953/216

Wish you every Happiness...May we all be blessed

with Christian faith this Christmas and walk in love

and wisdom through the coming year

Hellenic Cultural Foundation

Hellenic Investment Group

Hellenic Spirit Foundation

Karakas Associates

Karakas Family Foundation

Saint Louis, Missouri

H A N A C, Inc.Executive and Administrative Offices:49 West 45th Street 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036

(212) 840-8005 Fax (212) 840-8384

www.hanac.org

SENIOR SERVICES:• Archbishop Iakovos Senior

Residence and Senior Program(718) 726-1227

• Ravenswood Senior Center(718) 786-1550

• Vallone-Dimotsis-Lindsay SeniorCenter (718) 626-3035

• Angelo Petromelis Senior Center(718) 961-0344

• NORC Senior Program (718) 609-1028

• Senior Transportation Program(718) 267-6910

SOCIAL SERVICES:• Astoria Social Services Program

(718) 728-3586• Bronx Social Services Program

(718) 409-9876• Child and Family Counseling

(718) 274-9007

• Crime Victims Services (718) 728-3811

• Drug Treatment and PreventionServices (718) 204-1200

• BEGIN-GED Program (212) 996-3949

• NYC Taxi Academy (718) 433-0493• Employment Opportunities

(646)539-5890• Weatherization Programs

(718) 626-7575 / (718) 267-6543• Home Services Systems-Home

Care (718) 726-4444• English as a Second Language-

Evenings after 6pm (718) 433-2710

YOUTH SERVICES:• Youth Services (718) 204-2325• Corona Beacon After School

(718) 651-4656• Astoria Beacon After School

(718) 433-1989

Serving The Community Since 1972 200116/385

Our Best Wishes to the Community

for a

Merry Christmas and

a Happy New Year

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201468/666

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The Foundation is proud to work in partnership with the University of Michigan

for the study of Modern Greeklanguage, culture and history in the 21st century

8001 Ronda Drive, Canton, MI 48187 • Tel.: (734) 459-3000

MMEERRRRYY CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS

AANNDD AA HHEEAALLTTHHYY AANNDD HHAAPPPPYY NNEEWW YYEEAARR

The Foundation for Modern Greek Studies

extends warmest appreciation and respect

to the Hellenic Community for its support.

PHILIP VOGIS - GovernorGEORGE HORIATES - LT Governor

SAVAS TSIVICOS - SecretaryBILL HARRISON - Treasurer

SAMMY THOMAS - Marshall JIMMY ROZANITIS - Warden

NICK MARIOLIS- Athletic DirectorTED VITTAS - Sons Advisor

ORDER OF AHEPA

DISTRICT #5 NEW JERSEY/DELAWARE

JOHN G. THEVOS - GARDEN STATE DISTRICT

The District Lodge Officers and the entire AHEPA Family

wishes everyone

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

201529/548

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3571/128

State Senator Leonidas and Dr. Donna Raptakis Alexandra and Nicholas

Committee οn Housing & Municipal GovernmentCommittee οf Environment & Agriculture

Joint Committee οn Highway Safety

District # 33 Res. 401-397-2720

2080 Nooseneck Hill Road Bus. 401-397-3344

Coventry, R.I. 02816 Fax. 401-397-6302

[email protected] State House 401-275-5567

w w w . r a p t a k i s . c o m

Wish you a Merry Christmasand a Happy New Year


200997/561

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Mr. George Andreasand his family

extend their warm wishesto the management and staff

of “The National Herald”to the entire Omogenia

and the Hellenes of the World

MERRY CHRISTMASHealthy and Happy

New Year 2010


201613/693

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