Monday, 6 January 2025

Light and Water

-  6th January. 

The end of the Christmas and New Year festivities. 

A public holiday here. Another 3 day weekend. And a very important Orthodox celebration. 

January 6th is................ 

- 12th Night

Depends . Elsewhere it could be January 5, the eve of Epiphany, or January 6

- Time to Dismantle the Xmas Tree

You'd better get your Xmas decorations down before the night of the 6th. It is said to bring bad luck and all the baggage from the previous year if you don't .My father used to say a wicked witch would come and cause havoc.

- Epiphany 

Commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

- Three Kings

Celebrating the visit of the 3 Kings to Bethlehem 

- Blessing of the waters. 

In Greece, on Poros, after the inevitable church service the Priests and bigwigs board a small boat and move out into the strait. A cross is thrown into the sea 3 times and the third time a group of hardy young people, mainly male, dive into the freezing waters to be the first to retrieve the cross. The lucky one is blessed by the Priest and is guaranteed a year of good luck. From what I remember he, or she, also gets a reward from the Mayor

- Also known as the 'Festival of Lights' or Theophania. 


- Name day for those named Fotis (male), Fotini (female) or Jordan

-Tomorrow

January 7  is the Feast of St John.

Name day for Yiannis or Yianna. John, Joan, Jan and Joanne. That's half of Greece. 

As they say here 'a house without a John is not a real home'. 

And the next day, the 8th, schools reopen. 




Grandson Jamie took the last hydro foil to Athens tonight to continue his studies. Along with a tupperware bowl of his Nanas meat pies and sweet bread filled with Nutella. The latter from the bakery.






Sunday, 5 January 2025

New Year Pressies

 Neighbours have been popping in with homemade Xmas biscuits and bottles of this and that. All very welcome, more so by K.

2 x one and a half litre bottles Fousa wine. From a friend's small vineyard just down the road. Fousa is the name of the area.

Plus

5 litres of red wine from somewhere close by. That's for me because I enjoy red wine. When I'm drinking, which isn't often now.

Plus

*Raki 1 1/2 litres

Plus

1 litre of  raki made from 'moura' which I think are mulberries.

I tried a few drops of the mulberry raki. Usually can't stand the stuff. It's firewater. And the mulberry was firewater too. I won't be drinking anymore of that!!

*Raki

Distilled from the pips and skins leftover from the grape harvest.

It's antibacterial properties are thought to be good for digestion and gut health. I can imagine it killing 99.9% of all known germs and a good percentage of its drinkers. In the end.

Called raki in Crete.

Elsewhere known as either tsipoura or tsikoudia.

Plus

A bottle of ouzo 

Plus

3 bottles of wine from son in law. 


We shall be 'slow drinking' 

Drinking in moderation while enjoying good company , good food and conversation.

Says me

Oh hell! I just remembered the 60 litres of boxed wine that's outside in the K-shed. 

Have we got a certain reputation....... or what? 

I hope there will still be plenty for summer visitors. The real Greek experience. 

PS a few bottles of olive oil would have been nice too