What is the main symbol of Christmas in Greece?
The centerpiece of every household during the Christmas season is the adorned Christmas tree. Putting up a tree inside your home never crossed the mind of the Greeks and therefore, this custom was completely alien in Greece until the end of the 19th century.
Truth is, it really started catching up only after the 1950s. Traditionally, Greeks decorate wooden boats in their houses and decorate it with colorful sails and candy. Well, this totally crazy idea has a very good reason behind it.
Just by looking at the map, one can see that the country is literally surrounded by water and consequently, one of the most popular professions was one of the sailors, the fisherman, or the captain.
A large amount of the Greek population used to make their living out in the sea, and most of the time, they remained separated from their families for quite some time.
On Christmas Eve, young children used to fashion small Christmas boats out of perishable materials, and with the company of musical instruments and their friends, they used to wander the neighborhoods singing the Christmas carols.
In this Greek version of trick or treating, the children used to collect many candies and holiday treats on this small boat while searching for the next door to knock on.
Eventually, through the passing of centuries, the custom of putting up a small Christmas boat came to be the true Greek tradition.
The first time a Christmas tree was decorated in Greece, was in 1833 when King Otto, following his traditions, put up a tree in his palace. At that time, the Greeks that saw that spectacle considered the fact that maybe their king was out of his mind.
After the middle of the 20th century, more and more houses started buying Christmas trees resulting in the prevalence of this tradition instead of the humble boat.
Today, not a single Greek home misses its Christmas tree but there is always a place for the small boat nearby.
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Source : greekingme
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