The fox is an animal well-known because of its beauty and cunningness. That’s why there are so many expressions in all languages and countries. In Greece some very common “fox- expressions” are:   1. “Τι κάνει η αλεπού στο παζάρι”; What does the fox look for in the bazaar? A cunning person never risks exposing […]

February is the last winter month; everyone is already bored with cold and rain and snow and is looking forward to warmer days. However, everybody loves and welcomes February because he brings the first signs of spring. That is why in Greece people use to say: ” Ο Φλεβάρης κι αν φλεβίσει, καλοκαίρι θα μυρίσει”. Which […]

The inhabitants of Amorgos do not wait for Valentine’s Day to express their love. They always  do it with Carnival, thanks to a very old tradition which is called the “Captain” (=Kapetanios). Amorgos: A Valentine comes always in Carnival! Every year, all the young people from 4 different villages gather in the chapel of St. […]

WhyFebruary has only 28 days instead of 30 or 31?
The folk version …

“Keep wood for March,
so not to burn the fence-poles”  is a known Greek proverb.
But what made March so unpredictable?  …

Love and punishment !
From matrimonial love to barometric pressures ….

After last Thursdays’ storm, many people in the Netherlands and elsewhere lost much.
The famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis describes in “Report to El Greco” such an event and the life lesson he then got .

The short period of good weather during January and Februari is called in Greece “Days of the Alkyon”.
Why …?

“Who payed the bride” & why?
When we use to say so? (more…)

Is there a work of art to which 130 verses of one of the most famous poems in the world were dedicated?

It’s not a secret, of course, that the pomegranate is connected with symbolisms and many more traditions around the world, also in Greece.

How women were perceived in Ancient Greece has been a subject of much fascination amongst historians. Part of the fascination lies in the contrast between two of the most prominent city-states – Athens and Sparta. Athens didn’t look as favorably upon women as Sparta did.

One of the most popular Easter customs is the painting of the eggs on Holy Thursday. May be in recent years the eggs are painted in different colors, though the tradition wants them red. It is a fact that there were colored eggs in antiquity, in Rome, in Greece, China, Egypt, as gifts at spring […]