The cuckoo shouted. Is spring here? The cuckoo is in Greek tradition closely related to spring, just like the swallow. Both migratory birds leave Greece when the weather cools down and return back in spring. So, their appearance marks the passage into a new era and identifies the regeneration of nature. From there, the proverbial […]

Traditions, ghosts and Carnaval Legends always remains a significant part of our traditional background. And even if we know that they have nothing to do with the reality, we keep them as a secret treasure. One of them is the “ghost of Harmena”  in Central Greece (in the region of Amfissa) which comes always in […]

Black cats and open umbrellas that bring bad luck. Βlue beads and garlic against  the evil eye … And much more! … Prejudices and superstitions that have to do with everything that surrounds us. And if you think that all these funny and absurd metaphysics concern only Greece, you are probably wrong. Superstitions are something […]

Are there trees that are victims of people’s superstition? Trees that folk tradition associates with curses? And trees that we are happy to accept their fruits but are not welcome in our garden?   The incriminated fig tree One of the most “incriminated” trees is the fig tree. Many do not want it in their […]

Why water is of such an importance in some cultures? Most cultures were born and grew up around the water. That is why people understood its power since very early: either when it was giving life, either when it took life back. One of these cultures is Greece. And as it is normal, water and […]

“March” or “Martis” is a very old custom. It is believed to have its roots  in Ancient Greece and more specifically in the Eleusinian Mysteries, where the mystics tied a thread, the Kroki (=thread), to their right hand and their left leg.  Nowadays at the first day of March, parents put a bracelet made of […]

March and its first day carry magical power because it was believed that then “the resurrection of nature” takes place. Before the designation of  January 1st, March 1st was the beginning of the year. That is why it was also described as the “great hour of the year“.  At 1st March it was said that […]

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

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