Christmas in Cyprus
Be jolly folks, the season to be jolly is around the corner and in no time at all the sweet aroma of kourabiedes and melomakarona will fill all the Cyprus homes in the world!
Cypriots love Christmas, but who can blame them right? At the beginning of December every family in Cyprus decorates their Christmas tree as well as the entire house, the more decorations the merrier the Christmas! Christmas for Cyprus is a full month celebration starting off on the 6th of December with the St. Nicholas Feast all the way to the 6th of January which the Epiphany is celebrated.
Before Christmas, Cypriots tend to fast as they are deeply religious people. Every Christmas celebration honours Christ from the kalanda (carols) sang, which have been handed down from the Byzantine period, to the Christmas sweets.
Christmas presents are exchanged on New Year’s Day and not on Christmas Day as is the norm in other countries. This is because “Santa Claus” in Cyprus and other Greek countries and islands is Ayios Vasilis (Saint Basil), who is celebrated on the 1st January. Therefore, on New Year’s Eve, after the children have gone to bed, the parents place a Vasiliopitta (Basil Cake) with a coin in it by the Christmas tree, they also light a candle on it and place a glass of wine next to it as well. As legend has it, Ayios Vasilis comes late at night to bring the children presents. He first blesses the cake and drinks the glass of wine before placing the gifts under the tree. When the children wake up in the morning, the family cuts the Vasilopita, and whomever gets the piece of cake with the hidden coin in it will be the lucky one throughout the next year.
The day of the Epiphany is also very important in Cyprus. The Kallikantzari are Christmas Hobgoglins who surface from the underground once a year during Christmas to play pranks on people. The Kallikantzari are short, ugly and very deformed little mischief monsters who find their way to people’s homes through their chimneys upon seeing their Christmas trees! According to the Christmas legend, the only way to keep these malicious creatures away is to keep the fireplace flaming all through Christmas time. Also, people tend to sprinkle holy water around their homes, warding the kallikantzarous away! On the 6th of January, the Kallikantzaroi return underground, and the children are given money by their godparents and grandparents after the recite the following verse, Kalimera ke ta fota ke tin ploumistira prota (Good morning on this day of light and let us have our money please).