The Christmas boat and tree

Now i'm ready to start learning about the Greek customs for Christmas and New Year.
The kids decided to teach me about their customs and they shared the lessons i need to attend!
So, today i will start with Yiorgos, Katerina and Rozalia. My first lesson will be about the Christmas... Boat!!!

Greece, as the country of the sea, used to decorate a boat for Christmas. The boat symbolizes the new course of human life, after the birth of Christ.

50 years ago the Christmas boat was in most of the Greek houses and also in the hands of the children who were singing carols in the streets.

It also was a kind of honor and welcome for the sailors who were returning home.

Today this tradition tends to disappear and is replaced by the outlandish custom of the Christmas fir. In some areas though, especially in the islands, people still decorate boats and in the last years there is a laudable attempt by certain municipalities all over the country to restore the original form and decorate boats to the main squares.

Here you can see the boat in the main square of Thessaloniki which is called Aristoteles Square.

The Christmas Tree in Greece

The custom of the Christmas tree was brought to Greece by the Bavarians and the first tree was decorated  in the Palace of Otto in 1833.
Forerunner of the Christmas tree in Greece was the traditional Christoxylo (Christ’s wood) mainly in the villages of Northern Greece. Every Christmas they put a big stump from wild cherry, pine or olive in the fireplace, where it would burn throughout the 12-day festivities of the Christmas until the Epiphany. According to tradition it brings good fortune and mainly protects the house from the goblins coming from chimneys and steal or do damage to the household.