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Greek People and Culture
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Greek people
The Greek people are renowned for their hospitality and generosity to foreigners, although nowadays it is perhaps harder to find than it used to be.
Nevertheless, Greece is still one of the few places where you may be invited into a local's home and given a meal, or where they may wish to take you out and treat you for a meal. Most Greeks would consider it an insult if their guests paid for the meal.
Greece is a very religious country, with about 98% of the population belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church.
Other religious minorities are a few Roman Catholics and Jews, mainly in the north. Religion dominates many aspects of everyday life and churches are abundant all over the land.
Religion also plays a part in all the main festivals. Weddings, baptisms and name's days are the most celebrated events, with much feasting, drinking and merrymaking. Greek people do not normally celebrate birthdays, although it is becoming more popular now for the person whose birthday it is, to treat his guests.
The Greek people are also very superstitious.
Tuesday is considered unlucky, because it is the day on which Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. They also believe in the 'evil eye' which can be cast by envy or avarice, so don't praise another person too highly, or they may blame you for their bad luck!
Eating
As is common in many Mediterranean countries, breakfast consists mainly of coffee. Sometimes this may be accompanied by bread, pastries or cake.
In most tourist areas, however, 'English' breakfasts of eggs, bacon, sausages, etc, are clearly advertised. Lunch is the main meal of the day.
Shops and businesses close at around 1.30 pm and everyone returns to their family seat to indulge in a large meal, consisting mainly of meat, vegetables in season, liberally garnished with olive oil, and salads.
Bread is always eaten in large amounts and wine and feta cheese usually accompany the meal. Naturally, a three hour siesta is usually taken after this, with shops and businesses usually starting up in the afternoon after 5pm.
The evening meal is either small or, when Greek's go out, a major social affair. In the summer months, most restaurants and tavernas will fill up with long tables of Greek people - usually after the tourists have eaten - at 9pm and later.
This may induce quite a lot of alcohol consumption, Greek dancing and possibly plate smashing. It is not customary to follow main meals with desserts (fresh fruit more likely) or coffee, although these may be on the menu in touristy areas. Vegetarians may not have a very easy time, unless they happen to arrive during the 40 days of lent, when meat is off the menu.
However, many traditional home cooked meals are purely vegetable based. Otherwise, stick to omelettes, spaghetti Napolitan, salads and the ubiquitous cheese-pie. |
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