Planning to visit Greece in 2019? Get the most out of your experience! Learn here about the most important holidays in Greece - fast and easy with GreekPod101!
| January 6, 2019 | Epiphany |
| February 28, 2019 | Fat Thursday |
| March 2, 2019 | Soul Saturday |
| March 10, 2019 | Carnival |
| March 11, 2019 | Clean Monday |
| March 11, 2019 | Great Lent |
| March 25, 2019 | Greek Revolution Day |
| March 25, 2019 | Anunciation |
| April 21, 2019 | Palm Sunday |
| April 25, 2019 | Great and Holy Thursday |
| April 26, 2019 | Great and Holy Friday |
| April 27, 2019 | Great and Holy Saturday |
| April 28, 2019 | Easter Sunday |
| May 1, 2019 | May 1st Day |
| June 6, 2019 | Ascension Day |
| June 15, 2019 | Soul Saturday |
| June 16, 2019 | Pentecost |
| June 17, 2019 | Monday of the Holy Spirit |
| June 24, 2019 | Birth of St. John the Baptist |
| August 15, 2019 | Dormition of the Mother of God |
| October 28, 2019 | Ohi Day |
| November 17, 2019 | Athens Polytechnic Uprising |
How well do you know holidays in Greece?
In this article, you learn all about the top Greece holidays and the traditions and history behind them. Check the must-know Greek vocabulary for popular holidays in Greece too!
That way, you can easily talk about Greek holidays while improving your vocabulary and overall speaking skills. You will pick up key vocab, phrases, and cultural insights you won’t find in a textbook.
Perfect for any student interested in learning more about Greek culture. We will teach you the what, why, when and how of Greece holidays.
Epiphany (Θεοφάνια) is a Christian holiday that’s celebrated every year on January 6 to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ, or βάπτιση του Ιησού Χριστού in Greek. On Epiphany Day, in the coastal regions of Greece, the custom of the “blessing of the waters” or αγιασμός των υδάτων, takes place. This custom relates to the baptism of Jesus; during the ceremony, the waters are blessed by the wishes and invocations of the priest, as well as by the immersion of the Holy Cross in the waters. In non-coastal regions, the ceremony can take place in a river, a lake, or even a water reservoir.
Fat Thursday (Τσικνοπέμπτη) is traditionally a day where grilled meat is consumed in large quantities. There’s plenty of meat-eating and wine-drinking on this day, as it’s the last chance for rowdiness and meat consumption before Lent (Σαρακοστή), the period of fasting. After Fat Thursday, the next opportunity for partying doesn’t occur until Easter, a whole 59 days later, which is why Greeks put so much effort into making it an enjoyable event.
The Saturday before Meatfare Sunday (Κυριακή της Απόκρεω) is called “Soul Saturday.” It occurs during the second week of the Carnival. There’s also another Soul Saturday that takes place the day before Pentecost Sunday (Κυριακή της Πεντηκοστής). Soul Saturdays are used to honor those who, for whatever reason, died without having a memorial. A memorial in this case is a ceremony during which God is requested to forgive and allow those who have left us to rest in peace.
Carnival in Greece is a period of merrymaking, entertainment, and masquerade. The atmosphere is cheerful, featuring costume parties, lots of teasing, and carnivals that take place in the various regions of Greece. The Carnival lasts for three weeks and is celebrated seventy days before Easter, during the months of February or March. Carnival is associated with ancient pagan events, particularly the worshipping of the god Dionysus, who was reborn to bring back the spring. Nowadays, the holiday’s traditional roots are represented through the use of animal-like disguises, mainly representative of billy goats, as well as large bells used to expel evil forces with deafening noises.
Clean Monday is a particularly popular celebration. It’s called Καθαρά, meaning “Clean,” because the holiday marks the end of the frenzied celebrations of the Triodion, while also being the first day of Lent, a period of fasting that “cleanses” Christians both physically and spiritually. For most people, Clean Monday means heading out to the countryside. This excursion often involves flying a kite, playing traditional music, and enjoying a feast of fasting foods such as λαγάνα, a type of bread, ταραμάς which is salted and cured cod roe, halva, bean soup, and squid.
“Lent,” or the “Great Lent,” is a forty-day Christian period of fasting. It originally lasted six weeks, starting on Clean Monday (Καθαρά Δευτέρα). This period began right after the end of the Carnival period, which occurs 48 days before Easter, and ended on the Friday of the sixth week, before Palm Sunday (Κυριακή των Βαΐων). Today, however, the Holy Week that follows is also included, making Lent span a total of seven weeks.
In Greek, this day is called 25η Μαρτίου. March 25 is an important day for all Greeks in Greece to celebrate the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση) of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. This revolution brought about the nation’s much-desired independence after approximately 400 years of Turkish yoke, which began with the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Today, March 25 is a public holiday, so schools remain closed. But on the immediate working day preceding it, schools are decorated with Greek flags (ελληνικές σημαίες) and bay leaves, which symbolize victory. Students, with the help of teachers, organize a range of events, including speeches, patriotic songs, and school plays, which revive various scenes of the revolution.
March 25 is a day of double celebration for Greeks, because this date marks the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821. Greek people also celebrate the Annunciation, which is an important religious holiday. Many customs of the Annunciation are related to the belief that on this day spring begins and swallows return. The children remove the traditional wristband called μάρτης from their wrists and leave them on the trees so that the swallows will take them and build nests.
On the last Sunday before Easter, we celebrate Palm Sunday in remembrance of the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, temples (ναοί) are decorated with palm branches. After the end of the liturgy, palm branches plaited in the shape of a cross (σταυρός) are given out to members of the congregation.
In the old days, churches (εκκλησίες) were supplied with palm branches by newlywed couples, because the gesture was thought to bring luck upon their marriage.
The Great and Holy Thursday is the fourth day of the Holy Week (Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα), which is the week before Easter Sunday. The Great and Holy Thursday is dedicated to the Last Supper of Jesus Christ and His Twelve Apostles, to the betrayal of Judas, and to the beginning of the Passion of Christ, which is the final period of Jesus’s life starting from His trip to Jerusalem and ending in His crucifixion.
Because the color red (κόκκινο) symbolizes the blood of Christ, it’s tradition for Greeks to dye Easter eggs red on Great and Holy Thursday, and to spread a red cloth over windows and balconies.
Two days before Easter, the Great and Holy Friday is celebrated. This is a public holiday of absolute fast, dedicated to the Passion and the Crucifixion of Christ (τα Πάθη και η Σταύρωση του Χριστού). On the morning of Great and Holy Friday, a liturgy is held, where women mourn for Christ. Following this, there’s the Deposition of Christ, called αποκαθήλωση του Εσταυρωμένου, in which the priest takes Christ off the cross, wraps Him with a clean sheet, and places Him into the Holy Bier, which was prepared the night before. On the night of Great and Holy Friday, Christians flock to the temples to kiss and kowtow to the Bier of Christ, which involves kneeling and touching one’s forehead to the ground in an act of respect.
The Great and Holy Saturday is dedicated to the burial of Christ and His descent into Hades (Άδης). This day is always celebrated the day before Easter, as it’s the last day of the Holy Week. During this day, Christians prepare for the joyful message of the Resurrection, which is celebrated in temples at midnight. In Greece, late at night, Christians make their way to church bringing tall candles (λαμπάδες) with them.
The Orthodox celebrate Easter according to the old Julian calendar, which is astronomically not precise. People move en masse to various towns and villages to celebrate this day with their relatives. Greeks start setting up the spits used to roast the traditional spit-roasted lamb called οβελίας and the κοκορέτσι, which is lamb offal and intestines, from early on in the morning. This typically takes place under the supervision of men. Roasting the meat on the spit takes a long time, so everyone uses this time as an opportunity for drinking and merrymaking, usually involving traditional music and lots of dancing. When the food is ready, everyone gathers around the table and enjoys the festive meal.
May Day (Πρωτομαγιά) is a holiday dedicated to spring and flowers. It’s also called “International Workers’ Day” (Εργατική Πρωτομαγιά), in memory of the Haymarket workers’ demonstrations in Chicago in May 1886.
In Greece, the most well-known tradition of May Day is the May Day wreath (πρωτομαγιάτικο στεφάνι). Many people take advantage of the holiday and go on field trips in the countryside to collect wild flowers and greenery.
In Greece, Ascension Day is the commemoration and celebration of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven forty days after his resurrection, as well as his visit to his disciples and the instructions he gave them to stay in Jerusalem until they were “washed” by the Holy Spirit. Greeks commemorate this day through an icon, which is an image featuring the ascending Christ, some of his disciples, and a woman called “the Theotokos” who is known for her calm stance within the image. The people below the ascending Christ are said to represent the church; it’s said that Christ’s right hand in the image is blessing them, while the scroll in his left hand represents wisdom and teaching. Other celebrations on this day include Scripture readings and singing hymns, including Apolytikion and Kontakion.
There are two Soul Saturdays. The first one is the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday (Κυριακή της Απόκρεω).
There’s also another Soul Saturday that takes place the day before Pentecost Sunday (Κυριακή της Πεντηκοστής). Soul Saturdays are used to honor those who, for whatever reason, died without having a memorial. A memorial in this case is a ceremony during which God is requested to forgive and allow those who have left us to rest in peace.
Forty-nine days after Easter, Greek people celebrate Pentecost, the second largest holiday of Orthodoxy. Today, Pentecost always falls on a Sunday. According to popular Greek belief, starting from Easter up until the night before Pentecost, which is a “Soul Saturday” (Ψυχοσάββατο), the souls of the dead wander amongst us on Earth. Greeks don’t remove spider webs or cut tree branches during this period, so as to not disturb the souls sitting there.
Monday of the Holy Spirit falls on the day following Pentecost, and therefore is celebrated fifty days after Easter.
For the Greek Church, this day is important because it’s the day that the Holy Spirit descends upon people, orienting them toward the greater good. The Greek customs occurring on the Monday of the Holy Spirit are many and varied.
The birth of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated every June 24, at the beginning of the Greek summer. It’s also close to the day of the summer solstice (θερινό ηλιοστάσιο). During antiquity, the solstice served as the inspiration for a number of traditions that, despite their pagan origins, have found a place in this contemporary celebration of John the Baptist, who is perhaps most famous for performing the baptism of Jesus. The two main customs of this holiday, however, are celebrated on the night before—the “divination sign,” (κλήδονας) and the fires (φωτιές) that are lit in village squares and neighborhoods across the country.
Greek people celebrate with special solemnity the “Dormition of the Mother of God,” (Κοίμηση της Θεοτόκου)—in other words, the death of the Virgin Mary. This Marian holiday is an official public holiday and is a day of joy rather than mourning, because the Virgin Mary is thought to have been resurrected just like Jesus Christ. Since August is mainly a month of vacations and most Greeks are out of the cities, the celebrations on this day are especially intense in the islands and in the provinces. In Paros especially, a huge celebration is held: dozens of traditional fishing boats with lit torches fill up the small picturesque port of Νάουσα.
On October 28, Greek people celebrate the Anniversary of “OHI,” which means “No.” It’s a day of national celebration and a holiday, in memory of the “no” that the Greek prime minister and dictator (Ιωάννης Μεταξάς) answered on October 28, 1940 to the Italian government’s ultimatum, received via the Italian ambassador, which demanded that Greece provide access to its territory to Italian troops. This started the involvement of Greece in World War II with the Greco-Italian War (Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος).
Greek people honor the anniversary of a student uprising that took place at the National Technical University of Athens (Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο). The uprising took place on November 17, 1973 and was directed against the military dictatorship that had dominated the country since 1967.
Nowadays, schools carry out events commemorating the anniversary with audiovisual material and songs from the 1970s, the era of this uprising.
You may ask why it is advantageous to know Greek holidays. There are a number of good reasons!
If you’re keen to learn Greek on your own, there are a number of ways to do this. Why not choose holidays as a theme? You can start by learning about the Greek culture, so find a video or TV program about holidays in Greece. Better still - find a video or program about holidays in Greek, and watch it a few times! That way your ear will get used to the spoken language. You could also watch Greek movies without subtitles, as this too will train your ear to what correct Greek sounds like.
If you’re more advanced in Greek, you can practice your writing skills by writing a letter to your Greek friend about the holidays video. Or write a short review of the video, and post it on social media! Imagine how impressed your friends will be!
Practice your Greek pronunciation, and record yourself talking about your holiday in Greece. Pronouncing words correctly in any language is very important, or you may find yourself saying things you don’t mean!
If you’re an absolute beginner, it would be best to start with a book, a CD series, free PDF cheat sheets and preferably your Greek friend who can help you. Or, you can start with GreekPod101, for free!
Holidays in Greece can also be the perfect opportunity to practice your Greek! For the best experience, make sure to master at least Level 1 of your Greek lessons here on GreekPod101 before you go on holiday to Greece. Then don’t be shy! Use it with every native speaker you encounter in every situation. Practicing continuously to speak a language is one of the most important habits if you want to become fluent. Or, if you’re a new subscriber to GreekPod101 in a hurry to get to Greece, study Absolute Beginner Greek for Every Day to help you get by as a traveller - you will be surprised how far a little Greek can go!
GreekPod101 is uniquely geared to help you master relevant, everyday vocabulary and phrases, pronounced correctly and in the right context - this will set you on the right track. Our courses are perfectly designed to help you in fun ways!
But do have a holiday first. Ideally you will enjoy a different culture with a visit, and enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine. Don’t wait till 2020 to learn Greek through GreekPod101 though - it will open a whole new world for you!
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