Primary School of Muslim Minority Myki Xanthi - Greece

Greek Traditions for the 1 st day of the Year “The First Step” One of the oldest traditions in Greece for the first day of the Year, is the “First step” or “Podariko” in Greek Language. After the change of the year, the first person who enters the family house from outside must do the first step on his/her right foot. People believed that this brings good luck to the house and the family. The “first step” ought to be spontaneous although many people used to warn the first visitor to enter the house on his right foot.

Re-creation of the “First Step” by the children of our school

“The Pomegranate’s Breaking” Another very popular tradition in all parts of Greece is “Pomegranate’s breaking”. We usually find it in connection with “First step”. This is the duty of the father of each family.

Before the first entering in the house, after the change of the year, the father breaks a pomegranate and wishes: “As many are the seeds of pomegranate, so many let be the years of the house and of the family members”. Then he wishes Happy New year and Good Health. This tradition is also connected with good luck.

Re-creation of “Pomegranate’s Breaking” by our children.

We thank our children for their help Jansel Taner Ayhan Merve Yeliz 6 th Grade

Ramazan Ramazan is a religious festival of the Muslims. This festival does not have a particular date every year. It is celebrated on different days annually. It lasts 5 days. About half an hour prior to dawn the Muslims are wandering around their neighborhoods with drums in order to wake the rest up. They have to eat before the sun comes out. After dawn they cannot eat or drink completely nothing. After sunset they are allowed to start eating and drinking again till next morning and so on.

Dinner is rich during the days of the fasting. Women prepare the food throughout the day. The first thing people do after sunset is to drink water and they usually eat olives. Then they start eating the well-cooked food. Fries, meat, rice, soup with rice and mince, sweet, yoghurt are some of the typical Muslim dishes. They finish off their meal with some traditional delights.

A few days before the festival, women clean their houses thoroughly. For those who live in villages it is very important to keep their yard tidy and clean. Two days prior to the festival, they go to each other’s house and they all together prepare the traditional delight called “baklavas”.

Moreover, the Muslims who have enough money offer a small amount to those ones who cannot afford to buy necessary things. On the day of the festival they all wear their best traditional clothes. In the morning the men go to the mosque in order to pray and then they go to the cemetery in order to honor their dead relatives. The women pray at home while the children go to the neighbors door by door. They wish the landlords good health, kiss their hands and then they are given money and sweets.

Ramazan Pictures

Kourmpan Bayram Kourmpan Bayram is another Muslim festival. The arrival of Avraam is celebrated then. It is called “Kourmpan” because Muslims sacrifice animals. “Bayram” means festival. It lasts 5 days and it is celebrated on different dates annually. During that festival they do not have a fasting. On Kourmpan Bayram eve the men go to the mosque in order to pray.

On the day of the festival the men go to the mosque early in the morning for their morning prayer. The priest (Hodja) blesses the animals which are going to be sacrificed in order to be eaten. These are sheep, lambs and oxen, one per each family. After the blessing, all the firmly tied animals are killed.

A custom related to Kourmpan Bayram is the custom of the camel. Muslim teenagers are disguised as brides and grooms. They also construct a camel, they take their drums and they all together wander around their neighborhoods. They wish the elder good health and they are given sweets and money.

Xanthi’s Carnival One of the most typical celebrations of Greece is the Carnival. It is celebrated every February in several towns in Greece. Xanthi’s carnival is the second most famous all over the country. During carnival days all the hotels are full of visitors. The carnival lasts for about one week. People are disguised in whatever they want and wonder around the central square of our town having lots of fun. On Carnival’s day (i.e. Sunday) thousands of dressed up people take part in the central parade. They jump around and dance the whole noon.

Carnival photos

In the evening all the people watch the traditional Thracian custom, which is called ‘The Burn of Tzaros’. ‘Jaros’ is a doll in the size of a man. He wears old clothes and he is burnt near Kosynthos river in Xanthi. People construct a hillock of tree boughs (usually hollies) and put the doll on the top of it. They start a fire and so ‘Jaros’ is burnt. The name was taken after the typical sound of ‘jjjj…’ the burning hollies create. While the burn takes place, people throw hundreds of colorful fireworks. It is exciting to see how the dark sky is ‘painted’…

Burning of Jaros