{"id":1048,"date":"2022-11-14T05:59:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T03:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/?p=1048"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T09:00:25","slug":"how-does-greece-celebrate-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/how-does-greece-celebrate-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Greece Celebrate Christmas?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"661\" height=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asasaggg.jpg\" alt=\"Greece Celebrate Christmas\" class=\"wp-image-1049\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asasaggg.jpg 661w, https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asasaggg-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Greece is one of the best places to spend Christmas with loved ones if you are looking to experience a different kind of holiday. The island of Crete is particularly festive, and you can make the most of your visit by using a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/rent-car-crete.php\">car rental in Crete<\/a>. Having your own car lets you explore off-the-beaten paths and learn more about the island\u2019s history and traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\n<strong>Do you want to spend Christmas the Greek way? Here are some basics to know. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Meet St. Basil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agios\nVasilios or Saint Basil is the Greek Santa Claus. Also known as Basil the Great\nor Basil of Caesarea, he was among the Three Hierarchs who contributed to\nshaping Christian theology in the fourth century. He was known to care for the\nweak, even building a hospice and hospital and using his family\u2019s inheritance\nto help the poor. His feast day is January 1st, so if you can, try to extend\nyour trip to the New Year to experience the gift-giving festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gift-giving happens on New Year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas\nDay in Greece is celebrated with sweet treats and big family dinners, but\nGreeks don\u2019t exchange gifts. Instead, they customarily hand out presents on the\nNew Year, the feast day of St. Basil. With a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/\">car rental in Crete,<\/a> try to visit one of the big cities and enjoy the local\nChristmas cake, Vasilopita, which has a coin concealed within. Finding the coin\nin your slice is believed as a sign of good luck for the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Marvel at the decorated boats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saint\nNicholas is also an important figure in modern-day Greek Christmas\ncelebrations. But as he is the patron saint of sailors, locals honour him\nthroughout the holidays by decorating boats. Marinas and ports boast life-sized\nvessels bedazzled in lights to honour the tradition of sailors\u2019 children and\nwives decorating the boats themselves. You\u2019ll also find model boats strewn with\nfairy lights in many houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Greek carols<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kalanda\nis a long-standing Greek tradition derived from the musical traditions of the\nRomans and Byzantines. Young children mostly sing these Greek carols, and\npeople reward them with sweets and pocket change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christmas\nis a big holiday in Greece that is celebrated with food. With your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/\">car rental in Crete,<\/a> you can get around and try different fares all over the island.\nPork is the meat served to break the advent fast, but you can also expect\ndelicacies like mulled wine, stuffed turkey, and raki with honey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greece is one of the best places to spend Christmas with loved ones if you are looking to experience a different kind of holiday. The island of Crete [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Does Greece Celebrate Christmas | Cretarent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the unique traditions and festive celebrations of Christmas in Greece. 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