From Cradle to Grave...

The Greek Orthodox baptism is a very joyous ceremony for the family, when a child, sponsored by a Godparent, officially becomes a Christian. On Crete baptisms take place all year round but the warmer spring and summer months are very popular times, so as a tourist you may be fortunate to witness one of these beautiful ceremonies. Whereas in the UK and other European countries, where the baby’s forehead is sprinkled with water, in Greece the baby is totally immersed in the font. This is why it is usual for the child to be at least 40 days old (and younger than two) at the time of its christening. Generally a very close friend of the mother or father is asked to be the Godparent, but sometimes it can be a relative. To be asked to be a Godparent is a great honour and also huge responsibility. It is also an expensive time for the Godparent. He or she provides the gold cross, everything that the child will wear after the baptism and everything needed in the ceremony; a special set of underwear for the child, towels, a small bottle of olive oil, which the priest will put into the font and soap for him to wash his hands after the ceremony. All of these are put into a decorative chest which becomes a lovely memento of the special day. Everyone at the ceremony wears a small cross with a ribbon and pin attached, (called the Martirika), which is also provided by the Godparent. He or she is also expected to foot the bill for the church decorations; young children carry festive candles wrapped in tulle. Usually the ceremony itself takes place in the cooler part of the day. The Godparent holds the child and reconfirms his or her allegiance to the church and denounces the devil. As everyone gathers around, the child is undressed and the priest plunges the child three times into the font, giving the child its name and invoking the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s a strong tradition in Greece to name the child after the grandparents, usually the father’s parents first. The name will also be the name of a Christian Orthodox saint, and that will be the name day that the child celebrates. The child is anointed with holy myrrh, wrapped in a towel, and carried by the Godparent and walked three times around the baptismal font. The child is then towel dried – but not too thoroughly so that some of the holy oil stays on the skin – and then dressed, head to toe in entirely new clothing, which the priest has also blessed. After the ceremony the parents kiss the hand of the godparent. Well-wishers come and say “Na sas zisi” - “to the child!” The parents have ordered the invitations and they supply the traditional “boubouneras”; a small treat of almonds in a bundle of tulle and tied with a ribbon. There is also a little sweet gift of “Kserotigana”, which are rolls of crisp fried dough, drenched in honey syrup, which the guests accept as they leave the church, congratulating the Godparent and the parents. There is also water and of course, this being Crete, there is also raki. There will also be a meaningful gift for the Godparent. After the ceremony Cretans celebrate with food, especially for a village baptism, with a festive lunch or dinner with the extended family, godparents and their family, and close friends. Cretan specialties will be served – goat, freshly made pies, excellent cheeses and salads, and homemade wines, accompanied by music and dancing to the sound of the Cretan lyra. The child will not be bathed for several days – tradition says three days, so as not to disturb the holy oil on the baby’s skin. The child should also attend church and receive holy communion for the three consecutive Sundays following baptism. The Godparents continue to play a role in the child’s life. They always ensure the child has an Easter “Lambada” – the candle to get the holy light of the resurrection at church at midnight. They also offer a gift on the child’s name day. But most importantly, they serve as a spiritually important figure in the child’s life as he or she grows. Because of the strength of the relationship and the fact that the Godparent is spiritually considered a parent, it is the custom that a person always ever only baptizes girls, or boys. This is because the spiritual “siblings” should not marry, in case they meet later on. We were lucky enough to be invited to the baptism of Maria, the child of two dear Cretan friends, Nikos and Eleni from The Oasis Cafe, Neapoli. Unfortunately it was during the time of Covid and the ceremony had to be restricted in the number of people who could attend. However we were fortunate to receive a boubouneras each and they are pictured below.

Christenings in Crete

Weddings in Crete

The summer months are the most popular time for a Cretan wedding as many receptions are held outside and Saturday is the most popular day to allow time for the guests to travel to the wedding. According to Greek Orthodox tradition, there are dates during the year that are considered good luck, e.g. even though not a summer month, January weddings are considered lucky as in Ancient Greece this month was dedicated to Hera, the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage and fertility. Also June, which became a special month when the Romans translated Hera to Juno. There are other dates which should be avoided; the forty days of Lent, the first two weeks in August, which are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, August 29th (the death of John the Baptist), September 14th (the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) and the forty days leading up to Christmas. In the UK, "Something old" is the first line of a traditional rhyme that details what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a [silver] sixpence in her shoe. The old item provides protection for the baby to come. The new item offers optimism for the future. The item borrowed from another happily married couple provides good luck. The colour blue is a sign of purity and fidelity. The sixpence - a British silver coin - is a symbol of prosperity or acts as a ward against evil done by frustrated suitors. In Crete there are also rituals: A lump of sugar inside the bride’s glove is said to ensure a sweet life and putting a gold coin inside one of her shoes good fortune. The groom should have something made of iron in his pocket to ward off evil spirits. An odd number of guests are invited and an odd number of attendants stand beside the couple. Odd numbers are thought to be lucky as they cannot be divided; most symbolic is the number three as it represents the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. A very old tradition is to offer congratulations to the couple and spit. Today guests blow a puff of air through pursed lips – doing this three times brings even more luck. In traditional villages invitations are delivered by hand, where possible, with a little raki of course to drink to the health of the couple. The toast is “Kala Stefani”, (“Happy Wreaths”), which refers to the wreaths which are placed on the heads of the bride and groom during the ceremony. Two days before the wedding, women and close friends visit the couple’s home-to-be (although many couples nowadays are already living together). They prettify the bed and then people come to the house to throw money on the bed for good luck. There are, of course, the stag and hen parties. The best man will shave the groom and the bride’s friends do her hair. Special songs are sung and there is music and dancing. The car in which the bride will arrive at the church is decorated with flowers on the morning of the wedding. As the time approaches for the bride to arrive at the church, a procession of cars goes through the village or town, with horns blaring. The “Koumbaros” or “Koumbara” (Best Man or Maid of Honour) wait at the church for the bride to arrive. At the altar will be the priest, of course, with the bride and groom, the best man or maid of honour, the little boys and girls of the family, all dressed up and finally the parents of the bride and groom. The rings are placed on the bible and the priest places them on the right hand of the bride and groom. During the ceremony the priest will put the wreath on both the bride and groom’s head and the best man or maid of honour will intertwine these three times before linking them with ribbon and then they walk round the altar three times with the priest. The congregation showers them with rice. The chalice of wine is given to the couple by the best man or maid of honour and they both take three sips from it. As the guests leave the church they are given a wedding favour, which is a sachet of tulle filled with an odd number of sugared almonds. Five almonds would represent health, happiness, fertility, longevity and prosperity. And now the celebrations begin. The venue for the reception has to be quite large (around 300 guests is considered a small wedding). It is also tradition for the men to wear a white scarf around their necks. Amongst the array of food will be the traditional “Gamopilafo” – the wedding pilaf, which is slow–cooked goat with rice. There will be cheese, salads, lamb with potatoes, bread, many sweet desserts, a lot of wine and, of course, raki. After the feast, the band will play on the lyra and the laouto and the dancing will begin and go on well into the morning. And finally there is the giving of gifts. It is customary to give an envelope with cash to help the couple start out in their new life together. The couple also give a token and a sesame bread ring to each guest at the end of the celebrations. The couple also has a sesame bread ring which they pull to see who ends up with the largest piece. Whoever succeeds has the largest say in the marriage. Crete is known as much for strong women as it is for strong men.

Funerals

Christenings

The summer months are the most popular time for a Cretan wedding as many receptions are held outside and Saturday is the most popular day to allow time for the guests to travel to the wedding. According to Greek Orthodox tradition, there are dates during the year that are considered good luck, e.g. even though not a summer month, January weddings are considered lucky as in Ancient Greece this month was dedicated to Hera, the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage and fertility. Also June, which became a special month when the Romans translated Hera to Juno. There are other dates which should be avoided; the forty days of Lent, the first two weeks in August, which are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, August 29th (the death of John the Baptist), September 14th (the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) and the forty days leading up to Christmas. In the UK, "Something old" is the first line of a traditional rhyme that details what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a [silver] sixpence in her shoe. The old item provides protection for the baby to come. The new item offers optimism for the future. The item borrowed from another happily married couple provides good luck. The colour blue is a sign of purity and fidelity. The sixpence - a British silver coin - is a symbol of prosperity or acts as a ward against evil done by frustrated suitors. In Crete there are also rituals: A lump of sugar inside the bride’s glove is said to ensure a sweet life and putting a gold coin inside one of her shoes good fortune. The groom should have something made of iron in his pocket to ward off evil spirits. An odd number of guests are invited and an odd number of attendants stand beside the couple. Odd numbers are thought to be lucky as they cannot be divided; most symbolic is the number three as it represents the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. A very old tradition is to offer congratulations to the couple and spit. Today guests blow a puff of air through pursed lips – doing this three times brings even more luck. In traditional villages invitations are delivered by hand, where possible, with a little raki of course to drink to the health of the couple. The toast is “Kala Stefani”, (“Happy Wreaths”), which refers to the wreaths which are placed on the heads of the bride and groom during the ceremony. Two days before the wedding, women and close friends visit the couple’s home-to-be (although many couples nowadays are already living together). They prettify the bed and then people come to the house to throw money on the bed for good luck. There are, of course, the stag and hen parties. The best man will shave the groom and the bride’s friends do her hair. Special songs are sung and there is music and dancing. The car in which the bride will arrive at the church is decorated with flowers on the morning of the wedding. As the time approaches for the bride to arrive at the church, a procession of cars goes through the village or town, with horns blaring. The “Koumbaros” or “Koumbara” (Best Man or Maid of Honour) wait at the church for the bride to arrive. At the altar will be the priest, of course, with the bride and groom, the best man or maid of honour, the little boys and girls of the family, all dressed up and finally the parents of the bride and groom. The rings are placed on the bible and the priest places them on the right hand of the bride and groom. During the ceremony the priest will put the wreath on both the bride and groom’s head and the best man or maid of honour will intertwine these three times before linking them with ribbon and then they walk round the altar three times with the priest. The congregation showers them with rice. The chalice of wine is given to the couple by the best man or maid of honour and they both take three sips from it. As the guests leave the church they are given a wedding favour, which is a sachet of tulle filled with an odd number of sugared almonds. Five almonds would represent health, happiness, fertility, longevity and prosperity. And now the celebrations begin. The venue for the reception has to be quite large (around 300 guests is considered a small wedding). It is also tradition for the men to wear a white scarf around their necks. Amongst the array of food will be the traditional “Gamopilafo” – the wedding pilaf, which is slow–cooked goat with rice. There will be cheese, salads, lamb with potatoes, bread, many sweet desserts, a lot of wine and, of course, raki. After the feast, the band will play on the lyra and the laouto and the dancing will begin and go on well into the morning. And finally there is the giving of gifts. It is customary to give an envelope with cash to help the couple start out in their new life together. The couple also give a token and a sesame bread ring to each guest at the end of the celebrations. The couple also has a sesame bread ring which they pull to see who ends up with the largest piece. Whoever succeeds has the largest say in the marriage. Crete is known as much for strong women as it is for strong men.