The Greek Family

The Greek family, as a cultural metaphor, reflects the whole Greek culture and mentality since it is a combination of traditions and values which every Greek family tries to preserve and also transfer to the next generations with little changes. History & Tradition Both history and tradition are closely linked since the second is a product of the first. With the passage of time, because of the many invasions, Greeks were exposed to many different cultures. As a result they adopted many elements of them and finally formatted what we know today. The way they act and their perspective of life, both are results of these factors. Once more through the family they managed to overcome the obstacles and keep the positive features of the difficulties. Religion Greek family is highly associated with religion. A very high percentage Greeks are ChristianOrthodox and religion is transferred from generation to generation via baptism. In Easter they tend to eat lamb and also go to church all together. At Christmas the traditions are a bit different and it is typical to eat turkey, kourabiedes and melomakarona. Apart from what mentioned above, Greeks also believe in the evil eye or else mati1, which is the malevolent look, that is able to cause injury or misfortune for the person at whom it is directed to, due to envy or dislike. The evil eye is cast away through the process of xematiasma, whereby the "healer" silently recites a secret prayer passed over from an older relative of the opposite sex, usually a grandparent.

Holidays & Ceremonies Holidays are highly connected with family. Family holidays are very typical, especially when the children of the family are young. They share lunch or dinner together on national celebrations such as the 28th of October and the 25th of March. Furthermore, they jointly attend ceremonies like weddings, baptisms and funerals. Finally, Name days in Greece are considered more important than Birthdays and people visit each other without an invitation. In order to wish them a happy Name day they also call the family. Political Structure The Constitution of Greece is a presidential parliamentary republic. Greek politics is often described as dynastic, with long-established political families, such as Papandreou, Mitsotakis and Karamanlis, controlling the positions of power.

Educational System The Greek educational system can be characterized as one of the most difficult and also stressful systems in Europe. Students learn ancient Greek, Latin and foreign languages. Moreover, the family has a supportive role, such as pushing children to achieve their goals. Food & Eating Behaviour When we talk about the Greek family the first thing that comes to our mind is a big table, plenty of food and drinks. Mostly we can find Greek mezethes2 in order to complement and enhance the taste of the ouzo, tsipouro, raki or wine and also to provide the backdrop for a social gathering. People around the table tend to be joyful and laugh loudly regardless if they are relatives, friends or even strangers. Their kind hospitality and sharing are the basic elements of the Greek culture. Behaviour, Language & Humor Greeks are loud and joyful and they shout a lot when they talk especially when they meet somebody they know. When they want to greet someone formally they use a handshake and for informal greetings they hug and give two kisses on the cheeks. They also use inside jokes or call each other with nicknames. Greek humor, which originates from the ancient Greek comedy, is contextual and it cannot be explained and easily transferred to someone of a different culture. Greek language and communication is high context which means that some things are left unsaid because some things are explained by culture itself. In their oral communication each family, company, couple etc. has its own codes to converse. They are also very expressive using many gestures and body language in general.

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