Baptism takes place during the child's first year. Most Greek names are saint names, and in the old-world tradition, birthdays are seldom celebrated. Instead Greeks celebrate the Name Day of their saint. Since the church recognizes hundreds of saints, every day is a Name Day for at least one saint, sometimes more. A person who is not named after a saint can celebrate on All Saints' Day. Although the Name Day tradition may eclipse birthdays for adults, children's birthdays are enthusiastically celebrated by most modern Greek and Greek-American families.
Just as the paternal grandparents are honored first in naming, traditionally they also maintain stronger ties with their grandchildren. Ancient practice dictated that a young couple should make their home near the groom's parents and that the paternal grandparents should be involved in raising their grandchildren.
This practice is contrary to much of the world, in which maternal grandparents tend to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Greek culture is more homogeneous than some cultures, because the prevailing religion is Greek Orthodox. Even those Greek who are non-observant tend to have great respect for religious practice.
The ideal in many Greek families is for adult children to marry other Greeks and to have huge weddings in the church. Of course, as with other cultures, children don't always comply. Another Greek concept is that family consists of multiple generations and that those generations should have harmonious relationships.
The action of one family member reflects upon all of the family members. Family members are often in business together, so that makes the maintenance of a good name of utmost importance.
Greeks love holidays. All generations enjoy a holiday table loaded with delicious fare, usually combining newer recipes with family favorites. The family matriarchs are still responsible for most of the food preparation. Christmas is celebrated for 12 days, ending on January 6.
Many Greek families have adopted turkey as a main dish, although a holiday table often has several meat dishes. Soups, salads, bread and, of course, olives round out the meal.
Traditional cookies or pastries provide a sweet finish. Carnival, called Apokries, is celebrated with feasting, costumes and confetti. It ends on Clean Monday, which technically begins the previous evening with a church service. Celebrants ask for forgiveness from fellow church-goers so that they can begin Lent with a clean conscience. On the actual Monday, which is a public holiday in Greece, kite-building and kite-flying are traditional activities.
Shellfish and other Lenten foods are consumed. The Saturday before Easter, Holy Saturday, is celebrated with a nighttime church service. Right before midnight, all the lights in the church are turned off to symbolize the darkness of the tomb. The darkness ends at midnight with the lighting of candles, the singing of hymns, the pealing of bells and firework displays. Easter Sunday, which is a more important holiday than Christmas in Greek culture, is traditionally celebrated with spit-roasted lamb.
Many other delicacies are traditionally served, such as eggs that have been dyed red and the braided sweet bread known as tsoureki. Although Greeks have adopted numerous holiday customs from other countries, a recent movement is promoting a return to Greek traditions.
Instead of the widely adopted custom of decorating Christmas trees, some have returned to the older tradition of Christmas boats. These are miniature sailing vessels decorated with lights.
Children sometimes carry them as they go door to door singing kalanda , or Christmas carols. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Modern grandmothers are expanding their roles and selecting varied names for themselves. There are lots of Omas who aren't German and many Lolas who aren't Filipino. If you like the sound of one of these grandmother names from another country, you should feel free to select it, although it's a good idea to discuss whatever name you choose with the parents of your grandchild first.
Many of these names appear in several variations and spellings. Remember that languages use a variety of alphabets, which can make translating them into English tricky. These names are among those most frequently chosen, likely because they sound familiar and are easy to say and spell. The names that follow don't roll as easily off the tongue, and some of them can be real challenges to spell. For that reason, not too many grandmothers select them unless they do reflect at least a part of their heritage.
Also note: In Europe, where there has been a lot of movement across borders, grandmother names used in one country are frequently heard in neighboring countries as well.
These languages offer some more interesting options for grandmother names. Get expert tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Introduction to the Kiswahili Language. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellFamily. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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