The world event that is Christmas day 2018, was already over a week ago, with amazing food and fantastic celebrations, however the Christmas season is not over yet!
Many are still enjoying the Christmas presents that had been sitting under the Christmas tree for so long and getting excited by the pretty fairy lights and decorations still on display. I personally love the idea of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ carol and find it strange that some families take down their decorations on Boxing day as an end to the festivities.
British Cypriots have grown up with two traditions running in parallel and this can be confusing. Although the UK and Cyprus are predominantly Christian nations with the same core beliefs, because of slight variations in traditions, many families’ experiences of Christmas is a mix of an anglicised one of mince pies and Christmas crackers, and a Cypriot one of lots of family time, kourabiedes and Agios Vasilis rather than good old St Nick!
Had our cultures had two different religions it would been easier to separate our celebrations, and how long our celebrations last. For some denominations, the twelve days of Christmas ends on 5 January, as they include Christmas Eve as the first day of Christmas, whereas in the Orthodox custom, aside from the 40 day preparatory fasting period, the twelve days begin on Christmas day and the Epiphany on 6 January known to many as “TA PHOTA” is the last day of Christmas and the appropriate time to take down decorations (not boxing day!).
There are differences not only between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions but also between the various traditions that have uniquely developed due to the culture of each country. A perfect example is that although the dominant religion of the majority Christian Greek Cypriots is Greek Orthodox, the Church of Cyprus has been autocephalous since circa 431AD and thus many traditions and practises have developed independently from the Orthodox Church.
Many countries of the Scandinavian countries start their festivities on 13 December and Christmas Eve is the most important celebration day. In the Czech Republic instead of turkey and all the trimmings, the traditional Christmas meal is fried carp accompanied by a potato salad and for non-fish eater’s schnitzel is the alternative.
The more I investigate this the more my curiosity has developed, and it has been fascinating learning about the many other traditions and celebratory days even just within Europe. It is great to see that like Cypriots, other minority communities within the UK have brought their traditions with them and added to its cultural diversity and to the richness of the wider community.
Christmas is such a large event that it has influenced non-Christian nations, we may see this disguised as Happy Holidays or Happy Winter season but regardless of where you are Christmas cannot be ignored! The overwhelming message of Love and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is not something that will just go away despite any name changes. Many objections have been raised regarding the actual birthdate of Jesus Christ, but the fact is we celebrate on 25 December, fact (even though in the Orthodox tradition gifts are exchanged on 1 January, St. Basil’s Day or Agios Vasilis)! So, if Orthodox Christians were not influenced by the influence and mass marketing of the western world, we would have only opened our gifts just a couple of days ago!
Even though we conform to the western Christian tradition in this regard, in my opinion, it remains very important and necessary for the unique traditions of the orthodox culture and minority cultures more broadly, not be swallowed up by an ever-domineering globalisation. Nations and individual communities within those nations should keep their traditions and celebrate them with the rest of the world. That’s what makes multiculturalism amazing, being open to diversity, and continuing to celebrate the elements of one’s culture freely.
Although Christmas day has already taken place all over the world but, the Christmas period is still very much being celebrated and remains the most inclusive holy days of all, it is the perfect time to celebrate with new friends and old and to build up relationships and re-establish the bond between families.
Wishing all a very Merry Christmas, Kala Hristogennia, Kales Giortes! and enjoy the rest of festivities and have a Happy New Year and we look forward to celebrating with you, we have plenty of exciting announcements to come for CyWineFest 2019!
Credit:CyWineFest team
Photo Credit:
St. Basile / Agios Vasilis Icon – CyWineFest team
Fugslang Manor Church, Lolland, Denmark – George Charalambous
Kourabiedes – Chriso Ioannou
