Father Christmas is Greek!
“Spring had arrived and the island was sparkling with flowers”.
“picture postcard glimpses of green hills and blue seas framed by whitewashed houses and steep alleyways”
“village children travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing 'kalanda'”
“They look good, they taste good and, by golly, they do you good!”
“that race from a very ancient country, breathe life and vitality into what were thought to be dying virtues”
Volume 1, Issue 1
Christmas 2008
“Couldn’t you just stay here forever?”
It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for – Santa Claus does exist, and guess where he is from? – Greece, of course!
Some 1700 years ago in the city of Myra in Asia Minor, one of the youngest men ever to become a priest, Agios Nikolaos (St Nicholas), became famous for his outstanding acts of charity. He provided funds for men and women who were down on their luck, helping to relieve poverty and destitution among his fellow
wastelands of the Arctic Circle.
The fascinating thing is, St Nicholas was a member of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea at about the same time as Corfu’s very own patron saint. The chances are that St Spiridon actually knew the real Santa Claus.
‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there ..
townsfolk. There are even stories of him dropping bags of gold down chimneys, the implications of which are obvious.
Persecuted and im-prisoned for his good deeds, Ag. Nikolaos later became a Bishop in the Orthodox Church and there is some speculation that the red robes he
From the end of November through to the middle of December Maggie, from Maggie’s
The Smile of the Child
Bistro, along with Sandra, from the Mediterranean Corner, & June, from Benny’s
Bar, has been busy raising funds for ‘The Smile of The Child’ orphanage near Sidari.
They organised a series of “Bring & Buy” sales in
the village. Local traders donated prizes for the raffle draw. Following wonderful
support from the local community at the series of events, and with the Bistro’s previous fund-
raising effort when 1,115 Euros was made, the total now stands at more than 2,400 Euros.
Well done Maggie, Sandra and June!
would have worn have become part of the image we enjoy as today’s Father Christmas.
St Nicholas’s story probably migrated to northern Europe when, later in life, he became a patron saint of Russia with his influence spreading to the frozen
