Monday 31 August 2020
Monday 27 July 2020
Instead of farewell, we promise to go on and before you go...play KAHOOT with us!
One more game before we close our project. Join us and play with our KAHOOT quiz game!!!!
HINT: The answers are hidden in our blogspot and project's presentations!
Wednesday 22 July 2020
Our epistolary e-book
Here is the epistolary story-book we created, with imaginary post-cards, our students wrote to imaginary grandparents, with imaginary identities. The identities of the characters are students who migrated with their families to England or other countries seeking for a better life. A subject which our students are sensitive about and we discuss about at school. Many of our students or their parents, came to Greece (in our case) seeking for a better future and better conditions of life.
Monday 6 July 2020
Comeback
Our blog has been silent for four months!!! The COVID 19 lockdown affected all the apsects of our lives.
It was Tuesday 10th March, our schools here in Greece, were locked down, to control the spread of the pandemic. Distance working became the new "thing". Our project continued through our twinspace platform. Student and teacher parnters learned that technology can be a great tool if used creatively and wisely. But what is more important is that it did not disrupt our communication. We couldn't send letters but we had to communicate with our parnters. So social media and collaborative platforms proved very useful partners in our project and it offered a dimension in our research we would have never expected. Our Greek ancestors used to say " Ουδέν κακόν αμιγές καλού" meaning that even bad things have a positive side or "every cloud has a silver lining". We don't forget the people who lost their lives but even in Pandoras Box the last thing left was a good thing, "hope".
So please stay safe and I believe that, as histroy of humanity has proven, we will go through this pandemic too. As human beings, we have survived not because we have thumbs, we walk standing up on our two legs or we are the most intelligent being on earth (we are just different) but because we adapt in every condition. So BE SAFE, STAY SAFE, so can communicate.
ENJOY SAFE SUMMER HOLIDAYS
Sunday 1 March 2020
Welcome Spring - Goodbye Winter
We love winter, every season has its own beauty and nature needs the change. It wasn't very cold this year as it was last year and the year before that, but still we had our winter days to remember. Beautiful, white and cold days, by the fireplace or in beautiful winter landscapes driving to work. Greece has many faces, it is not only summer and holidays by the sea, it also has its mountains and snowed mountain tops.
But now, you don't have to look at the calender to understand that spring is approahing. The sun rises earlier in the morning and sets later in the evening, creating a warm feeling. The quality of the light changes too, the day is brighter and the air is warmer. The beautiful almond tree is the first one to bloom, as a messenger of the new season to come. Beautiful pink and white flowers which throw their petals in the first blow of the air. Wild anemone flowers spring from earth with their beautiful lilac colour, beautiful flower bed under the bare branches of the trees. And the olive groves, shine with their green silver leaves.
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| Χειμωνιάτικη Χαλκιδική |
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| Χειμωνιάτικη Χαλκιδική |
But now, you don't have to look at the calender to understand that spring is approahing. The sun rises earlier in the morning and sets later in the evening, creating a warm feeling. The quality of the light changes too, the day is brighter and the air is warmer. The beautiful almond tree is the first one to bloom, as a messenger of the new season to come. Beautiful pink and white flowers which throw their petals in the first blow of the air. Wild anemone flowers spring from earth with their beautiful lilac colour, beautiful flower bed under the bare branches of the trees. And the olive groves, shine with their green silver leaves.
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| Αμυγδαλιά |
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| Ελιές |
Hello February - Pinch and punch have a nice month!
Alkyonides days
Alkyonides days, in Greece, are called the warm days in the middle of winter, usually at around the middle of January, which are a welcome brake to the cold winter weather. Alkyona is a small sea bird. The tradition says that this bird lays its eggs during those warm winter days. The ancient Greek have a myth for that.
Here is the myth:
Alkyona lived happily with her husband Kyikas who was a king in Trachida. They loved each other and sometimes called each other as Zeus and Hera. That made Zeus very angry. One day that Kyikas was sailing at sea, Zeus threw a thunder on him and killed him. Alkyona couldn't believe what had happened to her beloved husband and threw herself into the sea until she found his dead body. She was so desperate and so sad that the other gods feeling mercy for her, they transformed them both into birds, the alkyones.
International Day of Greek Language
Today is the International Day of Greek Language.
It's been a year since we started this blogspot for our project. It was February and we welcome a new February.
Local customs and traditons
One of the customs the students described, has a ritual called "Piperou". It is very old and it takes place early in the summer. The purpose of that ritual is to ask for rain, to water the fields and crops, during the hot and dry summer season. The ritual is as it follows: A you ng lady is dressed in leaves and flowers and walks around the village followed by otherwomen and they sing the "Piperou" song asking for rain. As she walks by the houses, the villagers throw water on her as if it was rain. The procession ends at the seaside where they sing and dance all together, traditional songs and dances.
Another custom is called "Ai Giannis Klidonas". It also take place in the summer and it dates back to the antiquity. The ritual involves the lighting of a big fire for catharsis. A day before we celebrate St.John - Ai Giannis in Greek - all unmarried girls go to thecentral square of the village, they fill a big jar, pitcher, stamna, with the "unspoken water". They carry this water, silent, and without laughing, and they place it in a cicle made of stones and flowers, in the central square of the village. Inside their jar, they place a personal object such as a ring and they cover it with a red cloth and seal it with a string. They sleep at night with their jar in their minds, hoping to dream their future husband. The next morning they go to church and have celebrations.
Another custom takes place in July the 20th when Prophet Elias is celbrated. There is an all nigh celebration and the other day there is a festival where people eat fish (sardines) and drink wine.
There are also many festivals and one of the is the Sardine Festival. In Ierissos, traditionally, there are many fishermen and the sardines from Ierissos are famous all over Greece. They eat sardines, dance and sing traditional Greek dance and songs.
A traditional profession in Ierissos is shipbuilding. They are excellent shipbuilders and experts in ther craft. They get orders from all over Greece.
Cultivating olives is traditional in Greece and in Chalkidiki area too. Olive groves dominate the landscape with their beautiful silver green leaves, producing excellent quality of olives and extra virgin olive oil. The cultivation of the olive trr dates back to the antiquity. The winners of the ancient Olympic games were given a wreath of olive leaves, the sacred tree of the ancient godess Athena.
There are many customs and traditions, national or local, which date back to the antiquity and have been adapted to the Greek Orthodox Christian religion.
This season, February, start the celebrations of the Carnival, which dates back to the Dionyssian feasts. It is a period that people dress up in costumes, drink wine and eat meat (sausages, souvlakia, paedakia, brizoles - names of meat dishes). It is a short peoriod which ends in Shrove Monday, when the forty days lent before Easter, begins. It is deeply connected to the beginning of Spring and the revival of Nature.
These
are only a few information about customs and traditions in our place
and our country. We hope yo find them interesting.
Saturday 11 January 2020
When is Christmas celebrated?
You must have noticed that not all Christian e-twinning partners Orthodox or Catholic, celebrate Christmas the same dates. You must have wondered why does that happen. In Greece, Italy, Spain and Poland, we celebrated Christmas on the 25th December while Serbians, Ukrainians and many others, celebrate Christmas on the 7th January which is 13 days later. By now you might have an idea why. If not, let's find out.
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| https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/gregorian-calendar-adoption-map/ |
In 1582 the Gregorian calender was introduced and adopted by Spain, Italy, Poland and many other countries. In Greece it was adopted in 1923, in Turkey in 1926, Ukraine in 1918 and Serbia 1919. Until then they used the Julian calender. The reason why it changed is beause it didn't reflect properly the actual time its takes Earth to circle once around the Sun (tropical year). The Gregorian calender uses a more accurate rule to calculate the leap years. So they had to remove a number of days from the old calender. The main difference lies in the way they calculate the leap years. The Eastern Orthodox Church is still using the Julian calender while the rest use the Gregorian. So this is why although they are all Christians the dates they celebrate Christmas and Epiphany diverges.
Thursday 2 January 2020
Christmas traditions in Greece.
There are many traditions in Greece related to Christmas. There are also many local traditions depending on the part of Greece you come from. Here, we are going to share some of the traditions which are national and can be found all over Greece.
First of all "christmas" in Greek is "Χριστούγεννα" meaning the birth of Christ. It is celebrated on the 25th of December. On Christmas day people go to church for the christmas mass and later on they gather all together, in families, and have a festive lunch. One the major characteristics of christmas festivities is family and friends' gatherings. People celebrate and have fun together, exchanging gifts and wishes. The house smells sweets and tasty food specially prepared for Christmas.
Women prepare pork in the oven, with potatoes, christmas rice, and fruit. Some other may cook a turkey filled with christmas rice. Special delicacies such as melomakarona, kourabiedes, diples, kataifi are hard to resist.
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| Pork with potatoes |
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| Roasted turkey with christmas rice |
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| Melomakarona and kourabiedes |
On the 24th of December, the children go from door to door, house to house and sing the Christmas carols. The also carry a small instrument called "trigono" to accompany theirs carols with its chiming sound.
In Greece we decorate the christmas tree and a little boat. The geomofphology of Greece is diverse. We have steep mountains full of beautiful fir trees and many islands with long maritime and seafaring tradition and history. Those from the mainland decorate christmas trees and those form the island decorate a small boat.
In Greece the gifts to the children are brought by Agios Basilios. We celebrate Agios Basilios on he first day of the new year. Agiow Basilios was the archibishop of Caesarea and Kappadokia. The last day of the year, the children sing Agios Basilios' carols. Agios Basilios is also the Saint of letters and scholars. If you look at the Byzantine depiction of the Saint, he was asketic and he never wore red clothes. He was kind and took care of all the poor people.
For the first day of the year, we bake a big cake or pie called "Basilopita". Inside the pie we hide a coin. We share the pieces to the family and friends and one who find the coins is supposed to be lucky during the new year.
A very old tradition, which dates back to the antiquity, is throwing and breaking a pomegranade before entering the house the first day of the year. It symbolises abundance, fertility and is related to Persephony and the connection with the underworld. It is the fruit of good luck, happiness and prosperity.
After Christmas, the 6th day of the new year, we celebrate epiphany. Children sing carols once more the day before. We go to church and during the liturgy the priest performs a ceremony. He through a cross in the water, sea, lake or pool and people dive to catch it. The one who catches the cross first is blessed for the whole year.
Folk tradition says that day, the dark creatures from the underworld, get scared from the holy water and leave. Those creatures called "Kalikantzari" are like goblins, making mischief on peoples' lives and belongings. They are supposed to be trying to cut the tree which holds earth all year round until the day of epiphany when the holy water scares them away.
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| Kalikantzari cutting the tree whic holds earth! |
These are only some and only a few of our Christmas traditions. It would be intersting to see if share some of them, if you have similar one and compare the differenes or similarities. Some might have a common link with all religions, belonging to those old days when people believed in the forces of nature as deities.
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