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The Lenaia (Ancient Greek: Λήναια) was an annual festival with a dramatic competition but one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place (in Athens) in the month of Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in honour of Dionysus Lenaius.
According to Greek law every Sunday of the year is a public holiday. In addition, there are nine mandatory, official public holidays: New Year's Day, 6 January, Clean Monday, 25 March,Orthodox Good Friday, Orthodox Easter Monday, 1 May, Orthodox Whit Monday, 15 August, 28 October, 25 December and 26 December. [1]
In Greece, where Orthodox is the main sect, the holiday is always celebrated after Passover and tends to occur a little bit later in spring. (This year, Greek Orthodox Easter falls on May 5.)
In Greece, Saint Nicholas does not carry an especial association with gift-giving, as this tradition is carried over to St. Basil of Caesarea, celebrated on New Year's Day. St. Nicholas is the protector of sailors, he is considered the patron saint of the Greek Navy, military and merchant alike, and his day is marked by festivities aboard all ...
Vasilopita (Greek: Βασιλόπιτα, Vasilópita, lit.'(St.) Basil-pie' or 'Vassilis pie', see below) is a New Year's Day bread, cake or pie in Greece and many other areas in eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver, like the Western European King Cake.
People in Greece might keep a fire burning during Christmas to ward off holiday goblins. The Night of Wishes festival is a common Greek Christmas tradition. ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDIS/Reuters
Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, [b] a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named "lagana" (Greek: λαγάνα) and the widespread custom of flying kites, [2] as it symbolises "trying to reach the Divine". [7]
During the war, 28 October was commemorated yearly in Greece and Cyprus, as well as by Greek communities around the world. After World War II, it became a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus. The events of 1940 are commemorated every year with military and student parades and on every anniversary, most public buildings and residences are ...