In Greece the most important day of the Christmas period is Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is not celebrated as such, and if it is then at a very late hour. There is also no Father Christmas, even though people do give each other lavish gifts. Before Christmas the Greeks have a 40 day fasting period, which is why they very much look forward to their traditional Christmas dishes such as turkey stuffed with chestnuts and rice or “Hiryno-praso”, pork with leeks. An important dish for the Greeks is “Christopsomo”, Christ’s Bread, which is a large, oval loaf made with nuts or olives and stamped with a religious symbol or a cross.
On Christmas Eve children go from house to house in their local area singing Christmas carols to bring luck for the inhabitants. Children are often rewarded for their carol singing with sweets, dried fruits or money.
Apart from the imported custom of the Christmas tree, many families also decorate their homes with a more traditional small ship, decorated in a similar way to a Yule tree.