We’ve already covered Christmas traditions in many other countries – now’s the time for Orthodox Cyprus. Does Cyprus celebrate Christmas? Who brings gifts in Cyprus? We’ll go over exactly that today.
Does Cyprus celebrate Christmas?
The population of the entire island of Cyprus is made up of 73% Christians (Orthodox), 25% Muslims and 0.5% Hindus. Despite the dominance of the Orthodox Church, Christmas known as the 25th December is still very popular on the island. Further, Christmas is celebrated by Cypriots with great enthusiasm.
Christmas traditions in Cyprus
Much of Christmas in Cyprus is carried over from Western traditions, though there are some unique aspects. Firstly, carolling is very popular amongst children: groups of kids run from house to house asking “na ta poume?” meaning “shall we sing?” The beautiful carols called ‘kalanda’ have been passed down through generations since the Byzantine times.
In many towns in Cyprus, people throw olive branches into the fire while thinking of a loved one. As for decorations, it’s mostly what we’re all accustomed to. Cypriots are also fond of sending Christmas cards. If you’re curious what kind of weather you can expect in Cyprus in winter, we’ve got a post for that too.
Ghosts and gnomes
There were once beliefs in Cyprus that mischievous spirits would invade people’s homes from 25 December to 6 January. To defend against their preying, special twigs are hung around the fireplace and fire is kept running because the ghosts would enter through the chimney. Some parents still tell their children bedtime stories of this sort.
Who brings presents in Cyprus?
Gifts in Cyprus are traditionally distributed by St. Vasilis, the Greek Orthodox Father Christmas. What’s more, the madman does it twice and children receive gifts on both Christmas and New year’s Eve. Agios Vasilis was born in Caesarea Cappadocia in 330 AD. He was a bishop known for helping children and the poor, and created the so-called Vasiliads, or houses of help for the most needy.
In recent years, however, Santa has been growing in popularity in Cyprus too, very slowly creeping in into the main culture of the island.
Christmas Eve in Cyprus
What do people eat on Christmas Eve? We asked Marta, a local Cypriot well versed in Christmas traditions.
There’s a lot of these festivities and traditional dishes… Christmas Eve, though, is all about turkey, while the day after is all about barbecue and meat. We basically grill all year round in Cyprus, we eat a lot of meat in general. A traditional Christmas dish, however, is Ofto Kleftiko, meaning mutton baked in special ovens for about 7 hours. We have lots of farms with goats and sheep in Cyprus.
Turkey and Christmas cookies in Cyprus
To add to that, the famous Cypriot Christmas Turkey is stuffed with rice, offal and meat. For dessert, there are the famous honey Melomakarona cookies. You can’t go without good wine either! Remember that Cyprus is the home of the oldest wine in the world still produced today, Commandaria. In addition to the traditional sweets, christopsomo, a sweet bread which means bread of Christ, is also baked on Christmas Eve.
For the new year, the New Year’s cake – Vasilopita, based on almonds and oranges – is a must-have. This cake must be left overnight, accompanied by a glass of Commandaria, for St. Vasilis – who eats the cake, drinks the wine and leaves gifts behind.
