Though rare cases do occur, it’s very rare that someone would not like receiving gifts. Hence why pretty much every culture has something of that sort for Christmas or for the New Year’s. What about Orthodox Greeks? Do they have their own Santa? Do they celebrate Saint Nicholas Day? Let’s take a look!
Greeks do have their own Santa – his name is Agios Vasilis, or Saint Basil. The western ‘Santa Claus’ as we know it simply does not exist in Greece – at least traditionally as, of course, there’s no escape from the image of Santa nowadays. Saint Basil is associated with a life of helping those in need, so he made an ideal figure to embody the spirit of the season too. It also helps that his name day falls on the 1st of January.
As such, Greeks don’t give each other gifts on Christmas – they wait till the New Year. Saint Nicholas does not have the same role in Greece as he does in traditional Christian countries, as he’s merely a patron of Greek sailors and navy. There’s, therefore, no real gift-oriented traditional celebration on the 6th of December in Greece either – instead, its symbolism stays in the harbours. And, frankly, the 6th of December does not have a great sound in Greece due to a murder of a 15-year-old boy, Alexis Girgoropoulos, by an officer on December 6th of 2008, which resulted in a streak of riots against police violence.
As such, don’t expect fanfares.
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