Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Whenever you are away over the holidays, it is hard knowing that you will not be with your family.  However, I have always been fortunate that wherever I may be in the world someone always invites me to be a part of their family on a holiday.  This year was no different.  On Christmas Eve, I received an invitation from a doctoral student, Eugenia, to spend Christmas Eve with her husband, Kostas, and her son, Thiomondes.  They have a flat in the mountain village of Metsovo, which is where Kostas grew up.  His parents live downstairs.  Eugenia's home was filled with beautiful pillow covers and traditional blankets and rugs as you can see in the first photograph, which also doubled as my bed. 

Throughout our time in Metsovo, Eugenia's father-in-law made guest appearances, bringing groceries, herbs he found during his walks in the mountains, and whatever else was needed for the preparation of the meal.  Her in-laws are pictured in their flat in the second photograph. 

There is a tradition in Greece on Christmas morning that involves children going door to door singing Christmas songs and tapping a triangle in exchange for candies and money.  The third photograph is a good example of the children I met thoughout Christmas morning although they didn't quite know what to make of this guy who was taking their picture and speaking to them in English.

The center of attention on Christmas Eve was Eleni, who is wearing the red Christmas suit and hat.  Seated around the table from the left are Kostas (her uncle), Aphrodite (her mother), and Thiomondes (her cousin).  She was a good baby and quite photogenic.

Kostas and Eugenia took me for a drive to a lake above Metsovo.  We basically had this huge lake to ourselves.  The scenery was breathtaking. 

On Christmas morning, Eugenia took me to a Greek Orthodox service.  She did me a favor and waited until only about a half-hour was left of the service and then we went.  The whole service can last up to three hours.  I think she intuitively knew that Methodists start to get impatient if a service goes beyond an hour!  The service was unlike anything that I have experienced as a protestant.  Greek Orthodox churches are ornate.  Pictures of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and various apostles were everywhere.  There was limited seating, but for the most part people stood.  Interspersed throughout the service were men chanting.  The hymns they sang seemed to echo down the centuries unchanged.  This gave me some sense of what early Christian services must have been like.  The photograph is after the service let out.  Obviously, it was raining.  The umbrellas added a pleasing array of color to what was mostly a gray morning.

On Christmas Day, Eugenia, Kostas, and Thiomondes and I drove to their home in Ioannina for lunch.  We gathered at Eugenia's father's flat, which is next door to their place.  He prepared a special bread, which featured the cross.  He also made the wine we had with our meal.  The meal and the wine were delicious.

The evening of Christmas Day I received an invitation from another doctoral student, Dimitris, to have dinner with his family and relatives.  In the first photograph, Dimitris' son, Emmanuel, and his grandfather toast each other.  After the meal, Emmanuel found his way to his mother, Maria.  The last photograph features Dimitris and me.  Not only is Dimitris a doctoral student, but he is also my tutor for Greek.  Fortunately, I did not have to rely upon my meager Greek skills, because everyone spoke English. 

I have never eaten so well over the course of two days.  While I missed my family for Christmas, I know that I will remember my Christmas in Greece for many years to come.