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There can be few countries in the world, if any, of comparable size that enjoy so rich a communal life as Greece. Its long history, varied traditions and frequently noted talent for celebrations of any kind, have left a rich heritage. The calendar observances of the Greeks fall into several overlapping groups: genuine folk observances, and those sponsored by the church, or by national and municipal authorities.

The folk traditions, which are the most interesting and varied, are the offs of the life-styles of pastoral and agrarian peoples, and are very closely related to the seasons of the year. These are of great complexity, since Greece is a land of striking geographical contrasts, and the various seasonal changes typically occur in different parts of the country at different times.

It is clear that many folk observations have deep roots, and can plausibly be connected with, what is known of Byzantine, Roman and ancient Greek, customs, and may may occasionally have sprung from even older traditions. The Church struggled over many centuries to promote "relics of paganism" with varying degrees of success; but in the long run it proved better able to absorb, than suppress them. As a result, although some survive with no association with the Church, most have by now been incorporated into the Christian year, and so today possess a dual character.

The period of Ottoman rule, with its tradition of government by malign neglect, seems to have had the effect of preserving many ancient practices well into the nineteenth century. Independence, unfortunately, long worked against the preservation of local traditions. The desire of the new middle classes, in particular, to be seen as modem and "European" led to the denigration of local customs and in time to the elimination of many. Among the strongest forces working to eradicate them were the police. For example, following the incorporation of Macedonia into Greece early in the twentieth century, the police made strenuous efforts to eradicate masquerading at Theofania because some of the customary practices associated with it, such as chicken-stealing, were held not to conform to the standards of public behavior considered appropriate in a modem Western country. Thus there is a much richer folk tradition in those parts of the country most recently incorporated into the state: Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and the islands of the Eastern Aegean.

Much of the twenty century was a period of prolonged agony for the Greek people. Political and social divisions were exacerbated during the First World War, which was followed by the massive influx of refugees from Asia Minor fleeing genocide in Turkey. A period of unstable government, punctuated by coups and dictatorships followed. In 1941 The Axis powers invaded, and for four years, famine ,ression, bloody resistance, mass arrests, and the execution of hostages was the order of the day. Liberation should have bought a reply, but it was followed by a long period of civil war andression. Only with the development of genuine democracy and Greece's entry into the European Economic Community in the 1980s did conditions begin to improve.

These diverse conflicts to the rhythm of life, together with the massive movement of much of the rural population into a few urban centers, partly voluntary, in search of economic betterment, and partly enforced by the authorities in order jurisdiction control, contributed to the rapid erosion of traditional village life, and to the disappearance of many colorful customs and folk-practices.

One unexpected result of these discrepancies, however, was the reinvigoration of the tradition by the influx of large numbers of refugees from Eastern Thrace, Asia Minor and the Pontus regions during the Balkan Wars and in the 1920s. Some of these peoples brought with them their own traditions and customs, often of extremely ancient origin, which had been preserved in their homelands while being lost in the lands included in the Kingdom. Today, many of the most striking folk customs of Greece are transported out by communities of descendants of refugees, which natural insecurity led them to maintain tenaciously distinct aspects of their old way of life in their new homeland.

The effect of tourism on folk obervances has been mixed. A researcher recorded an explanation why the women no longer danced in traditional dress, given by a villager in Attica in the early 1970s, as follows: "the mothers were mortified when people drve out to the village to see them in their costumes -` What do they think we are? Performing bears? "'On the other hand, a desire to share in the benefits of tourism, together with a new interest in the rural past, has in late years promoted the revival of many recently lapsed customs.

Events which take place under the aegis of Church and State have generally fared better, since they benefit from official endorsements and encouragement. Even so, these have suffered some erosion in recent years due to the tendency of the members of the growing educated middle class to consider themselves "above" such things, and to be preoccupied by the pursuit of private pleasure, precluding their participation in communal activities : for example, by going on holiday to the seaside during the Easter period.

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Source by Roberts Serena