02/01/2018

New Year’s Day gestures from ancient Greece with a twist of local tradition

My journal

When the New Year arrives in Greece, and it is time to enter your house for the first time, a combination of traditions help bring good fortune to that home.

Mainly smashing a pomegranate is the most accepted gesture to be performed at your doorstep.

From ancient times in Greece, a pomegranate is regarded as the fruit of abundance, fertility, eternal life and luck.

So you actually want the fruit to spread at and within your doorstep.

A stone for stability and a foundation for the New Year beginning and an icon saint protector for spiritual protection.

Followed by the cutting of the Vasilopita, these are some of the most known traditions performed on New Year’s day.

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