Greek Traditions
Customs and traditions are a very important part of Greek culture. They are often of a religious nature. Still today, most of the festivals and traditions are religious.
Name day celebration
Because most Greeks are named after a religious saint, it is a very important tradition that those named after a saint celebrated by the church celebrates his name on a given day of the year. January 7, for example, is the day of Saint John the Baptist and it is the name day for all Greek people named Yannis (or Ioannis = John, male) or Yanna (or Ioanna, female). John is described as having the unique practice of baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Other names included Silvestros (Sylvestros, Sylvestor) and Nina (Nina, Ninas). Furthermore, biblical events such as Christmas and Easter are very important celebrations in Greek culture. Manolis – Emmanoula is the name celebrated on Christmas and Anastasios, Anthe, Anthi, Lambros and Paschalis for Easter.
On the “name day” of someone, friends and family visit without invitation offering wishes and small gifts. The hostess of the house offers pastries, sweets and specific dishes to the guests. Give one of our personalized gifts to someone you love for their name day celebration. Or, simply give a gift with their name engraved on one of our many products for no reason at all.