The spirit of Christmas and the “old Greece” - Article by N. G. Michaloliakos

24/12/2016 16:36

The spirit of Christmas and the “old Greece”-Article of N. G. Michaloliakos

This year and the previous years as well, Greeks experience the festive days with an ambiance that has absolutely no connection with the spirit of Christmas, the Greek Christmas, according to our traditions, our customs and the culture of our people.

 

It seems that my generation was the last that experienced this scent, the feeling if you prefer, of Greek Christmas. I do not refer to this deep and unique spirit which exists in the novels of the “monk” of Greek literature, Alexandros Papadiamantis, this rigorous spirit of piety, drenched in time that harmonically expressed the Greek soul and the reverence. The rebirth of an entire world through the darkness of the sinful night with the arrival of the giver of light savior Godman. 

 

No, of course not. Yet, Christmas some decades ago, held still some traces of the pure Greek Soul, over time. Well at the past, for all those who do not know because they never lived that age, the families –with the extended definition of this word- were united in the residence of the eldest and most respectful member of the family and they celebrated all together Christmas and the arrival of the New Year.  All the relatives were assembled in order to celebrate and there was a spirit of love, concordance and optimism despite all the problems that were undoubtedly present that era. 

 

As for us, the children, we literally lived in a world filled with mysteries, legends and traditions. There were the goblins, trying to chop off the tree of life holding the entire world, who were disappearing with the arrival of the Godman and the Epiphany. There was the spirit of Evil that this great day was away from people. And there was the purificatory fire, the log that burned for twelve days and protected the believers from the calumniation and the evil. Apart from these though, there was a wider family than our family. There was the neighborhood and consecutively the entire Greece.

 

Towards to all these that I briefly reported, these images of a society that had less material goods, but an over plus of soul that can be experienced only by those who have lived during that time and feel disgusted by the current situation, there is the darkness of the modern times. And I do not refer exclusively to the grave economic crisis, the spread poverty, since there was poverty equally in the past. I refer to the alienation, the loss of Ideals, the people that have become a tribe without an identity.

 

This special light that burns and illuminates over the sea, described in a novel of Papadiamantis, lights for nobody else than those who have stayed “moonstruck”, loyal to the spirit of the old Greece, a true spirit that could not be bought or sold.

 

Golden Dawn aspires to return the spirit of the “old Greece”, of the REAL GREECE back to the hearts of Greeks. 

 

Being faithful to this Spirit, we wish for all the Greeks Merry Christmas, stressing that you must not flinch, do not make a single step back, because the Light always prevails over Darkness. 

 

N. G. Michaloliakos

Secretary General of Golden Dawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: xryshaygh.com

This year and the previous years as well, Greeks experience the festive days with an ambiance that has absolutely no connection with the spirit of Christmas, the Greek Christmas, according to our traditions, our customs and the culture of our people. 
It seems that my generation was the last that experienced this scent, the feeling if you prefer, of Greek Christmas. I do not refer to this deep and unique spirit which exists in the novels of the “monk” of Greek literature, Alexandros Papadiamantis, this rigorous spirit of piety, drenched in time that harmonically expressed the Greek soul and the reverence. The rebirth of an entire world through the darkness of the sinful night with the arrival of the giver of light savior Godman. 
No, of course not. Yet, Christmas some decades ago, held still some traces of the pure Greek Soul, over time. Well at the past, for all those who do not know because they never lived that age, the families –with the extended definition of this word- were united in the residence of the eldest and most respectful member of the family and they celebrated all together Christmas and the arrival of the New Year.  All the relatives were assembled in order to celebrate and there was a spirit of love, concordance and optimism despite all the problems that were undoubtedly present that era. 
As for us, the children, we literally lived in a world filled with mysteries, legends and traditions. There were the goblins, trying to chop off the tree of life holding the entire world, who were disappearing with the arrival of the Godman and the Epiphany. There was the spirit of Evil that this great day was away from people. And there was the purificatory fire, the log that burned for twelve days and protected the believers from the calumniation and the evil. Apart from these though, there was a wider family than our family. There was the neighborhood and consecutively the entire Greece.
Towards to all these that I briefly reported, these images of a society that had less material goods, but an over plus of soul that can be experienced only by those who have lived during that time and feel disgusted by the current situation, there is the darkness of the modern times. And I do not refer exclusively to the grave economic crisis, the spread poverty, since there was poverty equally in the past. I refer to the alienation, the loss of Ideals, the people that have become a tribe without an identity.
This special light that burns and illuminates over the sea, described in a novel of Papadiamantis, lights for nobody else than those who have stayed “moonstruck”, loyal to the spirit of the old Greece, a true spirit that could not be bought or sold.
Golden Dawn aspires to return the spirit of the “old Greece”, of the REAL GREECE back to the hearts of Greeks. 
Being faithful to this Spirit, we wish for all the Greeks Merry Christmas, stressing that you must not flinch, do not make a single step back, because the Light always prevails over Darkness. 
N. G. Michaloliakos
Secretary General of Golden Dawn
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