Christmas Carols

A very old custom which remains today practically unchanged is the Greek Christmas carols, which is called calanda in Greek. Children, in groups of two or more, still make the rounds of houses singing carols, usually accompanied by the triangle or guitars, accordions or harmonicas.
The children go from house to house, knock on doors and ask: "shall we say them?" If the homeowner's answer is yes, the kids sing the Christmas carols for several minutes before finishing up with the wish, "And for the next year, many happy returns." Years ago the homeowners offered the children holiday sweets and pastries, but today they usually give them some money.
The carols are sung on the eves of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, and they are different for each holiday.

History of Christmas Carols in Greece

The word calanda stems from the Latin calenda, which translates as "the beginning of the month." It is believed that the history of caroling goes deep into the past and connects with ancient Greece. In fact, they have even found carols written in those distant past days which are similar to the ones sung today. In ancient times the word for carols was Eiresioni, and children of that era held an effigy of a ship which depicted the arrival of the god Dionysos. Other times they held an olive or laurel branch decorated with red and white threads, on which they would tie the offerings of the homeowners.

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