{"id":1261,"date":"2013-12-31T13:07:21","date_gmt":"2013-12-31T13:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2013-12-31T13:07:21","modified_gmt":"2013-12-31T13:07:21","slug":"traditional-new-year-carols-from-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/traditional-new-year-carols-from-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional New Year Carols from Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u03a7\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac!<\/strong>\u00a0 (Hronia polla<\/em>, many greetings)<\/p>\n

Today is New Year Eve and children go from door to door singing carols (\u03ba\u03ac\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1<\/strong>, kalanda<\/em>), in order to wish people “\u039a\u03b1\u03bb\u03ae \u03a7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03ac”<\/strong> (Kali Hronia<\/em>, Happy New Year) and to get a tip. This is a custom dating from the Byzantine years.<\/p>\n

The word \u03ba\u03ac\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1<\/strong> (kalanda, carols) derives from the latin word Kalendae<\/strong><\/em> (kalends the first days of the month in the Roman calendar). They are sung in \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1<\/strong> (katharevousa<\/em>, puristic language<\/a>\u00a0 enriched by the local idioms and phonetic elements of each region, or in a dialect.)<\/p>\n

This is a selection of some traditional New Year Carols. They may sound strange and funny to the ears of a foreigner, but they are part of the Greek tradition.<\/p>\n

\u039a\u03b1\u03bb\u03ae \u03c7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03ac \u03c3\u03b5 \u03cc\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2<\/strong>! (Kali hronia se olous<\/em>, Happy New Year to all)<\/p>\n

\u0391\u03c0\u03cc \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u039a\u03ad\u03c1\u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03b1<\/strong> (apo tin Kerkyra, from Corfu)<\/p>\n