CHRISTMAS and the Greek family...

Ever since I moved to Greece almost 20 years ago we´ve celebrated Christmas here. When Christos was working he was never able to take days off for any major holidays, so we couldn´t go to Norway. By now, we´ve established a Norwegian-Greek Christmas tradition, so there would be tears in the Greek family should we decide to celebrate in Norway one year. Or so I´d like to think!
Like I have written in former posts - the Greeks are lost when it comes to Christmas. As it´s Christos´ name day on Christmas day - and name days are big in Greece - he believed Christmas was something one celebrated because of him. Actually, his inner child still believes that and can´t really understand why other people shall receive gifts, too.
(As for that guy Christ? Christ - Christos - what´s the difference?)
Further, he couldn´t get that I insisted on having everyone over for dinner on Christmas Eve, which is the Big Day in Norway.
The rest of the family didn´t get it, either. The first Christmas they politely showed up, two hours after they had been invited, wearing track suits and carrying their gifts in plastic bags.
Luckily I married into a family of foodies, so at least there were no complaints, only curiosity, about all that weird food they were served.
Actually, I think any Norwegian celebrating with us also would find the food, and especially the food combinations,  pretty weird. One thing is that I can´t get hold of all the ingredients, so - like the creative woman I am - I have to improvise. Another thing is that the Greeks insist that we´d put some feta cheese, olives and salad, too on the table. Forget about delicious sauces or fancy dressings - they pour olive oil over everything!
They still show up a couple of hours after they are invited, but dressed up - and besides, now I am used to it. I am also used to never knowing how many people we´ll be at the table. It´s very Greek to just bring someone along - and not to tell about it. It´s also very Greek not to show up - and not tell about that - and it´s not even considered impolite in Greece!
So of course it´s impossible to have a north-European style dinner with starter, main course and dessert, all served with precise timing. We just put everything on the table (except the dessert): The gravlaks and mustard sauce, the pork roll, the tyttebærsyltetøy (a cranberrylike jam), the sursild (pickled herring), the pate, the boiled potatoes and Brussel sprouts,  the pickled beetroot, the village sausages and the German smoked sausages, the Waldorf salad, the sauerkraut and the cabbage salad, the spinach pie from my sister in law, the feta cheese and the olives and the olive oil...And then everyone just come and dig in whatever the time is when they show up.
I am especially looking forward to one guest this year: Julenissen, Santa Claus, who´ll come all the way from the north pole bringing gifts...

Two years ago, at Christmas eve, our niece Eleni revealed that she was expecting a baby. Now Anastasia is one and a half years old - old enough to be introduced to Julenissen! He´ll come knocking on the door, carrying a huge sack filled with gifts that he´ll deliver before he leaves. (The sad thing is that I always use to miss this, as I am at the toilet when he arrives, but never mind..:))
I LOVE Christmas Eve!
A wonderful Christmas to you, too, whenever you celebrate it!
PS: And as I am writing this, the sun has come up and there´s SNOW on the mountains of Thassos!