When I tell my friends and acquaintances that I am Greek, their first comment inevitably is “So your family is kind of like that family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding?” to which I respond “Somewhat.” Having watched that movie numerous times and grown up in a Greek household and culture, I can definitely attest to the accuracy of some of it and even some of the stereotypes it portrays. My Greek family is massive, always boisterous, and there is constantly food involved whenever we are together, but I do not have six brothers and cousins named Nick, my family does not roast whole lambs in the front yard, nor is my house shaped like the Parthenon with a Greek flag painted on the garage. My family does not use Windex as an all-purpose ailment for cuts, pains, and diseases, but instead uses rubbing alcohol for any signs of sickness. This film, however, displays the core of the Greek household, which revolves around traditions and customs that are passed down from previous ancestors and elders. Many of these originate from the Greek Orthodox religion while others are superstitions and general beliefs.
The baking of the vasilopita (sweet bread) on New Years Day is a tradition based on legend with some superstition. With two large silver baking trays in hand, my aunt walks inside our house on New Years Day with vasilopita that the entire family eagerly waits for all year long. Vasilopita is one of those freshly baked foods that you receive once a year, like pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving or crisp gingerbread cookies on Christmas. The bread is luscious, thick, and somewhat dense, and once you begin to nibble away at a generous piece, there is no stopping you from finishing it off. Imagine a large pan of deep bread, but with a slight sweet aftertaste. Since my family is over 20 people, we no longer need just one large tray of vasilopita, but two. Carefully concealed inside the moist and cake-like bread is a single wrapped dollar coin. Before the sweet bread is handed out, it is carefully sectioned into the number of family members present; each person receives one monstrous slice. This tradition of crafting sweetbread on New Years Day originated from a specific Saint and legend. For Greeks, New Years Day is celebrated as “the feast of St. Basil” (Mikalis and Mikalis). According to legend, while serving as Bishop, Saint Basil was asked to collect taxes by the government from the local citizens (Rouvelas 244); however, he refused as he believed the money belonged to the citizens, and requested the emperor to cancel the tax, which he eventually did (DOWAMA St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood). Once the riches of the people were collected, it was impossible for everyone to rightfully claim what was theirs, so Saint Basil along with some women baked the coins into a píta (a type of bread or cake) (Rouvelas 244). Once he cut into the bread and passed out the pieces to the citizens, each person astonishingly acquired their valuables (Rouvelas 244). Greek Orthodox Christians then began baking loaves of vasilopita with a coin inside on the feast day of Saint Basil to honor his legacy, which coincides with New Years Day. Whoever receives the coin in his or her piece of bread is “the recipient of good fortune” (Mikalis and Mikalis) and of good luck for the year to come. This tradition symbolizes the miracle of Saint Basil along with his bravery to bring riches back to the poor in his area.
Although New Years Day is significant in Greek culture, no other day holds more religious value to the Greeks than Easter. Easter is like the Super Bowl of holidays in the Greek culture. Even though my memories of Easter always begin with food, the celebration of Easter (or Pascua in Greek) is undoubtedly the largest and most holy day of the entire year for the Greek Orthodox religion. Once you hear the yelps of enthusiasm from half of the family on Easter day and cries of irritation from the other half, you know that the cracking of the dark red Easter eggs has commenced. Most families who celebrate Easter use the dyed eggs simply as decoration, but not the Greeks. Even though the tradition of cracking Easter eggs is entertaining, it has a deep religious purpose and symbolism. The color of these eggs is intense and cannot merely be put into a couple of words as it does not do them justice. These eggs are not the Paas eggs that you would dye as a toddler. Greek Easter eggs are sophisticated and elegant, yet simple. The eggs are dyed red to “represent the blood shed by Christ for mankind” (Rouvelas 285); the egg itself embodies “the new life of the Resurrection” (Rouvelas 285), while the whole shell represents the tomb of Christ after he was crucified, and the egg when cracked symbolizes Christ’s emergence (Rouvelas 285). Two people each choose a red egg and before they crack each other’s eggs, one says Christós anésti (Christ has risen) and the other responds with Alithós anésti (Truly He has risen). Right after, one person taps his or her egg onto the other, resulting in one cracked egg and one unbroken egg. This process keeps ensuing until there is one person with an unbroken egg. This game is called tsougrisma (clinking together) and the winner of it is said to have good luck for the remainder of the year (Popken).
Unlike with the luck that comes with winning tsougrisma, receiving the evil eye can be very unfortunate for the person it is intended for. Browsing through the grand Greek festival that my church hosts every year, you will spot hundreds of different kinds of matí symbols—bracelets, necklaces, key chains, rings and many more. The matí, which means eye in Greek, is usually a glass or plastic bead with a blue stone and black eye in the center (Rouvelas 203) and can be worn on a cross or fashioned into any piece of jewelry. It is usually pinned to babies and young children in order to ward off the evil eye, but is also worn by adults. As a child, I can recall the small bright blue orb that was attached to my cross. Its black center seemed unnerving and would certainly intimidate any evil that crossed my path, at least that is what I believed as a child. The evil eye (vaskanía in Greek) in simple terms is “evil generated by the devil” (Rouvelas 202); however, this evil specifically comes from an “envious person [who] may knowingly or unknowingly bring bad luck, illness, or even death to the envied person” (Rouvelas 120). Thus, the matí protects against the evil eye and the harm that it can do to a person, especially young children who are vulnerable to the dangerous world around them. The effects of receiving the evil eye can vary and can include fatigue, illness, disease or general hardship (Rouvelas 120).
These traditions and superstitions are for more than just enjoyment or even religious purposes. During the tough periods in our lives, these traditions ground Greek people to their roots and bring families together in times of turmoil and crises. The coming together and celebration of religious events and of the everyday routines create a sturdier and more unified family unit. These customs allowed my grandparents to sail all the way from Greece to America and keep their family intact. My grandfather (pappoús in Greek) left Greece by himself with no money, no understanding of the English language, and a middle school education; he left his wife and newly born child. He let go of his family and familiar life in Albania due to the oppressive communist regime that took control and power of the nation. At this time, the government dictated the people, impressing on them a new way of life. Several years later, my grandmother (yia-yia in Greek) immigrated to America with the same skill set that my pappoús and both ultimately were able to have five children who were all successful despite the adversity and troubles they faced. It was these family traditions, even the minor ones, which grounded them to their original roots and heritage so that they would never forget where their journey commenced. For my grandparents, they did not have the ability to act on their desires without the possibility of being persecuted for their faith or their traditions.
Even though the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding depicts the Greek family unit as a little crazy and ridiculous, every family member is united with others through the traditions they embrace as a family. Even those wacky traditions like the use of Windex as a treatment, even though trivial, helps the family to embrace its uniqueness and bond together. This principle applies to my family as well as other Greek family units and is essentially the ‘ingredient’ that makes the Greek culture so inviting for deep relationships. When I look back on the past 19 years of my life, I do not remember the extravagant gifts given on Christmas morning or the large birthday parties that took weeks to plan and put together. I reminisce about the simple memories in which celebration and tradition bring the entire family together in laughter and affection.
Works Cited
DOWAMA St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood. “The Tradition of the Vasilopita.” Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. <http://www.antiochian.org/node/18684>.
Mikalis, Elena, and Odysseus Mikalis. “Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day in Traditional Greek Style.” Business America 117.12 (1996): 6. Web.
Popken, Alexandra. “It’s All Greek to Me: What It Means to Celebrate Orthodox Easter.” The Huffington Post. N.p., 8 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexandra-popken/its-all-greek-to-me-what-it-means-to-celebrate-orthodox-easter_b_7022256.html>.
Rouvelas, Marilyn. A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America. 2nd edition. Bethesda, Md: Nea Attiki Press, 2002. Print.