Cultural ScrapbookEduardo Tecla Pd 3 Geography H

Population/Ethic Facts

There are about 10.7 million people living in Greece

The growth of the population is .11% every year

Most of the population has moved north or near by nations

93% is Ethic Greek Most of the population lives in the Urban

areas of where they live

Population/Ethic facts cont.

There is about 400,000 Albanians, 76,000 Turks, and many other kinds of people that has moved to Greece

Around 120,000 and 350,000 are Roma or Gypsies but the country has clue of it

The capital of Athens has about three million citizens that live there

Athens is the biggest city because of the industrial work force

Language

The official language spoken in Greece is Greek

Greek was kept since the days of Homer the ninth–eighth century BC

Greek language has taken and borrowed some of the words in the world

Many of the terms are taken from Italian, Turkish, and French

Since the ethic make-up many and little of the population knows Turkish and Albanian

English and French is know and English Has to be taught in school

Religion

The Orthodox Church is Greek and is the state’s religion and is powerful

The state allows freedom of religion Most of the taxes go the church of

Orthodox The church is Christian and is independent

of the Roman Catholic Church Religious council called the Holy Synod,

that has a patriarch in Turkey and an archbishop in Greece

Religion cont.

The Patriarch of the Christian Orthodox is based in Turkey that has visited in 1999 to fix the uneven ties

Orthodox principles are very well know to be taught in school

Church is a big deal in the lives of the people but not many people go to Church

Older citizens attend more church then young citizens

The women visit more the the men do on a daily bases

Greetings/Gestures

Many of the town people greet each other in public places

Friends and family give hugs and kisses of the cheeks, others shake hands

Men usually give a pat of the back and arm at a shoulder level

Close family and friends call each other by their first name

Strangers are usually give a nod of the head to say Hi

Greetings/Gestures cont.

Gestures are good and bad at timesSmiling is not for being happy but angry of

upset Pointing a finger at someone is impolite

and usually mean something bad like treatsYes is said in a gesture as nodding your

head up and down and No is said by nodding left and right

The evil eye is said to watch over people and the eye is removed by a saying in the home

Holidays

Holidays are a huge deal in GreeceThere is patron saint that is honored in a

yearly festival Easter is the biggest holiday of all and is

celebrated by a special feast and items January 1st is St. Basil's Day when they give

gifts like ChristmasIn holidays this saying is said “Chronia polla”

that means live for many yearsNew Years the cake “vasilopitta” is cut with a

coin that is said to give good luck to the person the cake slice was given to

Holidays cont.

Independence day is celebrated on March 25th

St. Constantine and Helen Celebration is celebrated on May 21st

Assumption on August 15th Ochi Day October 28th when the Prime

Minister Ioannis Metaxas said “Ochi” no to Hitler in 1940 and joined in allies in WWII

Rites of Passage (dating/marriage)

Normally a Man asks the parents to marry their daughterThe two would date and get more acquainted during a

formal engagement Now a days it’s rare to have Men do that but not to the

rural folks Young men and woman live together before or instead of

marring Sundays in the afternoon for rural people gather a

socialize Women that are the age of 26 marry and men around 30

marry One main reason men are 30 is because they have to

enlist in the army unless they go to college Divorces are very low and divorces were only legalized

1982

Life cycle

Normally in Greece when a woman has given birth they stay in the house for 40 days, some of the woman don’t the 40 days thing anymore

After 40 days they go to church to have the babies blessed

Babies are 3 months and a year old are christened, or baptized

In many regions many people die When people die woman dress in black and

men wear armbands for several months Widows wear black the rest of there lives

Life cycle cont.

Mourning is displayed as singing that is sung by women in the service of the dead

The family that has lost a loved one covers all of the mirrors that lie in side of the house and don’t go to church for 3, 6, or even a year

Deaths happen almost often in Greece’s life

Food/Diet

Foods are different in the rural and urban populations Some foods are very common such as lamb, seafood,

olives, and cheeseOther foods are eaten to that is potatoes, rice, beans,

breads, chicken, fruits, and vegetablesOlive oil is for cooking, Garlic, onions, and spices are

huge when it come to foodsSalads and Souvlaki(shish kebab with cubes of meat)

are eaten with the main meal Winter is bean soup and vegetables are all time

favorites Easter has this special meal called and contains roast

lamb and kokoretsi (lamb liver, lungs, and spleen wrapped in intestines and roasted on a spit)

Clothing

European fashion is worn by the GreeksThe young folk in Greece are very dressed for

the occasion Since most of the people are dressed real nicely

the don’t worry as much as looking goodRural and older people dress more normal then

the young folk Women wear more dresses then American

womenOlder women usually wear a scarf wrapped

around their head Traditional costumes are worn at festivals and at

special occasions

Sports/Recreation

Soccer is a popular sport in Greece even if they don’t win other then the time in 2004 the European Championship

Basketball, swimming, windsurfing, and sailing are very popular as well for Greece

The beach and fishing is on the weekends The kids of Greece play like American kids

the games of tag, hopscotch, and hide-and-seek

Coffee houses are very popular place for men to visit

Sports/Recreation cont.

Men usually talk about or play backgammon, watch television, and discuss politics

All ages of both genders can drink coffeeWomen usually just stay home and talk to

over women and do crafts and converseMovies Greek and foreign are very popular Festivals are the highlights of Greece lifeThe Olympics are traditional and Greece

love sports Skiing is very popular in fact there is 20 ski

resorts

Arts

Greek literature is way old is studied all the time world wide

Western literature, drama, and philosophical is influenced by Greek’s traditional ways

Greek plays are still played in the ancient stages built many years ago

The latter half of the 20th century writers and poets had problems that increased

Many Greeks devote them selves to archaeology, history, or folklore

Art cont.

Modern music is influenced by Western and Eastern ways

Young people listen to music from Europe and U.S

Rebetiko is music that is folk music and folk dancing is very traditional

Traditional arts include embroidery, pottery, weaving, tapestry, and silver jewelry

Geography and Climate

Greece is smaller then Alabama Greece is 50,949 square miles of land North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

and the European Union (EU) say that Greece is western

Greece is covered in mountains Mountain Olympus has an elevation of

9,570 feetThe north is cold and wetWinter is mild but wet as well in the

summer they days are hot and dry

Government

The Government is Republic Karolos Papoulias is head of the state George Papandreou is the head of

governmentThe unicameral Parliament has 300

members Both genders have to be 18 to vote Every four year there is ElectionsJudges are to serve for life terms by the

President

Health Care

Health care in Greece matters a lotAll citizens must have health insurance Either private or not private Hospitals are understaffed and

overcrowded Most citizens like having Private health

care

Pictures

Pictures cont.

Pictures cont..

Citation Page

culturegrams.comcia.gov worldandischool.gov