Greek Traditions Community

What are your Greek birthday traditions? Here are mine!

1 - 5 of 5 Posts
nadellii

nadellii

Active member
For my birthday every year growing up, all of Greek family and friends would gather and we would have a dinner party. I’m Greek culture, it’s customary for adults and kids to be invited to birthday parties (not like in America where kids have their own kids parties). My moms friends would come to my birthday parties for years, and still do to this day. Family and support is super important, so we all take part in celebrating. The same goes for name days too ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hash
nadellii said:
For my birthday every year growing up, all of Greek family and friends would gather and we would have a dinner party. I’m Greek culture, it’s customary for adults and kids to be invited to birthday parties (not like in America where kids have their own kids parties). My moms friends would come to my birthday parties for years, and still do to this day. Family and support is super important, so we all take part in celebrating. The same goes for name days too ?
Click to expand...
How lovely!I have been to many birthday celebrations than I can remember... from christenings, baptisms, children's birthdays, adults, older adults, funerals... fabulous way of integration and acceptance in a society that is so warm and rich in culture.... Just imagine I was one of the handful outsiders from good ol'London town on a small island...The paneyghiria were unbelievable, some of them jointly celebrating with birthdays... never came home before 6/7 am!??.... Kalley Mera from Thailand!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tomipark
Hash said:
How lovely!I have been to many birthday celebrations than I can remember... from christenings, baptisms, children's birthdays, adults, older adults, funerals... fabulous way of integration and acceptance in a society that is so warm and rich in culture.... Just imagine I was one of the handful outsiders from good ol'London town on a small island...The paneyghiria were unbelievable, some of them jointly celebrating with birthdays... never came home before 6/7 am!??.... Kalley Mera from Thailand!
Click to expand...
Beautiful!! Greeks are so welcoming, I’ve been to so many birthday parties just because I was hanging out with some friends and I was invited, not because I was related to the person.
 
Greek Birthdays are no different in Greece than they are in America, except for one thing - you pay for people instead of others paying for you. I think the Greeks who grew up outside of Greece have started their own traditions for celebrating their birthday. Name days are bigger celebrations in Greece than birthdays are anyway
 
Growing up as a Greek American I used to have a schoolmate birthday party and a relative birthday party, but at the relative one, all of my good friends were also invited. I had an interesting blend of Greek and American traditions while growing up haha.
 
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION AND READ OTHER GREEK INFO:

Information About Apokries?

I’ve been curious about how people experience Apokries and what it looks like in different parts of Greece. For some, it seems centered on big public celebrations and costumes, while for others it’s more about smaller gatherings, food, and local customs.

I’m especially interested in the traditions people grew up with. Was Apokries something your family actively celebrated, or did it feel more like a community event? Did you attend costume parties, parades, or specific local festivities? And how did days like Tsiknopempti fit into it for you?

I’d also love to hear whether your experience changed over time, for example, celebrating differently as a child versus as an adult, or noticing differences between village and city celebrations.

For those who no longer live in Greece, do you still mark Apokries in some way, or has it faded with distance?

I’m looking forward to hearing how this tradition shows up for others.

Why do Greeks celebrate name days?

I grew up with name days being a big deal, and I’ve always wondered why they feel more important than birthdays for so many of us. I know they’re tied to the Greek Orthodox Church feast days and the saints we’re named after, but it feels like there’s something deeper going on culturally.

In my family, name days were always open-house style, people calling, stopping by, bringing sweets, and it felt very communal. Birthdays, on the other hand, were more low-key.

Do you feel like name days still carry that same weight today? Or has it changed depending on the generation or where you live?

Anyone here struggle with outpatient rehab not being enough?

I’m curious if anyone else has been through this. I’ve been trying to get sober for a while now and started with a standard outpatient program because it seemed easier to balance with work and daily life. At first it felt okay, but after a couple weeks I noticed I was slipping back into old habits way faster than I expected.
It kinda feels like once the session is over, you’re just thrown back into the same environment with very little structure or support. I’m starting to wonder if outpatient is just too “light” for some people, especially if relapse has already happened before.
Has anyone here switched from regular outpatient to something more structured like IOP or medication-assisted treatment? Did it actually make a difference, or was it just more time in treatment with the same results?
Would really appreciate hearing real experiences — good or bad.

What Does Philotimo Mean to You?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the word, or really, the concept, of philotimo. It’s one of those Greek words that just doesn’t translate neatly into English. I was recently trying to explain it to a non-Greek friend, and I realized how difficult it is to put into words!

I ended up talking about ideas like honor, dignity, courage, generosity, and doing the right thing because it’s simply the right thing to do. I even used some historical examples, including the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae and the spirit of Ochi Day, to try to explain the sense of duty and selflessness that I associate with philotimo.

But I know the concept can also show up in much smaller, everyday ways. How would you explain philotimo to someone unfamiliar with Greek culture? What does the word mean to you personally?

Greek Traditions from Childhood?

I’d love to hear everyone’s memories of Greek traditions from childhood, especially the small everyday things that may not even seem unusual until you look back on them later.

For me, some of the strongest memories are tied to food, church, family gatherings, name days, holiday preparations, and the feeling of constantly having people around. Even certain sounds and smells immediately bring everything back.

I’m also curious how traditions differed depending on region or family background. Did your family keep strong village customs? Were there things your grandparents insisted on doing a certain way? Any traditions connected to Easter, Christmas, weddings, coffee, hospitality, music, or food?

For me, we ate a family-oriented Sunday meal where everyone go together after church. That was a big part of things for me.
Share and discuss Greek traditions related to Greek weddings, christenings, dance & holidays!

WorldwideGreeks.com is a free online forum community where people can discuss Greek food, travel, traditions, history and mythology.
Join Worldwide Greeks here!

JOIN COMMUNITY FOR FREE

LOGIN TO YOUR ACCOUNT
Back
Top