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A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America
Second Edition, by Marilyn Rouvelas.
411 pages. Hardbound, notes, illustrations, and bibliography.

DCGreeks.com Online Price: $30
 

WEDDING
(page 57)
Preserving the Marriage Crowns--Stephanothiki

....The stephana are one of the most important symbols of the marriage. They remind the newlyweds that they are now united in their own kingdom with the blessing of God, and they have a chance to build their own home and family together. The crowns deserve to be properly preserved. Place the crowns in the home ikonostasi or in a special case called a stephanothiki....
 

POPULAR MUSIC
(page 191)
 ....After World War II, music featuring the bouzouki became the rage all over Greece. Respectable composers like Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis began using the tantalizing sound. Popularly referred to as bouzouki music, nightclubs called bouzoukia flourished and continue to do so today. . .The bouzouki is now considered the premier Greek instrument. With electrification, the power and force of the bouzouki evokes an extreme range of emotions. During a solo taxim, the bouzouki takes the listener from painful loneliness to exuberant happiness. Like the violin, it possesses a haunting quality even in upbeat compositions....
 

EASTER
(page 286)
....A delicious supper of traditional foods follows the [midnight Easter] service even though the hour is late. Instead of a prayer before the meal, "Christos Anesti" is sung three times in honor of the Trinity, and everyone chooses a red egg to crack with someone else. Eggs are cracked large end to large end and small end to small end with the competitors saying, "Christos anesti" and "Alithos anesti," symbolizing Christ's emergence from the tomb. Through the process of elimination a "champion" unbroken egg is left. The holder is declared the winner and expected to have good luck all year....
 

BAPTISM
(page 40)
....The child is dressed in new white clothing during the ceremony to signify purification and new life from the rebirth of baptism. The outfit includes diaper, underwear, dress or suit, socks, shoes, two hats (one should be an absorbent liner) and possibly a coat, depending on the season. The clothing should cover the child as much as possible to absorb the holy oil from the ceremony....
 

FORTY-DAY MEMORIAL SERVICE AFTER DEATH
(pages 144-5)
....It is traditional for the family to sit in the front row of the church before the icon of Christ during the service. The family provides a wheat dish called kollyva, a symbolic custom based on [Biblical scripture]:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John: 12:24

The Christian message of everlasting life and hope is symbolically represented by the white mound of kollyva on a tray bearing a cross and the deceased's initials in Greek. The tray rests on a small table with candles in front of the church ikonostasion during the memorial service. After church the family shares the kollyva with the rest of the congregation.... [Recipe provided on page 149]

THE HISTORIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
(page 307)

. . . In 324, Emperor Constantine declared his intention to expand the Roman Empire to the East, moved the capital from Italy to the small Greek town of Byzantium in Asia Minor on the Bosphorus River, and renamed it after himself, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). Meanwhile, Christians struggled to define their faith, especially the nature of Christ and the structure of the church. In a bold move, Emperor Constantine called for and presided over the first of seven Ecumenical Councils that defined the Christian faith.

THE GREEK DIASPORA
(page 356)

. . .According to Richard Clogg in The Greek Diaspora in the Twentieth Century, the countries with the largest Greek Diaspora population, in descending order, are the United States, Australia, the republics of the former Soviet Union, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Argentina, and Brazil.

DCGreeks.com Online Price: $30