Greek Christmas Music

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Published on Thursday, 19 December 2013 15:00

Greece has a very old tradition of Christmas carols, called “kalanda”.

There is a vast range of these carols; each region of Greece has a slightly different version of the carols, which honor local custom. Children go from house to house singing these songs during Christmas, accompanying them with a small metal triangle or the village’s local instrument – a harmonica, a guitar or some other instrument. After singing for several minutes, they usually get money, sweets or dried fruits.

Traditional Greek Christmas music is preformed by groups and choirs, and has many similarities to the most traditional Greek folk songs. Furthermore, there are of course also Geek versions of the already known Christmas songs, like “Silent Night’ (in Greek: Agia Nichta) or ‘Rudolf the Reindeer (Rudolf to Elafaki).

There are many “kalandas” and other Greek Christmas songs available on Youtube for those who are interested!