christmas symbols in greece

For my Christmas card to you I wanted to share a few holiday images you’d find in Greece if you were to travel here during the Christmas holiday.

This is picture of the karagiozis (Καραγκιόζης). He is a character from Greek folklore. You’ll find this traditional shadow puppet being sold as a souvenir. As you can see, he enjoys donning the Santa costume this time of the year.

    Hi, I'm Elena! Thanks for reading my blog. With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and travel industry, I hold a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management and a Master’s Degree in Hospitality & Tourism Leadership. As a Greece expert, I’ve spent years exploring the country in depth, uncovering its hidden gems and authentic experiences. I also worked for five years as a Destination Development Consultant for an American boutique travel agency, where I played a key role in developing Greece, Spain, and Portugal as travel destinations. My deep industry knowledge, hands-on experience, and passion for immersive travel ensure that every recommendation I share is trusted, insightful, and curated with expertise. I hope that you find my content useful, in case you have any questions please feel free to reach out. I'll be happy to help you. 

This is the lighted Christmas boat or karavaki. This one is put up in the Syntagma Square, in front of parliament, right in the heart of Athens each year.

The karavaki is the symbol of Christmas in Greece. After all Greece is country that has a rich tradition of seafaring and a deep appreciation for its seas.

This is a Christmas tsoureki. Tsoureki is actually a traditional sweet bread baked during Easter. However, I love how this one is so creatively made with snowy looking frosting and a Santa guy just for Christmas. Secondly, tsoureki happens to be one of my favorite sweets — any time of year — so here it goes in my Christmas greetings card.

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Sitting on Santa’s belly are a pile of melomakarona which are delicious honey dipped cookies. You’ll often find the powdered kourabiedes piled up on a plate not to far away. They are a type of shortbread almond cookie.

Finally, here’s a picture of a glass blown gouri. What is a gouri? It is a collection of good luck symbols that are creatively tied together to be hung or displayed around the home. You’ll find keys, horseshoes, matia (eyes), karavakia and more hanging from string, wire or leather. There are so many ways to create gouria and I love seeing how local artists come up with new ideas to create this traditional trinket during Christmas time.