Christmas in the Cyclades

December arrives and the light over the Cyclades changes color. The white settlements draw close together on the hillsides, the north wind polishes the cobblestones, and through half-open windows drifts the scent of freshly kneaded Christopsomo. Here, in the middle of the wintry Aegean, the Twelve Days — Christmas, New Year, Epiphany — are not a feast you simply pass through; they are twelve days that every island sings, bakes, and celebrates in its own way.

Omens, north winds, and iron wishes

In the Cycladic islands, the celebration begins with the signs. It is considered a good omen if a north wind blows on New Year’s Day, or if a dove descends into the courtyard of the house; conversely, a crow passing over the home brings worry of misfortune. In some villages, on New Year’s morning, as people wash themselves, they touch their face with a piece of iron, so that they will be strong and “iron-clad” all year long. Small, everyday gestures that carry centuries of hope for health and a good harvest.

The carols: mantinades, improvisations, and Mykonos’s “karava”

If there is one sound that unites all the Cyclades these days, it is the voice of the carolers. And yet no melody resembles another. In Naxos, the carols sung are the famous “kotsakia,” a type of mantinada with a mocking, teasing character. In Sifnos, the traditional Sifnian carols are improvised creations in the local dialect, bound up with religious life; they are sung from noon until the evening of Christmas Eve, showcasing the singer’s talent and commenting on people and situations.

In Paros, children sing the carols on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, right after vespers, and again on Christmas morning after the liturgy. In Mykonos, on New Year’s Eve, a group of carolers from the Cultural Folklore Association of Mykonian Women wanders through the Chora holding the traditional “karava” (little ship) and a small lantern, singing the Mykonian carols and the traditional Delian carols. On the day of Epiphany, the “balosia” begin, a custom of Venetian origin — from the words ballonzolo (to hop) and Ballocio (little dance) — dances accompanied by violins, bagpipes, and small drums.

The little ship of Syros, the voyage toward new life

Nowhere does the symbol of the Twelve Days become as literal as on Syros. On “Kali Vradia” (Good Evening), Christmas Eve, the Catholic residents of the Syrian countryside and of Ano Syros return from church and eat fish and cauliflower. On New Year’s Eve, members of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, dressed in traditional Syriot costume, go around the streets of Ermoupoli holding the decorated traditional little ship and singing the Syriot and Tiniot carols. The little ship symbolizes humanity’s voyage toward new life after the Birth of Christ — a forgotten Cycladic custom revived thanks to the commendable efforts of cultural and municipal bodies. On the eve of Epiphany the carols are sung again, this time with little lanterns made from hollowed-out, fresh oranges, reviving an age-old Syriot custom.

The festive tables: scents drifting through the cobbled streets

At Christmas, the narrow lanes of Mykonos are fragrant with diples, phoinikia, kourabiedes, and Christopsomo baking in the oven. In the villages, they knead an extra Christopsomo, which is shared with the animals of the household. Alongside the sweets, housewives cook cured pork lardi with greens or cabbage — a symbol of abundance — roast meat baked in the oven, onion pie with local “tyrovolia” cheese, and honey pie with honey and cinnamon.

In Naxos, the gastronomic emblem of the season is stuffed goat with greens and rice, prepared at Christmas and New Year; here Christopsomo is also kneaded with raisins and walnuts, with a whole walnut at the center and a cross made of dough. In Sifnos, the traditional table rests on pork, cured or oven-baked, and on Christopsomo kneaded with anise. In Amorgos, on New Year’s Day, “koftos” is served, a dish of wheat, onion, grated cheese, oil, and water, so that the harvest may go well. In Anafi, at Christmas the housewives offer “koufeto,” a spoon sweet made of blanched almonds and pieces of reddish pumpkin simmered slowly in honey, while on New Year’s Day they bake in the wood-fired oven the “zaforisto” bread, with the flavor of saffron and its intense yellow color.

Epiphany: basil, holy water, and the diving for the Cross

In Paros, on the morning of the eve of Epiphany, after the “Small Blessing of the Waters,” priests with the stole and a cross wrapped in fresh basil “illuminate” the houses. They are accompanied by a child holding the “sigla,” a small bucket with the holy water, and an oil lamp with the Holy Light. Going from house to house, they chant “In the Jordan…” and “illuminate” the faithful and the rooms, so that evil spirits may be driven away. The housewives drop their offering into the “sigla,” and especially in Marpissa, they invite the priest to sit on the sofa, treating him to Lenten little pies.

Sit, father, so that our hen may sit too!— Wish of the housewives of Marpissa, Paros

At dawn on Epiphany, at the men’s Monastery of Longovarda, northeast of Parikia, the liturgy begins at two in the morning and is attended only by men, while the women head to the Holy Church of the Taxiarchis. In the morning, in the coastal settlements, priest, chanters, and congregation come down from the church to the harbor, holding the icon of the Baptism and the Exapterygos (processional fans), for the blessing of the waters and the diving for the Holy Cross. The day is considered one of purification and cleansing: farmers sprinkle holy water on animals, houses, fields, trees, and wells — and indeed before noon, since it is said that afterward the holy water loses its power.

The “Table of Brotherhood” on Tinos

In the traditional village of Tripotamos on Tinos, one of the most moving customs of the Cyclades is revived every 25th of December: the “Table of Brotherhood.” Every year a family is designated responsible for the parish church, the Presentation of the Theotokos, and its head is called the “kavos.” He must keep the oil lamp lit before the icon of the Nativity all year round, keep the church clean, and take on the expenses of the liturgy, the candles, and a large candle made of genuine beeswax.

At noon on Christmas Day, the “kavos” hosts a meal at his home, only for the men of the village and the priest. The guests bring with them, wrapped in a napkin, their own bread, fork, spoon, and wine. The table overflows with beef soup, onion-braised kokkinisto, boiled meat, and dolmades, while the wine is served in “tasia,” hemispherical brass cups used exclusively on this day and donated by the residents. After the meal, the icon of the Nativity is carried from the church to the host’s house with Christmas hymns; the priest distributes antidoron, announces the name of the next “kavos,” and two trays are passed around for donations toward helping the new person in charge and the priest. The next day, December 26th, the whole village gathers again at the old “kavos’s” house to share what remains — and he, until the end of the year, remains responsible for the icon’s oil lamp.

From the “kotsakia” of Naxos to the little ship of Syros, and from the koftos of Amorgos to the tasia of Tinos, the Twelve Days in the Cyclades are an entire map of memory. If you find yourself here in the depths of winter, you will discover that the islands’ Christmas does not smell of fir and snow, but of incense, basil, and freshly baked Christopsomo — and that, beneath the clear Aegean sky, the feast is always a matter of community.