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4 THE SHEPHERD • DECEMBER 2021 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL Dear Community, Ευχόμαστε σε όλες τις οικογένειες ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ ΚΙ’ ΕΥΤΥΧΙΣΜΕΝΟΣ Ο ΚΑΙΝΟΥΡΓΙΟΣ ΧΡΟΝΟΣ! From our Greek school students and all our Greek school sta , we wish you all A MER- RY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR! GREEK CHRISTMAS CAROLS A very old custom which remains today practically unchanged is the Greek Christ- mas carols, which is called calanda in Greek. Children, in groups of two or more, still make the rounds of houses singing carols, usually accompanied by the triangle or gui- tars, accordions or harmonicas. e children go from house to house, knock on doors and ask: “shall we say them?” If the homeowner’s answer is yes, the kids sing the Christmas carols for several minutes before nishing up with the wish, “And for the next year, many happy returns.” Years ago the homeowners o ered the children holiday sweets and pastries, but today they usually give them some money. e carols are sung on the eves of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, and they are di er- ent for each holiday. e history of Christmas Carols in Greece e word calanda stems from the Latin cal- enda, which translates as “the beginning of the month.” It is believed that the history of caroling goes deep into the past and con- nects with ancient Greece. In fact, they have even found carols written in those distant past days which are similar to the ones sung today. In ancient times the word for carols was Eiresioni , and children of that era held an egy of a ship which depicted the arrival of the god Dionysos. Other times they held an olive or laurel branch decorated with red and white threads, on which they would tie the o erings of the homeowners. HOLIDAY WISHES IN GREEK Τo wish “Merry Christmas” to someone in Greek, then you should say: Kalá Hristoúyiena (Καλά Χριστούγεννα) To wish “Happy New Year “ to someone in Greek, then you should say: Kalí Hroniá (Καλή Χρονιά) For “Happy New Year Day” you should say Kalí Protohroniá (Καλή Πρωτοχρονιά) If your friend is called Manólis (Emmanuel), Chrístos, or Christína, their nameday is on December 25 (Christmas day). Wish them Hrónia Pollá ( Χρόνια Πολλά – Many Years) for their nameday. e same wish applies if your friend is called Vassílis or Vassilikí (nameday on January 1); Fótis, Fotiní (nameday on January 6); Yiánnis (Ioánnis), Yiánna (Ioánna) (nameday on January 7). During the Christmas holiday period, which lasts from December 24 until January 6, and also a couple of weeks a er that, it is custom- ary to wish Hrónia Pollá to the people you meet. So, if you meet someone in the morn- ing, the proper way to greet him or her is: Kaliméra, Hrónia Pollá ! ( Καλημέρα, Χρόνια Πολλά – Good morning, Many Years) Athena Kotinopoulos Georges Greek Language School Director SUNDAY SCHOOL We are pleased to announce the return of our Sunday School Christmas Pageant! We hope all of our St. Spyridon families will join us for this special event on December 19th! We would like to send a special thank you to our High School Sunday School Class and Teachers who have championed Service Sun- day! Our teens have had the opportunity to serve other Sunday School Classes. Service projects have included Leading Basketball games, Teaching Icon Painting, being Class- room Assistants, and Baking special treats. Our teens will be doing many more projects in the new year! If your ministry has a service need, email Julie and we may be able to match a teen to your service request. We are looking for a couple extra hands to help in the classroom for the younger grades once per month. If you would like to help out once per month, email Julie: sundayschool.stspyridon@gmail.com . IMPORTANT DATES: 12/19/21: Christmas Pageant and Luncheon 12/26/21 – 1/9/22: No Sunday School 1/16/22: Sunday School Resumes Lastly, we want to wish all of our Families a Very Merry Christmas! We hope to see all of you in the new year! Julie Dennis Sunday School Director Your greetings help make the publishing of this newsletter possible. Send your congratula- tory and personal greetings and announcements for any occasion such as Name Days, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Engagements, etc., but also messages for sad circum- stances and wishing well. For more information, please call 858.292.6070 or email info@theshepherdnews.com. Thank you for your support! Personal Greetings & Announcements!