Greek Orthodox Easter

Greek Orthodox Easter has just passed. This is the biggest religious celebration of the year for Greeks. Differing from their Northern European neighbours Greeks are very religious: the majority will fast in some way during the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. On Holy [Great] Friday there are processions around the villages and towns from the local church. On Saturday Evening church services celebrate the renewal of their faith as candles are lit from a flame that has been transported all the way from Jerusalem !

Returning home families crack the Red Eggs they have prepared, competing between themselves as to who will win fortune for the coming year.

Sunday morning sees Greeks rising early to roast their lamb or goat as the fasting ends. It is a celebration that brings communities together. Our family was invited up to a small hill town called Distomo on the slopes of Mt Parnassos near the ski resort of Arahova to celebrate the occasion with friends. The town has a sad past - it is famous for the massacre of its citizens that occurred there during the second world war.

However, this year Easter Sunday morning was alive with the sound of music being played and the smells of the communal roasts with up to 20 lambs over one charcoal fire !

A picture portfolio of Greek Easter

Baklava - the dessert of Kings !

Baklava is a delicious dessert or tea-time cake made from flaky pastry, walnuts, sugar and butter. It has a history going back nearly 3,000 years! It is thought that Greek sailors brought the recipe back from Assyria about 800B.C. and was, until the 19th century, a recipe available only to the rich.

Today it is made throughout Greece for wedding celebrations and especially at Christmas (my mother in law bakes one specially in early January !) and Easter, when 40 layers of fine Phyllo pastry are used to celebrate the 40 days of Lent.

A delicious recipe for Baklava

Worried about currency fluctuations ........

Sterling has gone down in value by nearly 15% against the euro over the past six months causing problems to some of our customers for whom we are building a villa.

I have three pieces of advice for investors

1. Always work through one of the Currency Exchange offices when you transmit your foreign exchange - their rates are often 3% better than the high street banks - 6,000 euro on an average Euro 200,000 purchase !
2. Cover forward if you are expecting to be sending money over for construction or renovation over a 12 month period
3. Open a local bank account - this ensures you can make payments on time and automatically provides you with the "Pink Slip" - your certificate that you have imported money legally into the Greece

Want to know more?  

Tel. - 00(30) - 6936 523804 or 6945 382158

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