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Greece Is the Word
The Day’s Most Fascinating News Stories from Throughout the Greek Diaspora
Vol 14, 16 Feb 2021
This edition sponsored by the American College of Thessaloniki. Click on their logo to visit their website:
Winter skies and snow on the trees... Greece, a magical winter wonderland (Photo Credit: mehdi33300)
1.
85 YEARS OLD AND STILL (FIRE)WALKING
“In the small village of Lagadas, about half an hour outside Thessaloniki in northern Greece, the celebrations last for three days and include a spectacular fire-walking ritual called Anastenaria, the word for which derives from the Greek ‘anastasi,’ meaning resurrection.”
2.
CHEF PANAGIOTI
If you ever wanted to learn how to make galaktoboureko from a 9-year-old, check out Chef P breaking it down on YouTube right here. If his “taste test” dance at 13:30 and “so so good” dance at 15:10 don’t put a smile on your face, you may want to check your pulse and make sure you’re still alive.
3.
WORK FROM ANYWHERE?
“Oddly enough, 2020 was a banner year (for Greece’s startup ecosystem), with the sale of InstaShop to Delivery Hero valuing the company at $360 million, making it the largest exit for a Greek-founded startup with operations in Greece.”
4.
WHAT IF…
We put images of modern Olympic athletes on ancient Greek vases? (Click the arrow on the right side of the first image to see the others.)
And how many of these 10 facts about the ancient Olympic games are news to you?
Speaking of athletes, here’s Stonie with all the sports info and picks you want right now.
5.
NOTHING AGAINST MAKING SNOW ANGELS
But these two Greek-Americans made a snow statue of Hippocrates.
6.
MAKES US WANT TO KALAMATIANO AROUND AN OLIVE TREE
Greeks are saving centuries-old olive trees and preserving endangered Greek dances. Bravo Sou Awards all around!
7.
A LOVE POEM TO GREECE
Patricia and Manolis organize and lead personalized tours of Greece. Since the pandemic forced them to cancel all of their tours in 2020, they decided to create a three-part film to give everyone yearning to visit Greece an opportunity for a virtual visit. The world gave them lemons and they made avgolemono. You can check out their film for free here.
8.
MORE AGI (ANCIENT GREEK INFLUENCE)
Dan Harmon, who created Rick & Morty, is creating an animated series set in — wait for it — ancient Greece.
9.
THE LAND OF DIVERSITY
Biodiversity, we mean. Over 36,000 species of animals and plants are found in Greece. And an organization that we love, The Hellenic Initiative Canada, is hosting a virtual event all about Greece’s extraordinary diversity, threats to said, and ways we can preserve it on February 17th, tomorrow. All details and registration info here.
10.
FEMALE MAYORS
Are leading the way to a greener world, at least on some Greek islands. “Tilos is now the first island in southern Europe to build a hybrid power station with battery storage, which could become an example for other isolated communities looking to go green.”
The CDC is now advising us all to wear two face coverings at once in order to best protect our loved ones, our communities, and ourselves, so add to your “Not today, COVID!” arsenal by picking up one of our new Greece Is the Word washable and reusable face coverings. Looking good + staying safe = a winning combination.
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Stay healthy and safe!
Opa!
Peter and the Greece Is the Word Crew