Today, we celebrate Christmas and we remember that Athens had some Gods of her own, one who came along the way and stayed and another who came and left. The Temple of Hephaestus (also called Thission, upper left) is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple in the world, built about 449 BC. The church on the right is Aghii Apostoli, one of the oldest orthodox churches in Athens, built around AD 1000.
This building used to be a mosque. It was the "Fethiye Mosque", built around 1458 by Mehmet the Conqueror inside the area of the Roman agora (yes, Romans had conquered Athens too). It hasn't been used as a mosque for about 180 years.On a day like this, let's remember that religion should not be used to divide people (as it happens again in our days) but to teach lessons of love, tolerance and respect to anyone's faith.
Question for our friends from non-christian countries: Do you even celebrate Christmas? I read in the papers that Asian cities are decorated, camels in Egypt bear Santa Klaus accessories and things like that. Is that really happening?
Merry Christmas to all of you or Happy Holidays anyway. :-)
7 comments:
Yes, it seems that Santa gets everywhere these days. Perhaps the secular old chap can finally unite people in something? Well said and Kala Khreestoogena to you too.
Hello & Seasons Greetings from down under in New Zealand. I hope you have a good day.
"Noël est là,
Ce joyeux Noël, des cadeaux plein les bras,
Qui réchauffe nos coeurs et apporte la joie,
Jour des plus beaux souvenirs,
Plus beau jour de l'année."
Washington Irving
JOYEUX NOEL D'EVRY
“Christmas is there,
This Merry Christmas, gifts full arms,
Who heats our hearts and brings the joy,
Day of the most beautiful memories,
More beautiful day of the year."
Washington Irving
MERRY CHRISTMAS OF EVRY
Wishing you a merry Christmas and happy New Year from Hyde
Ovelikios, Merry christmas kai xpovia polla! I am part Greek living in Malaysia which is officially a Muslim country but with tolerance for all faiths. To marry my muslim husband i had to convert from Greek Orthodoxy to Islam. We celebrated Christmas with my christian parents and sister and invited our mostly muslim friends, who shared a special day with us. We are a rare family I think, as most muslims would not be invited to christmas celebrations! And if they were, the issue of non-halal food and alcohol would be a problem unless they were very liberal. However all of Kuala Lumpur is lit up like a christmas tree, ad this time every year are the mega sales (for tourist attractions!)
Hope 2007 is a great year for you.
Christina
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
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