Greek Culture Research Paper

Culture of Greece

Greece maybe a little country in Europe but the history behind it has shaped the world in many ways. Many countries use different aspects of their culture to make them unique amongst other countries in the world. While there are certain aspects of Greek culture that make it unique, one can see how one aspect of a culture can be different enough to cause a country stand out yet make it similar to other countries. The Greek culture can be identified by their religion, celebrations of religious holidays, food, and wedding customs.

Religion is a key aspect in Greek Culture. In Greece, the main religion is Greek Orthodox. Greek Orthodox is similar to Catholicism and has pieces of Christianity intertwined. The priests differ from

In Greece, three days before the wedding a reception takes places in the home that the newlyweds will live at. At the gathering, every time the bride leads a dance the guests will pin money to her dress to show the support to financially help the couple in their first few years together. Also at the party, the guest will throw rose petals and money on the couple’s bed, which is referred as the martial bed, to symbolize a blossoming and wealthy life. At the ceremony, the father of bride delivers his daughter to the groom and the couple then walks in together and the ceremony begins. During the ceremony the priest places stefanas on the head of the bride and groom. Stefanas are artificial or real flowers tied together with white ribbon. At the end of the ceremony the priest removes the stefana and the couple exits the church (Rigou, n.d., Wedding Customs) America, our wedding customs vary based upon the religion of the couple. But there are a few similarities between the cultures. In America, the father of the bride usually walks his daughter to meet the groom, very similar to Greek tradition. The biggest difference is the reception the Greeks have before the ceremony. In America we have a reception after the wedding where gifts are given but in Greece they do that