To the Greek, Christmas ranks second to Easter in importance. Even so, Greek people have a joyous time over the Christmas period. 

On Christmas Eve, village children travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing kalanda, carols. Often, the songs are accompanied by small metal triangles and little clay drums. The children are rewarded with sweets and dried fruits.

Christmas trees are not used in Greece, instead, an evergreen tree is decorated with tinsel and a star placed on top. In most homes, the main symbol of Christmas is a shallow wooden bowl with a piece of wire hanging from the rim, attached to this is a bunch of basil - herb - wrapped around a wooden cross. A little water is kept in the bowl to keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day, a family member dips the cross and basil into some holy water and uses it to sprinkle water in each room of the house. This ritual is believed to keep the Killantzaroi away from the house.

The Killantzaroi, are goblins who appear during the 12-day Christmas period. These little people emerge from the centre of the earth and  slip into people's houses through the chimneys. They are very mischievous: Killantzaroi get up to all sorts of tricks, like putting out the fire, riding on people's backs, braiding horses' tails, and turning the milk sour.

The Christmas feast is very much looked forward too. Pork is a favourite, and so are loaves of christopsomo ("Christ Bread"). 

Children receive their gifts on St. Basil's Day -  January 1st, from their families and friends.