All you need to know about Greek New Year’s Eve customs and traditions

·

By Victoria Loutas

As the New Year approaches, we turn to traditional Greek New Year’s Eve customs which we hope will bring health, happiness and luck to 2025!

Podariko

The Podariko is one of the oldest Greek customs that is done on New Years Eve. The Greek term, ‘Podariko’ roughly translates to “good foot” which summarises this tradition. As the clock hits 12 and the New Year begins, homeowners carefully select who will be the first to enter their home in the New Year. 

According to Greek tradition the first person to enter a house on New Year’s Day brings either good luck or bad luck to the household. After this special guest is chosen, the home owners need to step on something made out of iron so that the family will be as strong as iron throughout the new year. 

But the tradition doesn’t stop there. After the ‘first footer’ enters, the next person chosen to enter is one with a fresh and clean spirit. This person takes a pomegranate (a fruit that symbolises luck and prosperity) that has been hanging on the front door and smashes it against the door. The more seeds that are scattered at the foot of the front door of the home, the more luck that that household will have for the year. Kalo Podariko!

Credit: Lecic | Getty Images/iStockphoto

Hanging onions

On New Year’s day, many households around Greece hand onions on their doors. This is an ancient tradition which derived from Ancient Greek times. In ancient Greece, onions were a symbol of growth and rebirth, as they are highly fertile. By hanging onions on the door, Greeks are promoting fertility for the household, hoping that everyone inside experiences personal growth and rebirth in the New Year.

Vasilopita 

Like most Greek families, New Years Eve/Day is often celebrated with a large family gathering, to bring in the New Year and commemorate the feast day of Agios Basil. At this time, a traditional Vasilopita is shared, which has a strong meaning in itself. Vasilopita is a sweet cake which contains a hidden coin inside, which gives good luck to the person who receives a slice with the coin. 

greek film festival sydney new

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Magna Graecia – Part 6: The eternal return

Across this series, we have journeyed through the Greek settlements of southern Italy, tracing how Hellenic civilisation spread.

Kiato: Greece’s seaside town loved by locals and the diaspora

Kiato is a seaside town, about 25 kilometres from Korinthos on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. On the national highway.

Changing your name and surname abroad and in Greece

It is generally known that in Greece to live and work many foreigners have acquired Greek citizenship by naturalisation or by determination.

Action over inertia: Building the future of the Greek diaspora in Australia

It is necessary that we now be led to the need of finding mechanisms that will halt the demographic withering, the social inertia and the cultural thinning.

Costeen Hatzi opens up on life after Nick Kyrgios split

Costeen Hatzi has spent her summer in Europe, enjoying her first overseas girls’ trip, a milestone that carried extra meaning for her.

You May Also Like

Brianna Koucos Midgely shares her yiayia’s legacy through recipe book

In an interview with The Greek Herald, Brianna details how her family came to be the inspiration behind her book series, Yiayia’s Kitchen.

Stefanos Tsitsipas advances through to Monte-Carlo semi-finals

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals on Friday.

Hurstville City Minotaurs win Over-45 Championship for record-breaking tenth time

The final of the Over-45 Football Championship in NSW took place at Poulton Park on Friday, between Hurstville City Minotaurs and San Souci.