The Christmas Museum opens in Katerini to the delight of children and adults. Traveling around the house with Ag. Vasilis as a guide, in an atmosphere of magic and celebration, promises an unforgettable experience!
The first institution of this kind is opened at the initiative of the municipality, and every year the Christmas Museum will “make a trip” to another region of the country, so that in every corner of Greece they can join the “secrets” of their favorite holiday.
The fir trees are ready to dress up for Christmas, the wooden houses are carefully cleaned to meet visitors, colorful garlands are taken out of the boxes, the elves are getting ready to play pranks, and Santa Claus is training his voice to greet the long-awaited guests. After the appearance of the Christmas villages in Greece, this year one more step has been taken to complete the holiday puzzle: the first Christmas museum has been created!
It will open very soon in the mansion of Dimitrios Tsalopoulos in Katerini. Starting from December 17, everyone will be able to make an unforgettable visit, which will begin with a memorable photo session at the entrance to the decorated and filled with magic space, writes CNN Greece.
In the museum you can learn about the history of Christmas and Ag. Vasilisa, his beard and costume, as well as about the Christmas customs and folklore of Greece, about fairy tales and carols, Christmas sweets.
The creators of the Nativity Museum are Gregory Avannidis, Vicki Vournias and Dimitris Simeonidis. They promise that next year new exhibits related to this holiday will appear in it – ancient decorations and various items imbued with the spirit of everyone’s favorite holiday.
Recall that the “birth” of the first Christmas village took place in 2004. It was the summer when the idea of creating the first Christmas village in Greece was put forward. The drama was chosen as the setting for The City of Dreams. In the minds of theme park creators Grigoris Avanidis and Vicky Vournias, a setting full of glitter and golden tinsel has been created that will bring smiles to the whole family. Mr. Avanidis says:
“Until the initial discussion of the creation of the first Christmas Village with the then mayor of Drama, Thomas Margaritis, holidays in Greece were very different. The mayors asked for a large Christmas tree in the nearest forestry, put it in the central square, hung lanterns and stars, and next to it a plastic manger. But it was decoration. In our culture, this was not enough, we had other plans – to talk about mores and customs.”
The mayor, having heard the “crazy” idea for that time of arranging a place full of entertainment and games that could attract the whole family, immediately gave the green light, if only the administration would give the go-ahead to Demoxilurgiki, a public utility company in Drama that produces wooden structures. Mr. Avanidis continues:
“We did not waste a minute and went straight from the city hall to the offices of the municipal corporation. Luckily for us, there were people working there who had images from Germany and who knew Christmas building. This is how we designed the first City of Dreams, which opened its gates on December 17, 2004, much later than the Christmas Villages start today.”
The first “City of Dreams” was located on the central Drama Square and was so warmly received that the municipality decided to move it to the City Garden. There he “grew up” and “matured”, this year he turns 19 years old.
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