Break the pomegranate in the new year – fortunately

This custom, rooted in the past, was originally “born” in the Peloponnese, although it then spread to all corners of Greece and continues to this day.

On the morning of the new year, the family goes to church, dressed in their best clothes, to attend the Great Mass Λειτουργία του Μεγάλου Βασιλείου and greet the new year, good and blessed. On the way back, the owner of the house should have a pre-stored ripe pomegranate in his pocket.

The head of the family must ring the closed front door, and it will be open for him. According to tradition, he must not open it with his key. So he first enters the house to perform the ceremony. Entering, with his right foot into the dwelling, he breaks the grenade outside the front door so that the grains scatter everywhere, and at the same time saying: “health, happiness and joy in the new year. And as many seeds as a pomegranate, so much money in our pocket all year round.

Another wish that is usually said when breaking a pomegranate is: “Heavy like a pomegranate, as heavy as our wallet, as full of prosperity as a pomegranate, may our house be full of goodness and the same pre-(red) all this year.”

Words and pomegranate, apart from their obvious etymological connection with the island of Rhodes (ροδι – Ροδοσ), directly meaning “flow and force”. The power of this fruit is typical of Greek mythology and beyond. The historical data associated with this fruit is inexhaustible.

In ancient Greece, it was believed that the power of the pomegranate was hidden in its many grains (abundance and fertility), as well as in its purple color (the color that brings good luck). It is no coincidence that even today it is one of the most expressive symbols of Greek folklore, present in all forms and expressions of traditional life.

Pomegranate customs in practice vary from place to place and differ from one another in different parts of the country. The most famous, of course, are its use on Good Friday, as well as at marriage, and, of course, on the New Year.

Good luck, health and happiness to all our readers in the new year 2023!

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