Newsletter December 2020

Well, then. A lockdown Christmas it shall be for Athens. If that sounds more like a case of Ho Ho-Hum than Ho Ho Ho, don’t lose heart. Christmas can’t be cancelled. It’s a feeling - not an event. Here in Athens, we shall support each other from afar while we keep the glow of our favourite seasonal rituals alive; knowing that next year, we will cherish them all the more for their absence. From sparkling virtual entertainment to classy tips for on-line Greek gifts and the best Greek wines to enjoy from home this Yuletide, join us as we sprinkle a little Christmas cheer, Athens-style, over your December - wherever you may be.

What does Christmas in Athens normally feel like? To spark some festive nostalgia this much altered Yuletide, we asked 8 creative Athenians to share their most precious memories and moments of the season. Read more.

This distant year, the Municipality of Athens chose a different way to share with everyone the official lighting of the tree in Syntagma Square. They shot a special short story featuring a real Athenian Christmas hero at work. Engineer-electrician Dionysis Nikolaou is the Council’s oldest employee and the man who illuminates our city every Christmas time. See Athens light up!

Christmas comes early in Athens - with the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6 - and stays until Epiphany on January 6, so there’s a whole month of cheer and sentiment to soak up. From bakeries brimming with buttery biscuits to good luck rituals for the year ahead, here’s how Athenians (usually!) do Christmas. Read More.

Long lockdown days, Zoom Happy Hours and cosy nights by the fire. What better window for an immersion course in Greece’s booming viniculture industry? Wine writer Constantine Stergides suggests six local wines that are exciting, quaffable and perfect examples of the country’s wine renaissance. Read More.

• For a Christmas tipple with a twist of Athens, whip up a Mastiha cocktail (then picture yourself on a rooftop bar beneath the Acropolis) or check out our other tips for bringing a touch of Athens into your home these holidays.
• Follow us on Facebook to enjoy our new weekly series #CultureRally where curators from the city’s shuttered museums share hot on-line arts picks each Wednesday
• Scoop up classy Greek Christmas gifts or arty good luck charms for 2021 from the on-line boutiques of the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Benaki Museum – or shop up a storm at a cool Athenian design store (most offer e-retail).

Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini’s haunting libretto of sex and betrayal takes flight on the Greek National Opera’s exciting new digital channel for the arts, GNO TV, with all the stirring arias and pageantry you’d expect from this dramatic oriental opera. Until 30 December

Benaki Museum remains Open On-line

Hark, good tidings: the Benaki Museum serves up rich helpings of virtual culture to brighten those long hours indoors with its #MuseumFromHome platform. 

Antigone - Lonely Planet

See Sophocles’ ancient tragedy Antigone pitched as a modern comedy by the agent provocateur of Greek stage, Lena Kitsopoulou. Until 30 December

Christmas Classical Concerts with Megaron 

It wouldn’t be an Athens Christmas without the Megaron’s classical concerts: stir your spirits with their live streamed performances throughout December. December 20-30

Cycladic Food & Drink

While we wait for our favourite restaurants to re-open, the Museum of Cycladic Art dishes up another of its fascinating on-line exhibitions to keep our minds nourished. Until January 31

Get ready to see a whole lot more of Athens on big and small screens across the world. With the launch of the brand-new Athens Film Office, charged with making Athens "a film-friendly city”, the process of shooting our famous ancient sites and urban landscapes just got that much easier for international productions. Read More.

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