| In this installment of our guide to Greece we look | | | | The vast majority - about 97% - of the |
| at the culture in Greece... | | | | population profess to be Orthodox Christians. The |
| Greece lies at the crossroads where East meets | | | | Greek Orthodox Church plays a prominent and |
| West. It has also been ruled by the Romans and | | | | influential role in Greek society and the separation |
| the Turks, and in turn Greece's own Byzantine | | | | of Church and State is not as clear-cut as in other |
| Empire governed much of the Mediterranean and | | | | European countries. |
| the Middle East. This history has left a rich cultural | | | | In Orthodox tradition, Easter is the most |
| legacy and the Greek people take a passionate | | | | important holiday. It involves religious processions |
| pride in their culture and their country. | | | | and costumed parties, and Easter Sunday is |
| The national language and native tongue of the | | | | marked with a feast. But Christmas tends to be |
| vast bulk of the population is Greek. But English is | | | | more private, a family holiday, even though public |
| relatively widely studied and understood and | | | | places across Greece are adorned with lights and |
| English-speaking visitors usually encounter no | | | | decorations. Many towns and districts also have |
| significant language problems. French, Italian, and | | | | regional festivals at various times of the year that |
| German are the next-most commonly studied | | | | mark local patron saints, wine harvests or |
| foreign languages. | | | | historical events. |
| About 10% of the country's population, or roughly | | | | Greeks tend to be more likely than other |
| a million people, were born elsewhere. Eastern and | | | | Europeans to believe in supernatural or paranormal |
| Central Europe are the most common sources of | | | | phenomena. Common traditions include blessing |
| immigrants, with others coming from the Middle | | | | bread by making the sign of the cross with a |
| East, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. This | | | | knife before slicing it and spitting to ward off the |
| has made the country linguistically and culturally | | | | devil and misfortune. But superstitions vary across |
| diverse. | | | | regions and even between villages within a region. |