House and evil eye
Black cross. Before entering someone's home, look up and you'll often see a Christian cross traced with candle smoke on the door lintel. This means that the house has been blessed by a priest. This is a modern custom, especially in towns. But in the countryside, the real tradition is for the pope to cut off a rooster's head and spill its blood before starting work. This practice is being lost. Another growing practice is to hang a stuffed toy over the house until it's finished. This tradition comes from Albania, the country of origin of many construction workers in Greece.
Evil eye. A belief found from Pakistan to Brazil, the evil eye is a Persian heritage, brought to Greece by the Ottomans. Known here as mati ("eye"), it's the fear of the evil power of certain people's gaze, provoked by jealousy. Fortunately, there are plenty of tricks you can use to avoid being "matiassed". For example, every compliment likely to provoke jealousy should be accompanied by a small movement of the tongue on the upper lip, as if spitting out a seed, repeated three times with the onomatopoeia "ftoussou"... and more or less spitting. This gesture is even more astonishing when performed on a baby. In fact, for reasons of hygiene, many maternity hospitals prohibit "ftoussouter" on infants. Another stratagem: prayers recited by bonesetters, even by telephone if necessary. And among the many anti-mati amulets, the most common is precisely eye-shaped. Like the eye of Horus of the ancient Egyptians, the blue eye of the Greeks and Turks adorns many houses, boats and cars, right down to the floors of Cycladic alleyways.
Other popular beliefs
Sign of the cross. Like the Catholics, the Orthodox practice this ritual gesture, but "upside down", i.e. touching the right shoulder before the left. This is in fact the original practice dating back to the 2nd century, when the Papacy encouraged the Latins to distance themselves from the Greeks during the Crusades. Another difference, which has more to do with devotion, is that the most devout Greeks sign themselves three times in a row as soon as they pass a church. It's all very furtive, and we're sometimes surprised to see a girl in skimpy clothes or a businessman in a hurry making this gesture, symbolizing the Trinity.
Tuesday. Constantinople fell to the Ottomans on a Tuesday (May 29, 1453), so tradition dictates that no contracts are signed or anything of importance undertaken on this day.
Mini-chapels. They're everywhere on the roadside. Called proskinitaria, they mark the site of a fatal or near-fatal accident. Inside is an oil lamp and an icon of the patron saint of the deceased or "miraculous" person. Larger chapels are also common in gardens, fields and apartment buildings. This is a different matter, as their owners benefit from the tax exemption granted to Church estates.
Pomegranate. This fruit is supposed to bring good luck. It is hung from houses at Christmas time and, at midnight on December 31st, crushed to the ground. The more the seeds spread, the better your luck and happiness in the new year.
