Colors of Spetses Island - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Spetses is filled with a festive atmosphere which will relax even straight-up workaholics. The thing is that Greeks have very peculiar temper and habits. It is not customed here to work hard and earn money at all costs. Locals believe that there is no need for money if they don’t make you happy. That’s true, if a Greek gets a large sum of money, he will immediately spend it on a dinner in a tavern or beautiful useless things.

Siesta is a sacred ritual for Greeks. Don’t plan shopping or a visit to a tavern or bank in the period from two to five o’clock. Locals spend this time lying on a beach or sleeping at home. After the working day, locals go to taverns. You will hardly find a free table in a tavern in the evening. Greeks love to meet with friends and family in a tavern. They have a meal and drink alcohol under folk music. This time spending is a national Greek tradition.

Greeks enjoy drinking alcohol, especially retsina and ouzo. Although you will never meet drunk people on the streets of Spetses. This is because invariable behaviour is a disgrace for Greeks and drunk people deserve only mockery and contempt. So, if you don’t want to be condemned by locals, try to control yourself. Greeks love to criticize their government, but they hate when foreigners do the same. You can say something pleasant about Greece to win their favour. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Greeks don’t lie and they try to express their feelings openly. If a Greek wants to sing or laugh, he will do it even in public transport. Remember that locals are very emotional people. They interrupt each other, use a lot of hand movements and raise their voice. Moreover, they love to touch people during conversation. It is just a norm of behaviour for local inhabitants.

While communicating with Greeks, remember that some of the gestures have special meaning. A Greek “yes” is tilting the head to either side and making a sideways motion while slightly closing the eyes. When locals want to say «no», they raise their eyebrows and their whole head upwards, while softly clicking with their tongue. When a Greek touch or pat the lower lip, he wants to say something. When Greek people signal to somebody to join them, they extend their arms with their palms facing downwards. Don’t pretend to brush off the dust of the lapel of the jacket while communicating with a Greek person, it will insult him. When a Greek wants to say «thank you», he puts his palm to the chest.

Locals shake hands only at the first meeting, then they greet each other by kissing in both cheeks. Local men like to flirt with women and pay them compliments. Moreover, they are even not embarrassed by the presence of a girlfriend or a wife. All of the Greeks love to teach people and it is getting worse with age. Locals are very religious people and they celebrate important church holidays such as Christmas and Easter. One more religious holiday on Spetses is Agios Mamas. They also celebrate the Carnival. «Armata» is a unique festival which is held on Spetses every September. It is dedicated to the battle in the strait between Spetses Island and Kosta during the revolution of 1822. The festival starts on Monday with an entertaining programme, including local dance, music and show. The most interesting part takes place on Saturday when locals celebrate the anniversary of the Spetses naval battle. The Turkish boat is constructed a week before the festival and then people burn it.