Greek Christmas - Part V Christmas Day

Dear Family and Friends,

For those who have already read the first four parts of our Greek Christmas Vacation blog, our apologies for posting a fifth (and sixth). As mentioned in Part I, the blog serves as our journal of our travels in Europe and somehow we managed to pack a lot into this trip.

Lining up for Christmas

Although Elyse and Nathaniel were originally concerned about being in Greece for Christmas, by the time Christmas Eve arrived, they were very excited for Santa to come. As usual, they woke up early, dragged us out of bed, and lined up in a train to go see their Santa presents and stockings. Since we didn’t have a Christmas tree this year, the kids found their presents lying on the coffee table in the main room. Elyse received a pink DSi, Nathaniel got a camera, and Nicolas received a watch and DS game. 

Christmas Morning in Athens

After playing with their toys for a short while, everyone had to get ready for church. We then took the metro to the Acropolis stop and then walked to Hadrian’s arch across from which the church building is located. The chapel was packed for the Christmas service and we had some difficulty finding seats. Nevertheless, some kind members brought in some extra chairs and translation equipment for us.

Hadrian's Arch across from the LDS Church Building

The Members of the Athens branch are a mix of many different nationalities. We met and conversed briefly with Members from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Philippines, Thailand, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Russia, and even a few Greeks. We also talked with missionaries, who due to visa restrictions came from mostly outside of the US, including Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland and the Netherlands), Canada, and Hong Kong.



Missionary Choir



Following church, one of the missionary couples strongly encouraged us to come back in a few hours and join them for Christmas dinner. Though we didn’t want to impose, their insistence and our lack of other plans made it difficult to pass up the offer.

Since the church was so close to the Acropolis, we used the intervening time to walk around and eventually found our way to Aeropagus or Mars Hill. This is the traditional location of Paul’s famous speech to the Athenians in Acts 17: 22-31.  However, as Aeropagus refers to a body of judges who met in the open air, there is some debate among scholars over where this particular meeting took place. One theory is that the Aeropagus met that day in the Agora or marketplace and that Paul stood up in the middle of the Aeropagus rather than the hill itself.

Aeropagus or Mars Hill

In any case, scholars agree that Paul came by boat from Pireus and then spent time in the Agora where he found temples, statues, and altars to various gods and rulers. As he began preaching, he attracted the attention of the Stoics and Epicureans, the two religious orders of the day, and they then brought him to the Aeropagus.

View of Athens Agora from Aeropagus or Mars Hill (Ἄρειος Πάγος)

After spending some time on the Aeropagus Hill, we returned to the church. As dinner was still being prepared, we sung Christmas carols in a room that looked out onto the Acropolis. On one of the ceiling beams, the words “In the footsteps of Paul” were written in Greek and English.

Temple of Olympian Zeus (Ναὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου Διός) across from the LDS Church Building

The missionaries served us all a dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and gravy. Nathaniel received the largest plate of anyone at the table, including the large Swiss missionary sitting next to him, and to our amazement finished every bite! During the meal, Elyse chatted with a Sister missionary from France in English and French. She really enjoyed the attention. We also had the opportunity to get to know some of the missionary couples, including the mission president and his wife, and learn first-hand about the difficulties facing the members of the church in Greece.

Listening to Christmas Carols

After dinner, we had one more Christmas blessing. As our laptop network card had stopped working a few days earlier, the owner of the apartment we rented brought over her own computer for us to use along with a box of traditional Greek honey-walnut balls!

Given the fact that we didn’t have the comforts of our home in the States or France, we were very grateful to have been invited to celebrate the birth of the Savior with the missionaries and members. We are also thankful for the kindness of our Greek landlady, who allowed us to Skype our families.

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel