Ringing in the New Year...Greek Style

Every new year our family continues a tradition I grew up with.  We choose a country and spend new years eve enjoying all that country has to offer.  Through the years we have covered: Mexico, Italy, India, Africa, Poland, Ireland, China, Japan, Australia and Brazil.  This year we chose Greece. Growing up my parents would get records..yes records...from the library of the country. We would read books about the country. My parents worked together making, from scratch, traditional dinners. This was such a monumentous occasion, no one would ever miss it. I passed up many the hot dates for this tradition. Not because I had to but because the times we shared experiencing a different culture was truly a deep bonding. It gave all of us a great respect for other cultures. An insatiable hunger to find out about how other people live. An admiration for other countries and a renewal of our own pride in our heritage. Tonight I continued this tradition,as I have done for the last 26 years. I of course have to add my own flair for the dramatics. We have included games, arts and crafts into our celebrations. Just like my memories, I watch my children light up with these new experiences. I watch them proudly as they laugh and cement these important sibling relationships. As we get ready to ring in the new year, I am so thankful to have grown up in a family that focused on creating life changing memories and traditions. These have given me strong roots to help my own family grow in much the same way. I am so incredibly happy that I found a wonderful husband and father who has jumped on this crazy multicultural band wagon with mucho enthusiasm ( one would only have to witness him in a handmade toga and a Thor hat to know his level of commitment. He is truly my best friend riding right beside me along this crazy journey...I would want it no other way. Enjoy the pictures of each of our events. I hope your New Years was as memorable as ours! I posted pics of our toga fashion show, Greek sculptures, Greek alphabet hunt, Greek Olympic trophy ceremony and strongman competition. We had gyros, Greek salad, hummus and couscous for dinner. We now are snuggles up in family bed watching twilight zone.