Greek Customs - Breaking Plates and More!

Greeks love to throw things. When a pretty girl dances the zeibekiko, they throw glasses for her. When see a band they like, they throw flowers to it. These actions show their appreciation. Another custom that Americans may find strange is to spit at a bride as she walks down the aisle. They believe that spitting wards off evil and brings good luck to the newly married couple for a long and happy life.

When you see someone from Greece smash a plate on television or in the movies, it is usually part of a celebration such as a wedding. They smash dishes for happy times, but it has another meaning as well. In the early days, they smashed dishes to mourn the death of loved ones. The Greek believe that when they break a plate, it is a voluntarily action -- a controlled loss. The death of someone they love is not voluntary, so it is an uncontrolled loss. For this reason, they perform a controlled act to help them handle the act that they couldn't control. In essence, they "kill" the ceramic to commemorate the dead.

They also believed that a plate should be broken when a lover breaks the other one's heart. The broken plate shows the pain that is being inflicted by that lover. Another version is when two lovers break up, they break a plate together and each one keeps a half. If they ever meet again, even if it's many, many years later, they always know that person is their former lover. This is because the halves of the plate will match!

Greece is a country strong in tradition. People in their country today observe their national customs and traditions like their parents, grandparents, and generations did before them. The customs are important and stay with them.