Greek Vocabulary With A Song By Rena Morfi

Building your Greek vocabulary with a Greek song, while listening to Greek music, is fun.
Below you can read the lyrics and listen to a very nice and popular Greek song by Rena Morfi.  

Click here to read the article in Greek

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Manos Eleftheriou: Greek Author and Songwriter

Manos Eleftheriou (1938-2018), is a famous Greek writer of poems, as well as short stories and songs. Since he was born and raised on the island of Syros, the Omilo students often hear his name while attending a course on the island. Manos Eleftheriou loved Syros and edited books about his island, specifically about Markos Vamvakaris and Syros society, about theater in Ermoupolis in the 20th century, and about Ermoupolis in Greek literature.

Read this article in Greek

Some facts about his life:
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Greek singer Kostis Maraveyas welcomes you to Greece

Do you also love Greek music? Then let us introduce you to one more Greek singer,  Kostis Maraveyas. 

Click here to read this article in Greek

Maraveyas – also known by his stage name Maraveyas illegal – is a Greek singer-songwriter, composer, performer, director and writer.
A true one-man band, he plays the accordion, piano and guitar. His songs are written mainly in Greek with the occasional lyric in English, Spanish or Italian thrown in (as we will see below). Despite the upbeat melodies, his songs often hide dark humour and social critique or tell the story of a troubled relationship.

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Learn More About Greek Music and Greek Singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki

Do you also like Greek music?  Who is your favorite singer?
We here present you… Eleftheria Arvanitaki! A renowned Greek singer with a career that spans four decades and is a strong favorite among Omilo students. Let’s learn more about her life and work!

Click here to read the article in Greek
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Corona Updates from Greece & A Greek Song About Staying At Home!

What a period it was! Here can read some of our Corona Updates from Greece, written between 202o and 2022 and listen to a Greek Song About… Staying At Home!

In the meantime, 2022 started with some sunny days here in Greece, as well as some snow as well…
Our daily walks in the Athens streets and parks continued, just like in 2020 and 2021. However, since now there is no corona curfew anymore and we are allowed to go further than our municipality, we can also go for daily trips towards the snowy mountains again…something which was not possible last winter.

In the meantime, the world news seems once again taken over by ‘corona’,  or “omikron”. The positive news; we are honored Greek letters are used for a pandemic :-), and the entire world gets the chance to learn the Greek alphabet. We realized many non-Greeks have no clue that the viruses are named after letters of the Greek alphabet, but fortunately, our dear students are very well aware 🙂 .

Do you remember the days you were learning the Greek alphabet? Do you remember how many Greek letters come before the omikron, and what is the difference between omikron and omega?
In 2021 we already heard of the “alpha” (referring to the “British” variant), the “beta” ( “South African” variant), the “gamma”( the Brazilian variant), and the  “delta” (the “Indian” variant).
But how did we get to “omikron”, and why 10 letters of the alphabet are left out? 

Staying at home is still very important given the COVID-19 circumstances but it doesn’t have to feel dull. This is why we would like to introduce you to a funny and upbeat Greek song about – what else? – staying at home and relaxing!
#menoumespiti – #westayathome

 

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The Most Well Known Greek New Year Song – Carol

The most well known Greek New Year Song, is sang on December 31st!
Children will ring your doorbell early in the morning, and sing the New Year Carol – ta kalanta 

Of course, you can hear this New Year song also on the radio, and  maybe, you can also try to sing it yourself and impress your Greek friends ;-).

A song to say good bey to the “old year” and welcome the “new year”!

Although there are many variations and different songs, there is one song you will hear all over Greece.
Listen to the video, and read the text in Greek and English. Enjoy

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Learning A Greek Christmas Carol, And Singing Along

Would you like to listen to a Greek Christmas carol, or sing along?
On December 24th, if you are in Greece, do not be surprised when children ring your doorbell early in the morning! Τhe children go from house to house singing about the birth of Jesus Christ, holding their small metal triangles.  Open them the door; it is believed to bring good luck into your home. And do not forget to give them some coins!

Θα θέλατε να ακούσετε τα ελληνικά χριστουγεννιάτικα κάλαντα ή να τα τραγουδήσετε κι εσείς μαζί; Στις 24 Δεκεμβρίου, αν είστε στην Ελλάδα, μην ξαφνιαστείτε όταν νωρίς το πρωί τα παιδιά χτυπήσουν το κουδούνι της πόρτας σας! Τα παιδιά πηγαίνουν από σπίτι σε σπίτι και τραγουδάνε για τη γέννηση του Ιησού Χριστού, κρατώντας τα μικρά μεταλλικά τους τρίγωνα. Ανοίξτε τους την πόρτα. Θεωρείται πως φέρνουν τύχη στο σπίτι. Και μην ξεχάσετε να τους δώσετε μερικά κέρματα! 

However, due to covid 19, we are not sure if many children will sing from door to door,  on Christmas Eve…

Παρόλα αυτά, λόγω του κορονοϊού , δεν είμαστε σίγουροι αν θα επιτραπεί στα παιδιά να τραγουδήσουν την παραμονή των Χριστουγέννων…

Therefore, Omilo teacher Eva, will sing it for you, so you can listen to it as many times as you want 🙂
Before you sing along,  let’s do a small Greek listening exercise first!
Listen to the song on the video, and fill out the missing words in the exercise, which you can find under the video!

Γι’ αυτό, η δασκάλα του Omilo η Εύα, θα τραγουδήσει για εσάς ώστε να μπορέσετε να ακούσετε τα κάλαντα όσες φορές θέλετε!  Μπορείτε να τραγουδήσετε μαζί με την Εύα αλλά ας κάνουμε μία μικρή ακουστική άσκηση πρώτα! 
Ακούστε το τραγούδι στο βίντεο και συμπληρώστε τις λέξεις που λείπουν στην άσκηση που βρίσκεται κάτω από το βίντεο!

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Greek Rebetiko Song – Vassilis Tsitsanis

Greeks, whenever they were facing difficulties, which is still something happening very often, have found a way to overcome and even to celebrate! The following Rebetiko song by known composer Tsitsanis is an example of how Greeks deal with difficulties! This philosophy is very helpful to face life difficulties, with more optimism!
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Vamvakaris and Greek Rebetika Music

Greek Rembetika music is closely connected to the name of Markos Vamvakaris, whose great significance for this genre is also reflected in his nickname: “the patriarch of the rebetiko.”

Read this article in Greek
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Discover The Greek Singer Yannis Charoulis 

Yannis Charoulis is a celebrated Greek singer, songwriter, and musician whose music brings together elements from entekhno (orchestral music with elements from folk songs and lyrics often based on the work of famous Greek poets), rock, and traditional Cretan music.
Continue reading to learn more about his career and music, and listen to one of his songs. It is accompanied by a transcript of the lyrics as well the English translation for easier comprehension.

 

Click here to read the article in Greek

Yannis Charoulis – His story 

Yannis Charoulis was born and raised in Crete. His first encounter with music was at the tender age of 6, when his father taught him to play the mandolin. A bit later he got his first laouto (gr. λαούτο), which is a long-neck fretted instrument of the lute family, most commonly encountered in Greece and Cyprus and bearing similarities to the oud. Starting at 15, he was playing professionally at local fests and celebrations and studying traditional Cretan music more closely.

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