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Christmas and New Year's in Athens
A glittering holiday in Athens, Greece

By deTraci Regula, About.com

Christmas in Athens

Christmas in Athens, 2005

City of Athens Mayor's Office; used by permission
Aug 22 2009

Christmas in Athens Events 2009

The Christmas in Athens 2009 schedule is not yet available - here are the events from 2008. Similar festivities are likely.

Official Christmas in Athens Events

Public Christmas displays used to be hard to find in Athens. But a few years ago, then-Mayor and now Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis launched an ambitious program of Christmas celebrations for Athens, Greece. Now the new mayor and the City of Athens Cultural Organization in conjunction with Athina Municipal Radio 9.84 FM and the City of Athens Music Ensembles are continuing and expanding the tradition.

Christmas in Athens 2008

The Athens Christmas schedule for 2008 is at the City of Athens website. The popular Christmas Carousel is returning, and dozens of musical presentations are planned throughout the city. The National Gardens will be transformed into an enchanted Christmas village.

Christmas in Athens - Schedule from 2006 These events took place beginning December 16th.

For the complete free arts schedule, you may want to check the official "Christmas in Athens" event lists at the Official Christmas in Athens website.

New Year's Eve will offer four firework launch spots. A city-hosted party at Technopolis in Gazi is expected to draw a young or youngish crowd. Final New Year's Eve details will be released later in December, but there will probably be free concerts at Syntagma Square, Kotzia Square on Athinas Street where the Athens City Hall is located, and Klathmonos Square.

While the festivities are supposedly aimed at Athenians, Greece has been working to attract more visitors during the "off" season, and a more Western-style Christmas festivity makes Greece in winter an even more attractive destination.

Christmas in Athens Photo Gallery

Planning a Christmas trip to Greece? Find and compare hotel rates at many locations in Greece: Hotels in Greece

Compare airfares to Greece here: Find Greek Airfares

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