The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-12-29
EVER ON THE MOVE.
MODERN GREEKS HAVE PASSION
FOR WANDERING.
Cafe Is Social Center Of Town--Llttle
Comfort In the Homes-Slsters
Must Marry Before Their
Brothers Do.

To the Greeks, If we are to believe
Ducke Ferriman, the art Of making a
home is not known which does not
necessarily mean that the men of Hell
las lack the notion of home" or dis
like 1t. They understand home life
otherwise than we do, that is ALL
One may meet with exquisite
cleanliness" Mr. Ferrlman states,
with beautifully embroidered bed
linen scented with rosemary, but never
with what we mean by coziness. The
Greeks are far less in their houses
than we are, and when they are at
home they appear to spend most of
their time in looking out of the win
dow. They are not given to inviting
their friends to their houses. 1t is
not that they are niggardly, for they
will gladly entertain you at restau-
rant at far greater cost to themselves.
But IT does not enter into their ideas
to ask you home to dinner even after
an acquaintance of many years.
They do not ask each other, so it
can hardly be expected that they
should make an exception in the case
of foreigners. The cafe is a second
home to them. There they meet
friends and gossip. That is one rea-
son, perhaps, why they dislike coun-
try life.
1T offers no alternative to the home,
there the hearth is the social center,
while in town II is the cafe. In Ath-
ems those who do not own the house
they dwell in seldom remain long In
the same abode. Two or three years
is quite long tenure. Many people
make a point of moving every year
"The imposing facades of Athenian
houses conceal for the most part a
bare and comfortless interior, and a
well kept garden is rare. A
garden is not made In year, and
person who changes his residence
every twelve months does not want
20 be troubled with much furniture
nor Is he particular as to its arrange
ment, seeing that 1t will be carted
away in a few months.
Home life has no resources for the
Greeks as 1t has for us. 1t affords
them little occupation and no amuse-
ment. They like to eat and drink in
crowds, where there is noise and move
ment. Their instincts are too
gregarious to allow them to appreciate
the domestic intimacy which we prize.
The day chosen for marriage in
Greece is usually Sunday, but the day
of all days in the year is the Sunday
preceding the Christmas fast. 1t is not
fashionable now to be married in
church. In Athens the ceremony
takes place in the house of the brides
parents. A temporary altar is set up
in the middle of the room.
AT the conclusion Of the ceremony
the priest and the couple join hands
and walk three times around the altar,
the guests pelting them with comfits.
The most important part of the cere-
mony Is the crowning of the bride and
bridegroom with wreaths of orange
blossoms. Hence a wedding is popu-
larly called the crowning.
Love marriages are rare excep.
tions. The match is made by the par
ents and relatives rather than by the
parties principally concerned
There are certain established usages
which though not legally binding are
not to be contravened with impunity.
Then 1t is considered wrong for
brothers to marry until their sisters
have been wed. Again girls must mar.
ry in order of seniority. 1t would not
be right for a girl to be married while
she had an elder sister who remained
single. The men of family are thus
naturally anxious to see their sisters
settled, and as dowry is indlspensa-
BILE its provision is often a matter of
serious anxiety and the fruit OF great
self-denial on the part Of the brothers
If the parents are dead.
There are cases In which brothers
have remained unmarried for years
and have devoted all their hard earned
savings to the dowries of their sisters.
Among the poorer classes emigration
is resorted to not infrequently solely
with this object and many a dowry
comes to Greek maiden from across
the Atlantic London Daily Mail.