The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1911-02-03
IN ATHENS
As a Rule They Are Clean, but
Bare and ComfortIeSS.
PEOPLE LIVE IN THE CAFES.

ing Out of the Windows-The Mar
riage Customs Of Greece.
Home life in Greece, particularly in
Athens, Is peculiar. Ii might almost
be said that there is no such thing.
In Mr.. Duckett Ferriman's book on
Greece and the Greeks the manners
and customs Of the picturesque Hell
lenes, which are little known to the
average English reader, are described
at length. Mr.. Ferriman states that
the Greeks do not know anything
about the art Of making a h)ne.
zone may meet with exquisite clean
liness," he writes, with beautifully
embroidered bed linen scented with
rosemary, but never with what we
mean by coziness. The Greeks are fan
less I'm their houses than we are, and
when they are at home they appear to
spend most OF their time in looking
out Of the window. They are not given
to inviting their friends to their
houses. 1t Is not that they are Mig
gardly. for they will gladly entertain
you at restaurant at far greater cost
to themselves. But it does not enter
into their ideas to ask you home to
dinner, even after an acquaintance or
many years.
"They do not ask each other, so 1t
can hardly be expected that they
should make an exception In the case
of foreigners. The cafe Is second
home to them. There they meet
friends and gossip. That is one reason
perhaps why they dislike country life.
"It offers no alternative to the home;
there the hearth Is the social center
while I'm town 1t is the cafe. In Athens
those who do not own the house they
dwell i'm seldom remain long In the
same abode Two or three years Is
quite long tenure. Many people
make n point Of moving every year.
"The imposing facades of Athenian
houses conceal for the most part,
bare and comfortless interior, and n
well kept garden is rare A garden Is
not made in n year, and person who
changes his residence every twelve
months does not want to be troubled
with much furniture, nor is he par
ticular as to its arrangement, seeing
that 1t will be carted away in few
months.
"Home life has no resources for the
Greeks. as It 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 gregari-
Gus 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 I'm the year is the Sunday
preceding the Christmas feast. 1t Is
not fashionable now TO be married In
church. In Athens the ceremony takes
place i'm the house of the brides par
ents. 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 round the altar
the guests petng them with comiits
The most important part of the cere
mony Is the crowning of the bride and
bridegroom with wreaths of orange
blossom; hence wedding is popular
ly called the crowning.'
"Love marriages are rare exceptions
The match is made 10y the parents and
relatives rather than by the parties
principally concerned. There are GER
tain established usages which, though
not legally binding, are not to be con
travencd with impunity.
"Thcn II is considered wrong for
brothers to marry until their sisters
have been wed. Again, girls must
marry I'm order Of seniority. 1t would
not be right for girl to be married
while she bad an elder sister who re-
malned single The men of n family
are thus naturally anxious TO see their
sisters settled. and MS n dOwry Is in
dispensablc It's provision Is often q
matter Of serious anxiety and the fruit
Of great self denial on the part of the
brothers If the parents hre dead.
There are cases i'm which brothers
have remained unmarried for years
and have devoted all their hard earned
savings 10 the dowries Of their sisters.
Among the poorer classes emigration
is resortcd to- not infrequently solely
with this object. and many a dowry
comes to n Greek maiden from across
the Atlantic"