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For The First Time in Decades, Athens to Welcome 2025 With Two Celebrations

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Christmas tree Athens Syntagma square
The Christmas tree for 2024 was lit in Athens’ Syntagma Square last Thursday night. Credit: AMNA

Athens is set to ring in 2025 in two separate celebrations after the heads of the two governing authorities failed to agree on a common event for this year’s New Year Eve festivities.

Haris Doukas, the mayor of Athens, and Nikos Chardalias, the governor of the Attica region, where Athens is located, have announced that each will be holding a different celebration on the night of December 31st. The event Doukas will be organizing will be at Syntagma Square, where Athenians have traditionally welcomed the new year for decades. Chardalias’ celebration will be held at Pedion tou Areos, one of the largest parks in Athens which is only a few kilometers away from Syntagma Square in the heart of the Greek capital.

While there are no official statements from either side, Greek media sources have quoted those close to the mayor and governor and are awash with allegations on the New Year’s Eve celebrations. It has also been said that telephone conversations between the two men took place in an effort to find common ground, but, ultimately, they each decided to proceed with their own plans.

Haris Doukas of PASOK, a socialist party, was elected Mayor of Athens during Greece’s 2023 local elections, while Nikos Chardalias of the New Democracy party was elected Governor of Attica.

The plans so far for the two celebrations

The event organized by the city of Athens will be similar to other New Year’s Eve celebrations at Syntagma Square, where the city’s Christmas tree also stands each year. Before the Greek Parliament, a stage will be set up, and, this year, Natasa Mpofiliou and Foivos Delivorias, two of Greece’s most prominent singers, are expected to sing live throughout the night. Thousands of people are expected to attend, and the Athens mayor will count down to the new year, as per tradition.

At Pedion tou Areos, where a Christmas Village opened to the pubic on December 8th—featuring music stages and various activities for all ages—the municipality plans to hold a huge, outdoor party. The popular Greek band Melisses is expected to perform live at the event, organized by the Region of Attica, as Athenians ring in the new year.

How does Athens traditionally celebrate New Year’s Eve?

Athenians traditionally welcome the New Year at Syntagma Square with live music and an all-night party. The mayor of the city traditionally counts down to the new year, broadcast live on national TV, and the skyline of the Greek capital is lit up by tons of fireworks and magic displays.

January 1st is not only New Year’s Day in Greece but also the feast day for Saint Basil in the Greek Orthodox Church. In honor of both, Greeks place a coin into a traditional New Year’s cake known as a “Vasilopita.” Those celebrating at home slice up and serve the delicious cake after ringing in the new year. The person who gets the slice with the coin baked into it is said to have good luck for the coming year.

Athenians, along with other Greeks, typically celebrate the night of New Year’s Eve with a delicious feast in the company of family and friends, and a big, juicy pomegranate is hung over the front door of residences.

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