Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland

03/13/2026

Did you know? There is a word for fear of Friday the 13th and it comes from Greek. It is parasekvidekatriaphobia. If you break it down it is easier to understand (and say):

Paraskevi = Friday
Dekatria = 13
phobia

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1027262614/friday-the-13th-how-to-say-paraskevidekatriaphobia?

We can't help you with your fear of Friday the 13th. What we can do is tell you that your fear has a name: paraskevidekatriaphobia — and we can teach you how to say it.

03/05/2026

From the beginning of March until Easter, Greeks and other Balkan peoples wear a special red and white bracelet which is called "the March". The red symbolizes love for beauty and is thought to ward off the evil eye, while the white color symbolizes the snowdrop bloom as well as purity. When it is removed it is often tied in a tree for good luck, or in some places it is thrown into a traditional bonfire held before Easter. (Photo and information courtesy of Learn Greek with Stefanos linktr.ee/StefanosVasileiou )

02/26/2026

Did you know? The Greek word koukla (κούκλα) means doll. It is also used as a term of endearment, usually for a little girl or even a woman, implying beauty or some other attractive characteristic. Here we see a simple rag doll from the early 20th century.

Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland features a rich offering of Greek artifacts including Greek Rag Doll.

02/23/2026

Today is Clean Monday, the start of Lent. Greeks all over the world celebrate today by eating foods such as an unleavened bread called Lagana. Today is a national holiday in Greece, and it is traditionally celebrated by flying kites.

This Monday is Clean Monday in Greece. The party's over. Lent begins.

After weeks of carnival parades and grilled meat at Tsiknopempti, Greeks will wake up Monday and start a 40-day fast leading to Easter. No meat. No dairy. No eggs. Just vegetables, seafood, bread, and the self-discipline that's supposed to make Easter feel earned.

The day is called "Kathara Deftera" in Greek—literally "Clean Monday." It marks spiritual cleansing and renewal. But it's also a national holiday, and Greeks don't spend it in church all day. They fly kites.

Families head to the countryside, beaches, and hills with kites, picnic blankets, and baskets of traditional fasting food. The sky fills with color as thousands of kites go up across the country. It's part tradition, part celebration, part excuse to spend the day outdoors before the seriousness of Lent sets in.

The food matters. Lagana—a special flatbread baked only on Clean Monday—will appear on every table. Taramosalata, olives, beans, seafood, halva. Everything prepared without meat or dairy, because the fast starts immediately.

Some Greeks take the fast seriously for all 40 days. Others make it a week. Some just observe Clean Monday and Holy Week. But nearly everyone participates on Monday, even if it's just eating lagana and flying a kite.

It's Greece's way of hitting reset. After the indulgence of Carnival, Clean Monday offers simplicity, family, and the open sky.

Lent officially begins this Monday.

02/19/2026

Having celebrated Valentine's Day earlier this week, let's look at the tradition of a Greek Orthodox bride and groom each wearing a wreath (stephano) on their wedding day. The wreaths are attached together with a ribbon. The wreaths are kept throughout the marriage, sometimes in a special keepsake box or stephanothiki. Below you can learn more about one such stephanothiki which is in the collection of the Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland.

https://hellenicheritagemd.org/christian-liturgical/stephanothiki-of-mary-moniodis-and-william-koutrelakos/

Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland features a rich offering of Greek artifacts including Stephanothiki of Mary Moniodis and William Koutrelakos.

02/14/2026

Mark your calendar for an upcoming event sponsored by the Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland and AHEPA Chapter 30 celebrating the Greek American experience with a big dose of humor. Come out and enjoy a fun evening with good food, good fun, and good friends.

02/09/2026

Today we celebrate International Greek Language Day. The Greek language has remained an important part of the identity of many Greek Marylanders, not only for those born in Greece but for their descendants. Children and even some adults go to Greek school once a week to learn the Greek language and to connect more deeply with their heritage.

International Greek Language Day is celebrated annually every February 9, the day which also honors the memory of poet Dionysios Solomos.

02/05/2026

Did you know that some Greek immigrants established candy kitchens in their new homeland? In the museum's collection we have a chocolate mold from one of these kitchens.

Greek immigrants established candy kitchens across the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries primarily as a path to economic survival, offering a low-capital business opportunity that required little formal education or prior experience. Established owners mentored and employed new immigrants, training them to open their own locations, which spread the shops nationwide. The collections of the Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland preserve treasured artifacts like this candy mould, each with it's own unique story to tell.

You can learn more about candy kitchens in the following article. https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/diaspora/256047/a-sweet-history-greek-immigrants-in-the-confection-business/ #:~:text=The%20Greek%2Downed%20candy%20shop,shops%20everywhere%20in%20the%20US.

https://hellenicheritagemd.org/household-utensils-furnishings/chocolate-bunny-molds/

Hellenic Heritage Museum of Maryland features a rich offering of Greek artifacts including Chocolate Bunny Molds.

01/25/2026

Maryland is currently experiencing a snowstorm, which makes us wonder what the Greek Immigrants to Maryland might have thought about past snow storms. As many of us only visit Greece during the summer it is easy to forget that some areas of Greece do experience snowfall during winter, so snow wouldn't have been novel to some Greek immigrants.

Here is a song about snow in Greece, followed by lyrics translated by our friends at Omilo Greek Language and Culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYvZkNXAuq0&t=40s

Φέρτε παλτά, φέρτε κουβέρτες και σκουφιά
Bring coats, bring blankets, and beanies

ήρθαν τα χιόνια και τα κρύα στις αυλές μας
the snow and the cold came to our yards

φέρτε να βράσουμε ροφήματα ζεστά
let’s boil hot drinks

να ζεσταθούνε επιτέλους οι καρδιές μας.
to warm our hearts at last.

Ήρθε ο χειμώνας ο σοφός για να οργανώσει
The wise winter came to organize

βραδιές με κάστανα τριγύρω απ’ τη φωτιά
evenings with chestnuts around the fire

τρεις μήνες μένει κι επιμένει να ενώσει
he stays for three months and insists on connecting

τους φίλους όλους σε σπιτάκια γιορτινά.
all friends in festive houses.

Ντύσου καλά προτού να βγεις από το σπίτι σου
Dress well before you leave your house

έχει χιονίσει κι όλα γύρω είναι λευκά
it has snowed and everything around is white

είναι χειμώνας, δες την παγωμένη μύτη σου
it’s winter, look at your frozen nose

να ζεσταθούμε έλα οι δυο μας αγκαλιά.
Come here and let’s hug each other to warm up.

Ήρθε ο χειμώνας ο σοφός για να οργανώσει
The wise winter came to organize

βραδιές με κάστανα τριγύρω απ’ τη φωτιά
evenings with chestnuts around the fire

τρεις μήνες μένει κι επιμένει να ενώσει
he stays for three months and insists on connecting

τους φίλους όλους σε παιχνίδια γιορτινά.
all friends in festive games.

Μουσική: Ευριπίδης Ζεμενίδης.Στίχοι: Γιώργος Μυζάλης.Στο ρόλο του τενόρου: Νίκος Ζιάζιαρης.Στο ρόλο της σοπράνο: Ευγενία Λιάκου.Δίσκος: Τέσσερις εποχές και μ...

01/22/2026

A reminder to mark your calendars for this year's Greek Independence Day Parade in Baltimore. Did you know that Greek Independence Day, March 25th, is not the day that independence was won but the day in 1821 that the War for Independence began. This day is marked by parades and traditional food like cod with garlic sauce, and coincides with the Orthodox Christian feast of Annunciation.

Museum volunteers will be marching in the parade again this year. We hope to see you there!

This year’s Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade will be on March 29, 2026. Save the date!

01/19/2026

On this day when we remember and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, let us also celebrate a Greek American, Archbishop Iakovos, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King and took a stand against injustice. Let us listen to his words today.