October 28 OXI No Day

October 28 is a National holiday in Greece celebrating the OXI (OHI - NO) Day – the refusal of Greece in 1940 to accept the Italian ultimatum advanced by Benito Mussolini, to allow the Italian fascist troops to enter the country and the following successful military campaign, defeating the Italian troops into the Albanian territory.

The war lasted six months until the exhausted, financially and military, Greece was attacked on the Bulgarian border by the joined forces of the Axis, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. It is considered as one of the crucial points of the WWII as it delayed the famous operation Barbarossa, the large offensive of the German army on the Russian front. The campaign ended on May 31st 1941 on the island of Crete, after the unarmed but highly motivated Cretans, thrashed much of the German army’s highly acclaimed elite parachutes.

Apart from the importance of the military operations, the refusal of Greece to accept the Axis terms and the battles that followed were very significant on the moral front. Let’s not forget that at the same period the German forces occupied their neighboring countries in a matter of days and their main opponent on the continent, the mighty France, in only eight days.

To commemorate the OXI Day student and military parades are organized all over the country.

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Mariza - the Stubborn Donkey by Constantine Krystallis (OFFICIAL)

Sometimes its hard to move a stubborn donkey but a bit of Zorba Greek music just could do the trick

Directed/Produced/Animated and Edited by Constantine Krystallis
Music "Zorba's Dance" by Mikis Theodorakis
Intro music "Mykonos" by Dan Foster
Sound by Jeremy Yang, Silencio

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the Greek Sponge Divers

 

  The history of the Greek sea sponges goes many centuries back in time. We find descriptions and references of their uses in the writings of Aristotle, Plato and even Homer's works of  Iliad and Odyssey!!
Since ancient times the Greeks knew and used the sea sponges as the best natural products for personal hygiene and body skin care.
   The Romans also, well known for their famous baths, appreciated immensely the soft quality and the hygienic properties of the natural sea sponges. They made extensive use of natural sea sponges in their everyday personal hygiene and bathroom habits.
The Greek Islands with SIMI, CHALKI and KALYMNOS in the lead have been the most famous and active places for ‘fishing’ and trading the best natural sea sponges all over the world.
Greek ‘SKIN DIVERS’ from many islands would literally 'plough' across  the Greek deep and hot sea waters to collect the best and well known worldwide Greek sea sponges.
It seems that in KALYMNOS the sponge 'fishing' (called 'spogaleeia') started some 300 years ago and the first Kalymnian  divers used to dive with no special protective equipment (‘SKIN DIVERS’).
   At that time the divers would 'plunge' into the sea from a small boat with few crew. The diver would carry with him a cylinder shaped glass lens to help him view the sea bed and spot the sponges.
   To help him go down fast the ‘skin diver’ would hold in his arms a heavy stone (15 Kg) called 'skandalopetra'!
   The diver would cut clean the sponge from  the sea floor, put it in a net (called 'dihty') and bring it up to the boat.
   In each diving (called 'voutia') the diver would remain 3-5 minutes underwater and he would reach up to 30 meters deep.  
   At the beginning of the 19th century Kalymnos and other Greek islands saw a boom of their sponge industry thanks to a new diving standard diving suit called 'skafandron'.
With 'skafandro' the Greek divers could dive deeper (70 meters) and stay much longer underwater.
   So the divers soon discovered the better quality and bigger sponges that lived at deeper and hotter waters.
Larger ships with more crew (called 'spogoalieftika') started sailing the Aegean Sea (Pelagos) and sailed across the Mediterranean sea as far as Libya and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
   These sails could last long time and crew and divers could miss their families for up to 6 months. This is the reason that each island developed their customs to celebrate the time all the ships would leave the little ports full of dreams and aspirations for a ‘good catch' and receive them back, few months later full of sponges and desires to meet with their beloved people parents, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, lovers, friends, etc.
Along with the business boom and the good money the standard diving suit brought to the islands, the divers had to pay deathly tolls by the name of 'divers' disease'.
That disease was caused by the 'quick decompression' and the production of ‘air bubbles’ in the divers’s blood. The 'disease' often caused serious paralysis and very often through a confined life ended in early death.
   It is estimated that the first year the standard diving suit was used almost half of the divers were affected and either became paralysed or died. The numbers recorded show that in total 10.000 divers died and 20.000 were paralysed permanently. 
At the beginning of the 20th century the use of the standard diving suit had to be abandoned and many Greek divers moved to other countries, as far as Florida, to look for new opportunities and sponge diving.
At that time safer diving equipment was appearing in the market produced by Nicolas Toth in Florida.
   In the fifties sponge 'fishing' went down and for reasons not well known the sponges were affected and disappeared almost to extinction. Today there are only few islanders who 'sponge fish' around the Greek seas and this is the reason that the top quality, famous Greek sponges are scarce and difficult to find.

 

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Greece in 12 minutes - video

 Amazing video about Greece

  source : Chania Creta by Nikos HD Visions of Greece ACORN MEDIA

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Natural Sponges VS Synthetic Sponges

Sea sponges are more durable and last longer than synthetic sponges because they are more resistant to abrasion. In addition, natural sea sponges are better for bathing and cleaning because they soak up and hold more water without dripping. Natural sponges are self-cleaning through their intricate system of canals.  They are softer, clean better and will not peel off like the synthetic sponges while being used. Natural sponges will not stain or retain odors.
Natural sea sponges respect the environment, they do not leave polluting residuals and are 100% bio-degradable.
Synthetic sponges, on the contrary, are made of cellulose polymers (plastic). The synthetic sponges are processed from materials such as nylon or rubber, which generate as much pollution in their processing as in their residues.

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The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great National Geographic exhibition

 

About the Exhibition

This summer, National Geographic will bring an extraordinary cultural experience to Washington, D.C. THE GREEKS: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great is an exceptional journey through 5,000 years of Greek history and culture. This exhibition features more than 500 priceless treasures—many of which have never been on display outside of Greece. Washington, D.C. is the only east coast museum to host the exhibit. We expect to draw visitors from New York to Richmond for this exhibition, as it is the largest and most comprehensive survey of Greek culture in a generation.

Featuring collections from 22 national museums in Greece, THE GREEKS tells the unique story of one of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations. Visitors will encounter the early origins of Greek writing and art from the Cycladic and Minoan cultures of the Aegean, meet the Mycenaean rulers and priestesses, the warriors of Sparta, the heroes, athletes and philosophers of Classical Greece and Alexander, the king that would spread Greek culture throughout the world—giving rise to civilization as we know it. The exhibition explores pivotal moments that led to the birth of Western democracy, modern art, science, medicine, theater and sports. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/thegreeks/


 https://youtu.be/NOfwcj4MEQg

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Greek Tourism. An eternal journey!

 
The sensational video on Greece that has won accolades and awards worldwide.....!!!!!!

Greece's oldest industry... an industry of dreams.
Greece, a small piece of heaven on earth.

 Directed Script: Andonis Theocharis Kioukas
Produced: QKas productions
Text: Donald Morgan Nielsen
Music: ©Dimitris Papadimitriou

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To my Orthodox Friends celebrating Pascha Happy Easter, Kali Anastasi!!!

Easter is the most important holiday in the Greek Orthodox Church. Compared to Western Easter, Orthodox Easter is in no way commercialized by chocolate, Easter bunnies or pastel colors. Rather, it is a festivity deeply rooted in tradition filled with church, lamb and red dyed eggs. In the Orthodox tradition, eggs are a symbol of new life. Early Christians used eggs to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which thus signifies the rebirth of all believers. The Orthodox custom is to dye Easter eggs a deep red color. The red represents life, victory and the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

The Greek-Orthodox Holy Week is a magnificent roller coaster of sentiment and tradition. Greek-American actress, singer and producer, Rita Wilson, wrote  :      “Holy Week, for a Greek Orthodox, means you clear your calendar, you don’t make plans for that week at all because you will be in church every day... It is a powerful, beautiful, mysterious, humbling, healing and moving week. It is filled with tradition and ritual. It is about renewal and faith.”
Why is Orthodox Easter celebrated on a different day? To put it simply, the date you celebrate Easter on depends entirely on the calendar your religious affiliation follows. Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, which is the standard calendar for much of the world. However, Orthodox churches follow the older, Julian calendar. By following the Julian calendar, Orthodoxy prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover. Sometimes (like in 2014), the Gregorian and Julian calendar align and both Easters are celebrated on the same day.
Many people practicing the orthodox faith, fast for 40 days before Easter. Of these 40 days, one week is a complete fast – where no meat, dairy, fish or poultry dishes are prepared or consumed.
Easter is the most important holiday in Orthodox church. It is a a powerful, beautiful, mysterious, humbling, healing and moving holly week. It is filled with tradition and ritual. It is about renewal and faith. Xristos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!

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Natural Sea Sponges for Baby's delicate skin

 

Natural sea sponges are the perfect choice for newborns and children because are hypoallergenic, very soft and absorbent. Experts agree that natural sea sponges are a safe alternative for washing infants and young children. They are extremely gentle on babies tender skin, and their hypo-allergenic qualities and enzymes eliminate unwanted bacteria.
While synthetic sponges are often made from petroleum bi-products, and normally treated with toxic substances, natural sea sponges are actually filled with natural enzymes that inhibit the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria, making them toxin-free and hypo-allergenic.


Bathing babies becomes easier as sea sponges hold more water, and thus eliminate the need for a rinsing cup! Our sea sponges are perfect for infants and babies with sensitive skin making the bath fun and easy.
 The sponges have been carefully chosen to be the perfect hand-held size for washing, are as soft as silk when wet, and have a smooth surface. Our naturals sea sponges have been individually hand-picked, are highly absorbent They are soft, durable and hygienic. Ideal for baby’s bath time.
Perfect for baby’s delicate skin.

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Sponge Painting Technique – Sponging on Sponging off

Sponge painting is one of the easiest faux finishes to do for beginners and ranges from ultra-simple to fairly complex. With a Natural Sponge you can achieve professional looking results even if you've never painted before. Using the simple sponge paint technique, you can transform a boring space into an exciting area.  Sponge painting  allows you to give a marbleized look to your walls without spending a lot of money, can give your walls the delicate, mottled look of aged porcelain, as well as the dramatic look of rustic stoneware.  Even those who don't consider themselves artistically inclined can create a faux stone finish with a sea sponge.  Sponge painting is a very inexpensive way to add an expensive textural look. When you consider the cost of other design methods to add texture to a wall or other object (e.g., linen or seagrass wallpaper, tiles, etc.), sponge painting comes out by far an inexpensive option.Sponge painting is easy to “fix” if you make a mistake. Simply sponge over the erroneous spot to camouflage it.
 
 
Each sea sponge is unique, lending a unique pattern to a project.
Always moisten the sponge in clean water and wring it out before using it for applying or removing paint or glaze (never use it dry). During your work, wash the sponge as soon as it starts getting stiff.
A Natural Sea Sponge is :
•    Ideal for use with water based paints, acrylic and oil based paints
•    A professional tool for sponge painting, marbling, grout tile and hanging wallpaper
•    Ideal for a variety of faux finishing techniques with paint on walls.


Sponging on Sponging off technique
•    With sponging-on you simply paint the base coat onto your surface first, and then use a sea sponge to gently apply the glaze.
•     With sponging-off, you will first paint the surface of your choice, and then lightly apply a layer of glaze.
The only appropriate type of sponge for sponging on and sponging off is a natural sea sponge. 

 

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Picking the right bath sponge

  When selecting your sponges, you will have a choice of cuts or forms. Forms are a complete, un-cut sponge. This means that the sponge will have a flat bottom where it was cut from the ocean floor, cuts are when a larger sponge has been cut into pieces. Usually cuts will have two flat sides but a round top. For everyday use, cuts are fine. If you wish to proudly display your sponge as decoration, we recommend a form.

  Picking the right bath sponge means comparing the material, durability, wash ability, shape and overall aesthetics of the sponge. Cost is also a factor.  The sponge should comfortably fit into your hand,  4"-5" sponges are the smallest acceptable size for a bath sponge, the 5"-6" is usually just right, and the 6"-7" size is great for large hands.

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Natural Sea Sponges for Artists

Natural sponges are a valuable tool for the artists studio.  Can be used to create a variation of textures and patterns.  They can also be used for applying large washes and cleaning up unwanted paint of moisture or to delete brush strokes tracks and correct mistakes.  Excellent for lifting paint and for softening and blending colors. Natural sponges are better than synthetic sponges when it comes to artistic use because are better at holding color and water like the natural hair paintbrushes. But not only hold color and water between their fibers but also absorb it directly into the fiber itself, allowing for greater color load and longer application time. A natural sea sponge  will not leave trace hairs behind in the layers so artists can apply multiple layers. The natural sponges are very durable and washable and as long as they take proper care like wash after every use, then they will last ages, and they will not degrade as the synthetic sponges.
Being a natural product, each sponge has a slightly different shape and texture, helping to create great depth in the artistic works.
Our High quality Natural sponges are great for :  Watercolorists, Acrylic painting, Oil painting,  ceramics, crafts, pottery, staining, stencilling, Marble stippling, Stippling,  faux finishes, Home decorating Projects, all artists.

Natural sea sponges are great for :
Creating effects such as smoke and folliage
Creating special effects
Organically textured effects
Stippling
Sponging on and sponging off
Abrorbing excess saturation
Lifting paint
Softening and blending colors
Applying thin glazes of color
Removing unwanted washes

Natural sea sponges are wonderful for all your artistic needs.  They are better on the environment than their synthetic competitors, and will last longer even for the most demanding of artistic uses.   Why not try our natural "Artist" sea sponges today and see if they're not the most perfect and affordable choice for all your arts and crafts needs?

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