Thessaloniki lights Christmas tree in rainy celebration

The news in Greek

1. χριστουγεννιάτικος
   που σχετίζεται με τα Χριστούγεννα ή ανήκει στην περίοδο των Χριστουγέννων ↩︎
2. πλατεία  (f.)
   μεγάλος ανοιχτός δημόσιος χώρος σε πόλη ή χωριό, συνήθως με δρόμους γύρω του ↩︎
3. δήμαρχος  (m.)
   ο εκλεγμένος επικεφαλής της διοίκησης ενός δήμου ή μιας πόλης ↩︎
4. πυροτέχνημα  (n.)
   φωτεινά και θορυβώδη βεγγαλικά που χρησιμοποιούνται σε γιορτές και εκδηλώσεις ↩︎
5. εκδήλωση  (f.)
   οργανωμένη δημόσια δραστηριότητα, όπως γιορτή, συναυλία ή τελετή ↩︎
6. εορταστικός
   που έχει σχέση με γιορτή ή δημιουργεί αίσθηση γιορτής ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Who turned on the lights of the Christmas tree in Thessaloniki?

Question 2: What did many people bring with them because of the weather?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
χριστουγεννιάτικος	Christmas / Christmassy
πλατεία  (f.)	square
δήμαρχος  (m.)	mayor
πυροτέχνημα  (n.)	firework
εκδήλωση  (f.)	event
εορταστικός	festive

Read the full story

The northern Greek city of Thessaloniki officially began its Christmas season with the lighting of a large tree in the central Aristotelous Square, despite steady rain on Wednesday evening.

The city’s mayor, Stelios Angeloudis, pressed the button that illuminated the 18‑metre‑tall fir tree, covered with thousands of lights. As the tree lit up, fireworks were launched above the seafront, creating a bright display over the city centre.

Local media reported that the axis of Aristotelous Street and Square was “flooded” with residents and visitors who chose to attend the event, even though they had to stand under umbrellas. The large turnout led the traffic police to introduce temporary measures, including road closures around the square, to manage the crowds and vehicle flow.

In a short address before the countdown, Mayor Angeloudis wished the public “happy holidays” and spoke about optimism and hope during the festive period. Referring to the rain, which has accompanied the tree lighting for a second year in a row, he commented that Thessaloniki has many “lucky signs” and that the rainy weather could be seen as another one.

The deputy mayor for Culture and Tourism Development, Vasilis Gakis, thanked everyone involved in organising the city’s Christmas activities and welcomed visitors to Aristotelous Square. Speaking about the weather, he described the crowd as forming “a huge umbrella”, stressing that those present were not discouraged by the conditions.

The evening’s cultural programme began with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which performed Christmas songs and carols. The band Wedding Singers continued the entertainment with popular music, preparing the audience for the main act.

Television presenter Maria Bekatorou hosted the event on stage. After greeting the audience and introducing the programme, she invited the well‑known Greek singer Antonis Remos to perform. According to local reports, Remos’ set included some of his best‑known songs, and many in the crowd stayed in the rain to sing along.

Municipal officials presented the event as part of a wider series of Christmas activities in Thessaloniki, designed to attract both residents and tourists to the city centre during the holiday period. While the coverage from Greek news outlets mainly highlighted the festive atmosphere, there were no major reports of disturbances or safety problems during the celebration.

For many people in Thessaloniki, the lighting of the tree on Aristotelous Square marks the city’s unofficial start to Christmas and New Year celebrations, turning the seafront square into a central meeting point throughout December.

Info: ‘Greek Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Greek’, a language school dedicated to teaching Greek through various types of online courses and resources. It offers updates, articles and materials on Greek language learning to support learners at different levels.