On December 17, a traditional Christmas online meeting of teachers and students of the Department of Modern Greek Philology of KubSU with teachers and students of the Department of Russian Philology and Slavic Studies of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Athens, Greece) took place.
Galina Redko, Head of the Department of Modern Greek Philology, Evgenia Rotai, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Department, and Tatiana Borisova, Head of the Department of Russian Language and Literature and Slavic Studies of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, delivered welcoming speeches to the students of the two universities.
Also, the representatives from Greek University, Yannis Georgiadis, the senior lecturer of the Department of Russian Philology and Slavic Studies and teachers of the Russian language Zinaida Stamboulidi and Polina Rylik took part in the meeting.
This year’s event was dedicated to the fairytale New Year’s characters of the two countries. KubSU students told them about the Father Frost, the Snow Maiden, the Snowflake and the Christmas Tree. They also exposed Greek students to the Christmas vocabulary in Russian. Students of the Department of Russian Philology and Slavic Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, told all the participants of the meeting about Saint Basil (Agios Vasilis), the Greek Father Frost, and the Kallikantzaros, the mischievous, supernatural creatures in Greek folklore who appear from the bowels of the earth during the Yuletide period and return to their underground homes after the holidays. In addition, the Greek students made a presentation about traditional carols and showed short videos. The event ended with a New Year’s song performed by all the participants.
The next online meeting is scheduled for April 2025. Students of the two universities will prepare presentations on the Easter traditions of Russia and Greece.
