“Kerasma” (το κέρασμα) or “treating” is embedded in the Greek psyche. We were first introduced to this phenomenon when our gracious landlady in Thessaloniki showed up with gifts for us a couple of days after we had first met. “Unusual”, we thought. Then, our friend the archaeologist exhibited the same behavior. We were the lucky recipients of wine from Mt. Athos and “trahanas” (ο τραχανάς”, a very traditional Greek product made by drying wheat flour or semolina mixed with milk or yogurt, then reconstituting it with milk and adding feta) homemade by his mother, just because I had mentioned how much I loved this dish. The same with the tavernas, the cafes, the vegetable vendors. “Its free” is a refrain we hear everywhere. In most traditional Greek tavernas, dessert is on the house, but you also get treated with a flask of tsipouro or wine on the house, especially if they know you or like you or both.
This behavior is so unusual and so widespread in Greece that we cannot help analyzing it. Is it because it makes a lot of sense to build relationships of your own when you mistrust the government that is supposed to look out for you? Is it a belief in “karma”, a hope that your kind actions will rebound on you in times of need? “You have to stop and make time to pickup gifts along the way”, a friend once said after a particularly kind act toward us. The Greek generosity is seen everywhere. It does not seem to be a particularly calculated or over-analyzed gesture, it just is.
When we first arrived in Thessaloniki, Shreesh and a friend were stopped by a fishmonger cum restaurant owner and gifted a whole night’s dinner for four people, cheese, pasta and a bottle of wine! Just like that, no strings attached. Whenever we go there, we are sure to get a whole dish on the house. At Olympia, miles away, a taverna (To Symposio, if you are ever there, visit it!) included an extra dish from the menu in our doggy bag. And when I accidentally knocked the contents on the floor, they brought us another doggy bag with a whole new dish!
We have found generous people everywhere. This is quite an antidote to the virulent negativity you see in the news. But I have never seen anything quite like this. Of course, in touristy spots, this behavior is blatantly absent. In Santorini, beautiful as it is, I felt oddly displaced for a while, until, to celebrate Shreesh’s birthday, we went to a taverna. Many hours and many “mezedes” and much wine later,, a full wine flask magically appeared on the table. “On the house”, the waiter said quietly. “Χρόνια πολλά” “Happy Birthday”. The owner’s gift to Shreesh for his birthday. I sighed with relief. Greece was still there, we just had had to scratch the surface.