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Speaker to discuss Greek culture, traditions

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By Samantha Sommer, Staff Writer Updated 3:32 PM Monday, December 7, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — In Greece, name days are often more important than birthdays.

Name days are a celebration held on the day marked for a saint that shares your name, explained Anna Plataniotis.

“It’s all part of being in the Greek Orthodox Church ... It’s how we were brought up,” she said.

Plataniotis will present the next installment of the free, monthly Global Education and Peace Network’s monthly speaker series, focusing on Greek culture and traditions.

“Greek Name Days and Family Stories” will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, in room 105 of the Shouvlin Center at Wittenberg University.

She will also share a traditional New Year’s cake and Greek dancing.

The parents of both Plataniotis and her husband were born in Greece. Hers immigrated to Canada, his to Springfield.

She has tried hard to hold onto her cultural traditions and pass them onto the next generation. The Global Education programs also help share them with others.

“It’s simply for people to realize the differences and the beauty of our traditions and how strong it really is,” Plantaniotis said.

The Global Education and Peace Network was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The speaker series is co-sponsored by the Wittenberg Center for Civic and Urban Engagement and the city of Springfield.

The theme for this year’s series is “Sharing Our Stories: Family and Cultural Traditions that Shape Us.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0363 or ssommer@coxohio.com.

If You Go

What: “Greek Name Days and Family Stories”

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10

Where: Room 105 of the Shouvlin Center at Wittenberg University

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