Greece Date Night

Browsing through pinterest, I've come across several date night ideas and themes and have decided that it would be fun to do.  It is important to me to focus on my husband and our marriage. It is a constant give and take and I don't ever want to be that couple that gets stagnant and boring, BUT, that takes active work. So, I thought it would be fun to do DESTINATION THEME date nights.  Nothing too extravagant or anything, but at least once or twice a month look up a different country and make that the evening's theme.   I wanted to make some sort of little crafty passport or something and 'collect stamps' each time or something like that, but I haven't quite got that part down yet. :)

The first stop on our travels leads us to GREECE. 

Greece is a country in southeastern Europe with thousands of islands throughout the Aegean and Ionian seas. Influential in ancient times, it's often called the cradle of Western civilization. Athens, its capital, retains landmarks including the 5th-century B.C. Acropolis citadel with the Parthenon temple. Greece is also known for its beaches, from the black sands of Santorini to the party resorts of Mykonos.

Capital: Athens

Currency: Euro

Capital and largest city: Athens; 37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°E

Population: 10.82 million (2015) World Bank

Official language: Greek

I emailed Louis a themed invitation to our evening just to get the ball rolling and I was so excited when he met my challenge and came home to our date evening with a few themed gifts... :)

My lover brought me a card, pomegranate and bread.

According to Greek superstitions, customs and folklore-
Bread
Bread is considered a gift from God. It has roots from the bible story, Sermon on the Mount, of how Jesus Christ fed thousands with the fish and the bread. The older village women always make the sign of the cross over a fresh loaf before slicing it. No bread is ever thrown away. If it is not eaten in some way or another, it is fed to the animals, as it would be a sin for it to end up in the garbage and has to be consumed.
The Pomegranate
The pomegranate is a symbol of happy times, fertility and prosperity in Greek folklore, and in some parts of Greece people take a pomegranate with them when they visit people on New Year’s Eve and smash it on the threshold, so that the household will have good luck and prosperity in the coming year.

While I was finishing up dinner, Louis and I looked up Greek facts and trivia.  I wont bombard you with all the knowledge we gleamed :), but here are a few interesting tidbits for ya:

Greece is the sunniest country in Europe.

Melbourne has the largest Greek population, outside of Greece.

Greece is the most sexually active nation in the world (get 'em!)

Waving with your palm open is considered disrespectful in Greece.

Greek men are the 8th tallest in the world.

Greece currently has the highest unemployment rate in the EU.

Greece is the only country in the world, that receives DOUBLE its population in tourists every year. 

Greek is the oldest written language still in existence.

Greece has the LOWEST suicide and divorce rates, but has the HIGHEST mistress rates in the EU. 

Greeks tend to celebrate Name Day vs their birthdays.  Name Day is when they celebrate the saint they were named after.

 For dinner, we had traditional Greek food including greek salad, chicken souvlaki, lemon rice pilaf, pita bread and lemon pantespani for dessert.

Greek salad

lemon rice pilaf

chicken souvlaki skewers

Notice my Greece invitation?!?! :)

it was delicious

After dinner we headed in for movie time.  We wanted to watch something sticking to the Greek theme and had originally chosen 300, but after watching the trailers and stuff, we decided on the newest version of Clash of  the Titans.  It still has all the Greek mythology and lore we were looking for, just with a little less gore and stuff. :)

pretty bad picture, in bad, at the end of the evening, but the only one I got of the two of us!