Sabbatoparea News/Τά Νέα τής Σαββατοπαρέας: Record amount raised by 2019 Kalanda carolers

A record $8100 was raised Jan. 1, 2019, by about 50 Newton area children, young adults and their parents, who sang the traditional Greek New Year’s Kalanda in support of the Boston Children’s Hospital Hellenic Cardiac Fund (HCF) and Communities Without Borders (CWB). Pledges by people who listened to the singing via telephone are expected to add to the total.

Organizer Dr. Vassilis Zannis said that in this 38^th annual celebration, “The money is not as important as the group’s commitment to keep our traditions alive.” He said he was very excited to see the original group of kids now bringing their own children to the gathering.

In welcoming the carolers to his house, Metropolitan Methodios expressed his joy and wished a prosperous year to those present as well as to all Greek Orthodox of New England.

Zannis thanked the family of Dr. Markella Zannis and David Humphrey whose house served as the starting place of the day and also the families who welcomed and treated the group in their homes: Yannis and Laura Zannis, Christopher and Melissa Madias, Kosmas and Marina Vrouvlianis, Stratos and Julia Efthymiou, Drs. Ourania and Nikos Madias, Metropolitan Methodios of the New England Greek Orthodox Church, Hara and Kostas Travagiakis, George and Elizabeth Lambropoulos and Eleftheria and Dimitris Papaslis.

Kalanda were sung for participant families Lia Triarchou, Manolis and Janet Paraschos, John and Helen Vassilakis, Maria Delichatsios, Eleni and Anastasios Pitas-Delichatsios, Thanasis and Liza Karagiorgos, Vassilis and Christina Valayannopoulos, Aristidis and Angeliki Athanasopoulos and Vassilis Zannis. As in previous years, a special effort was made to sing the carols via telephone to the families of former Kalanda participants (such as the families of Lappas and Pothoulakis) as well as to relatives and friends in the U.S. (such as the families of Mody Kefalas, George Kefalas, George Zannis and Dimitris Zannis) and in Greece (such as the families of Maria and Dimitris Michalakis Argyro Rekletis and Nikolas and Panagiota Zannis and Spyros and Markella Anagnostopoulos).

The Kalanda tradition brought together the older and younger generations of children and their parents, thereby reaffirming old friendships and fostering new ones, thus recreating a sense of community, common identity and culture, Zannis said.

The money, as always, was collected in the white-and-blue paper boat constructed by the original carolers in 1982. Drs. N. Madias and M. Paraschos conducted the group. Evangelos Papadopoulos and Nicolas, Luna-Nefeli and Vassilis Valayannopoulos provided the instrumental musical accompaniment. Donations were counted by Sabbatoparea’s Financial Affairs team of Phaidon, Daphne and Chloe Athanasopoulos under the supervision of Atty. Yorgos Pothoulakis.