About how pomegranates and onions can change one’s life

  

Are you an optimistic soul that has just landed in Greece?

Not familiar with Greek New Year traditions, but brave and ready to fit right in? Willing to learn from the wisdom of ancient Greeks in order to become less poor, maybe even rich? Not afraid of fruit and vegetables?

Well, there might still be a chance for you to enjoy a glorious year, despite the tiny crisis and the apocalypse happily predicted for coming December.

Here is a list of precise instructions on how to invite good fortune and prosperity in your modest lives on the first day of a new year, as the Greeks do it: 

-Pay a visit to the local market. Forget all those fresh shrimps, the tempting octopuses, the juicy oysters and all the other Greek goodies, no, no, what you aim for is much more humble (and less expensive):  what you want is… an onion. Yes, an onion. And a pomegranate.

      - Back at home, put them aside and prepare yourself: it is a big moment, you might become a millionaire in a matter of months.

      -\Do some push-ups, you need strong arm muscles for what you are about to do with the pomegranate.

      -Ok, it is now or never, firmly grab the pomegranate, go together to the kitchen (or ideally a place with no carpet on the floor), raise your good arm, fake throwing few times, so you get the  move and smash the funky pomegranate! Smash it as hard as you can! The more mess you make, the more seeds you break (as the poem goes), the bigger your odds to a better life. Good luck awaits you, and so do the mop and the bucket.

-           Half of the job is done.

-          Second part is easy and relaxing. Take the onion, wrap it in tin foil, put it in a place where others won’t reach so it can’t be thrown away by accident (your wife might think it’s garbage) and leave it for a year. According to the legend, by this time next year it will go green or even flourish and along with it so will your bank account. In a less fortunate case, it will just rot and smell bad. Life isn’t always a fairy tale.

Should you feel uncomfortable with adhering to these habits, it is nevertheless useful to know them. Just in case someone invites you to their home for New Year, keep a safe distance from the pomegranate pitcher if you are dressed in white (so out of fashion, but accidents still happen).

*blue shrimp*