22 of December 2020

Two Christmas ago

The short story is narrated by Yolanda Kaperda.

‘Typos Ioanninon’ (typos-i.gr – local news outlet) collaborates with ‘Theatriki Sympaignia’ to produce a series of podcasts with stories originating in the literature and folklore of Epirus, stories not necessarily related to Christmas.

In 1892, poet Kostas Krystallis wrote a short story about the unrest that had prevailed in the city of Ioannina two years earlier, in 1890. That was a time when the relations of the Patriarchate with the Sultan were going through yet another crisis concerning the privileges of Christians, that is, the life of Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire. In view of the Sultan’s intention to limit their privileges, the clergy reacted vigorously and decided to close the churches. The Sultan eventually stepped back and churches re-opened, with Christians celebrating that Christmas.

A few words about the author:
Kostas Krystallis was born in Syrrako in 1868. At the age of just 19, he wrote the poem ‘The Shadows of Hell’ that led to his persecution by the Ottoman authorities, as it spoke of the Greek Revolution of 1821.
The young poet was convicted in absentia, as he had already taken refuge in Athens. His second collection, ‘The Singer of the Village and the Sheepfold’ (O Tragoudistis tou Choriou kai tis Stanis), which was published in 1893, offered him a ‘thematic identity’ that would accompany him for the years to come.
Krystallis died of tuberculosis when he was just 26 years old. He spent his last days in Arta, at his sister’s house.

The short story that follows is titled ‘Two Christmas Ago (A Friendly Writing from Yannina)’ (Propersina Christougenna).