Editing Christmas carol (section)

===Greece and Cyprus<!--'Kalanta' and 'Kalanda' redirect here-->===
[[File:Lytras Nikiforos Carols.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Nikiphoros Lytras]], ''Carols'', 1872]]
{{redirect|Kalanta|the EP by Despina Vandi|Kalanta (EP)}}

====Custom====
Greek tradition calls for children to go out with [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangles]] from house to house on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] Eve, and sing the corresponding folk carols, called the '''Kalanta'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> or '''Kalanda'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> or [[Kalanta Christougenon]], the word deriving from the Roman [[calends]]). There are separate carols for each of the three great feasts, referring respectively to the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]], to [[St. Basil]] and the New Year, and to the [[Baptism of Jesus]] in the [[River Jordan]], along with wishes for the household. In addition to the carols for the [[Twelve Days of Christmas#Eastern Christianity|winter festive season]], there are also the springtime or [[Lent]]en carols, commonly called the "Carols of [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]]", sung on the [[Lazarus Saturday|Saturday before Palm Sunday]] as a harbinger of the [[Resurrection of Christ]] to be celebrated a week later.

In older times, caroling children asked for and were given edible gifts such as dried fruit, eggs, nuts or sweets; during the 20th century this was gradually replaced with money gifts – ranging from small change in the case of strangers to considerable amounts in the case of close relatives. Caroling is also done by marching bands, choirs, school students seeking to raise funds for trips or charity, members of folk societies, or merely by groups of well-wishers. Many internationally known carols, e.g. "[[Silent Night]]" and "[[O Tannenbaum]]", are also sung in Greek translation.

====Variants====
Many carols are regional, being popular in specific regions but unknown in others, whereas some are popular throughout the two countries. Examples of the latter are the [[Peloponnese|Peloponnesian]] Christmas carol "Christoúgenna, Prōtoúgenna" ("Christmas, Firstmas"), the [[Constantinople|Constantinopolitan]] Christmas carol "Kalēn hespéran, árchontes" ("Good evening, lords"), and the New Year's carol "Archimēniá ki archichroniá" ("First of the month, first of the year"). The oldest known carol, commonly referred to as the [[:s:el:Κάλαντα "βυζαντινά" (Κοτυώρων Πόντου)|"Byzantine Carol"]] ([[Byzantine Greek]]: Άναρχος θεός καταβέβηκεν, ''Ánarkhos Theós katabébēken'', "God, who has no beginning, descended"), is linguistically dated to the beginning of the [[High Middle Ages]], ''ca.'' 1000 AD; it is traditionally associated with the city of [[Kotyora]] in the [[Pontus (region)|Pontos]] (modern-day [[Ordu]], Turkey).

====Form====
Most carols follow a more or less standard format: they begin by exalting the relevant religious feast, then proceed to offer praises for the lord and lady of the house, their children, the household and its personnel, and usually conclude with a polite request for a treat, and a promise to come back next year for more well-wishing. Almost all the various carols are in the common [[dekapentasyllabos]] (15-syllable [[Iamb (foot)|iamb]] with a [[caesura]] after the 8th syllable) verse, which means that their wording and tunes are easily interchangeable. This has given rise to a great number of local variants, parts of which often overlap or resemble one another in verse, tune, or both. Nevertheless, their musical variety remains very wide overall: for example [[Polyphonic song of Epirus|carols]] from [[Epirus]] are strictly [[pentatonic]], in the kind of [[Drone (music)|drone]] [[polyphony]] practised in the [[Polyphony#Balkan region|Balkans]], and accompanied by C-[[clarinet]]s and [[fiddle]]s; just across the straits, on [[Corfu]] Island, the style is [[Musical temperament|tempered]] harmonic polyphony, accompanied by [[mandolin]]s and guitars. Generally speaking, the musical style of each carol closely follows the secular music tradition of each region.