Final Cultural Blog: The Gift That Comes With Aging In Greece!

For my final cultural blog, I wanted to touch on something that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about this semester. I wanted to choose something that I found entertaining and intriguing as I was researching. I wanted to choose something that I was excited about.

With all of that being said, I chose to write on the gift that comes with aging in the country of Greece. It is a celebration, honorable and exciting to be considered an elder in Greece. I wrote a little bit about it in my previous post but I thought that I could touch a little more on it now….

Quick fun fact before we get started… did you know that “old man” is not considered to be a “bad word” in Greece? I think that is awesome! There is not a Western cultural stigma around aging in Greece (clearly that is not how it is in the United States).

In Greece, it is also common for multiple generations to live under one roof. It is not looked down upon to have your parents living with you (Carter). Have you ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Maybe that can start to paint a picture for you on how it is!

Here are three things that I discovered about the Greek elders:

1.) They are often celebrated and always honored

2.)When living with their family, like their children and grandchildren, (which is likely) they are often the ones who are caring most for the grandkids because family sees them as the”most reliable” and “wise.”

3.) During the Golden Age of Greece, The Greeks saw the task of taking care of their elders as a sacred duty. They called it “geroboskia” If they neglected to take care of them, they could be fined or have part of their citizen rights taken away (Janus).

Fun Fact about elders in America: In America, only about 25% of households will care for their older family members

In Conclusion, wouldn’t it be so nice if everyone treated their elders like the Greeks do? I think that it could help with the negative outlook that some have on growing old…

Thank you for following along and reading my blogs. I hope you have enjoyed reading them throughout this semester in my psych 420 class! 

References:

Carter, Karina. “How the Elderly Are Treated around the World.” The Week – All You Need to Know about Everything That Matters. The Week, 23 July 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

Janus, Christopher. “Care for the Elderly – Greek Style.” Care for the Elderly – Greek Style. Hellenic Communication Service, 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.