Ελλάδα / Greece / Grecia / Yunanistan Görögország / Griechenland / Grécia / Гърция
In the cities the housewives did their everyday purchases from the grocer, the greengrocer, the baker, the fishmonger and not from the supermarket. Many were the roving professionals who brought their products to the door of the house. The milkman, the greengrocer, the florist but the greatest joy for the children was the appearance of the ice-cream seller in the neighbourhood in early summer. There were even the barber-shops separately from the hairstylist’s-the shoemaker, the dressmaker, albeit usually every housewife had her own sewing machine at home. People used to mend their clothes and shoes and did not throw them away when they had a small damage. In the villages every home had what they needed daily by their own vegetable garden or the fields and milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, eggs, meat from their own animals. Women knead bread and conserved foods with traditional methods.
People used to write letters to communicate instead of using the telephone which did not yet exist in every home and used to send greeting cards for New Year, Easter, the name days and birthdays, engagements, weddings, births, condolence telegrams for the departure from life of a loved one. The anticipation for the arrival of the postman was great who brought news of the loved ones who lived far away. Masterpieces on the expression of love or human suffering have been written in the letters and diaries mostly kept by young girls.
In the evenings the children played together in the streets, squares and vacant lots, group games enjoying the happiness of companionship and learning rules of life that would be useful to them later as adults rather than being isolated in front of a computer screen. Bleeding hands and knees were a common phenomenon and caused panic neither to children nor mums. A little iodine, a patch and a kiss from mum dried tears on the cheeks and helped the children forget the pain quickly. "By marrying will heal" were the words of consolation for the injured.