This Week For Greeks! - Vol.1 Issue 17 - Friday, December 21, 2007

A Message from the Supreme President

Merry Christmas from AHEPA!
The Christmas Season has always been a special time because it brings us back to our childhoods, with fond memories of opening presents, visiting relatives, baklava and special treats. Many of those traditions are centered around our Greek heritage and AHEPA.

Listen to Ike's special Christmas message via podcast! (mp3 format - 3.16 MB)

Two Great Christmas Gifts
There's no better way to share the tradition of AHEPA, than through membership! Giving someone you love a gift membership is fast and easy! And through The AHEPAN and this eNewsletter, your gift membership will remind them, year round, how much you love them.

This year AHEPA is offering another great gift opportunity through the Supreme Convention in Athens. Think of how elated they'll be when they open a card that includes a copy of the downloadable Convention brochure, letting them know your Holiday trip this year will be to Greece!

Please remember to renew your own membership as soon as possible, as the chapter presidents need to turn in the dues to Headquarters by December 31.

On behalf of the entire AHEPA Family, I want to personally thank each of you for being a part of my family and wish you and your family a blessed and safe Christmas.

Sincerely

Ike Gulas, Supreme President

News From Greece, Cyprus and the Patriarchate

Optimism Slowly Growing in Greece
BRUSSELS (Kathimerini) -- December 19, 2007 -- Eurobarometer poll shows more Greeks now have greater confidence in government, economic prospects -- Greeks may find the present bleak but are more optimistic about the future, according to Eurobarometer data published yesterday in Brussels. ... read more.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki Macedonia Urges Greece to Drop Accession Threat Over Name Dispute
ATHENS (People's Daily Online) -- December 19, 2007 -- Macedonia linked Greece's threat to using its veto right to block Macedonia's NATO bid to the use of nuclear weapon on Tuesday, news reaching here from Skopje reported. ... read more.

Russia, Greece Share Views on Key International Problems, Including Kosovo - Putin
MOSCOW (Interfax) -- December 18, 2007 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the approaches taken by Russia and Greece in resolving many European and international problems "remain in tune with one another." ...read more.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan Greece Bristles at Turk Claims
ANKARA (Kathimerini) -- December 19, 2007 -- Relations between Greece and Turkey appeared to enter a prickly phase yesterday as Athens lodged an official complaint with Ankara over a posting on the Turkish joint chiefs of staff website that claimed there is an illegal Greek military presence on the Dodecanese island of Rhodes. ...read more.

Cyprus' Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis If There is a Will There is a Way
NICOSIA (AP) -- December 20, 2007 -- In a recent survey published by the London-based Financial Times you were quoted as finally acceding to a two-state solution for the Cyprus problem. Is there a shift in the official Cypriot position? ...read more.

KPMG Logo Cyprus, Ireland And Switzerland Top KPMG Poll Of European Corporate Tax Regimes
BRUSSELS (Tax-News.com) -- December 20, 2007 -- Cyprus, Ireland, and Switzerland are the top three countries in a league table of European tax systems compiled by KPMG International, in which major business organizations across Europe assessed the attractiveness of their domestic tax regimes. ...read more.

Photo: Four Cars Cyprus First Worldwide
CYPRUS (ERT) -- December 15, 2007 -- Cyprus comes first worldwide in the possession of cars. As per the report of the International Road Federation for 2007, 746 cars correspond per 1,000 citizens. The United States ranks fifth with 675 cars per 1,000 civilians, France tenth, Japan eleventh and England twenty-first. ...read more.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Turkey Takes Fresh Step Towards EU Membership
BRUSSELS (AFP) -- December 13, 2007 -- Turkey took a fresh step towards European Union membership Wednesday with the opening of new policy talks, despite resistance from France and other members. ...read more.

Patriarch Bartholomew I Patriarchal Declaration for Christmas, 2007
NEW YORK (Worldwide Faith News) -- December 18, 2007 -- Beloved brothers and children in the Lord, It is with great joy that our Church calls us to glorify God for His loving and personal presence on earth in the divine-human hypostasis of Christ Jesus, one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. ...read more.

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophelous III, Patriarch of Jerusalem Recognition of Jerusalem Patriarch
NICOSIA (ERT.gr) -- December 16, 2007 -- The Israeli government officially recognized Theofilos III as Jerusalem Patriarch. The issue was brought up during today's meeting of the Ministers' cabinet, who agreed on his recognition. Greek Foreign undersecretary, Thodoros Kssimis, who was later briefed, hailed their decision which he described as a move in accordance to Israel commitments to the international community and Greece with regards respect to the pilgrimage status and century long privileges of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. ...read more.

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophelous III, Patriarch of Jerusalem USAID Celebrates Renovation of St. Dimitri School in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AP) -- December 12, 2007 -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated Wednesday the completion of the renovation of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate School of St. Dimitri in the Old City of Jerusalem. ...read more.

Patriarch Bartholomew I Patriarch Barholomew Greets Taize Meeting
ISTANBUL (Zenit.org) -- December 19, 2007 -- Tells Youth There Is No Justice Outside of Christ -- Like Benedict XVI, the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople is sending his best wishes to an ecumenical youth meeting in Geneva, organized by the Taize Community. ...read more.

News From AHEPA

The 2008 Supreme Convention Brochures Are In!
WASHINGTON (AHEPA Convention) -- December 20, 2007 -- The 2008 AHEPA Supreme Convention brochures are in! This year's Supreme Convention in Athens will be the trip of a lifetime for you and your entire family. If you're a current AHEPA member, you will be receiving the brochure in the mail soon, but if you're eager to find out more about the fantastic travel packages available, you can download the brochure online. Click Here to get download the brochure now!

Golf Ball Upcoming Golf Tournaments!
WASHINGTON (AHEPA Athletics) -- December 13, 2007 -- AHEPA invites you find out more and join us for these three fantastic upcoming golf events:

2008 Citrus Distict 2 Epiphany Golf Tournament (January 5, 2008)
35th Annual Southeast Regional Golf Tournament (February 17, 2008)
Dr. Monthe Kofos 46th Annual AHEPA National Golf Tournament (April 6-12, 2008)

Save The Date!
WASHINGTON (AHEPA News) -- November 27, 2007 -- The AHEPA 38th Biennial Banquet set for Friday, March 7, 2008 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. Save the date and make your hotel reservations today! ...find out more.

Greek Tradition Spotlight

A Holiday without Treats is not a Greek Holiday!
Nobody could possibly bake like Mom ... but just in case you're looking for her old recipe book and can't find it, AHEPA's here to help you keep your Greek traditions alive and strong (and sweet)! We'd like to especially thank the beautiful, and soon to be wed, Elena Skardis with the Daughters of Penelope for taking her lunch break to help us search for these Greek Holiday classics.

Baklava
Galatoboureko
Kourabithes
Karithopita
Melomakarona
Ravani
and a new twist on an old classic: Chocolate Baklava