Why Greeks still love their smashing nights out

A Greek crooner is showered in red and pink carnations by customers in an Athens taverna as they sway to his songs of love and passion.

But suddenly the flower-throwing of fans in high heels and sparkly lame outfits gives way to a wild crescendo of plate smashing.

Piles of crockery are broken at the singer's feet - a decades-old tradition of late-night folk revelry that has survived dictatorship, the Greek debt crisis and now COVID.

"The Greek mentality is different from that of foreigners. When it comes to entertainment... you have to have a lot of noise," said Christos Gounaris, who manages singers on the Athens folk scene.

It is the night of the Epiphany, a major religious holiday in Greece, and large tables are set out in front of the stage of the tavern in Peristeri in the working-class west of Athens.

Late-night bouzouki taverns like this named after the lute-like instrument originally brought over by Greek refugees from what is now modern Türkiye in the 1920s.

The singer in the leopard-print shirt bringing the place to its feet is Pavlos Spiropoulos, who drives a truck during the week and sings long, tragic love songs at the weekend.

"When people throw plates and flowers at me I feel happy, because I feel I'm doing a good job and that the public loves me," said the 51-year-old, who has been singing since the age of 18.

 'Let off steam'

Breaking plates "is a way for customers to let off steam," adds the tavern's 56-year-old owner Vassilis Miggas.

"It's also a way to show the singers: 'You're good, I like that!'" he told AFP.

"We throw flowers and plates for those who put the most passion" into their performance, said Gounaris.

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