Christmas: Crisis, Athens mayor seeks cheaper celebration

Christmas: Crisis, Athens mayor seeks cheaper celebration
08 December, 14:36

(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, DECEMBER 8 - Athens mayor Yiorgos Kaminis has called on school children in the capital to decorate the city's main Syntagma Square on Friday, to save money on Christmas expenses, as daily Athens News reports. Schools have been invited to decorate trees on the square between 11am and 1pm before Kaminis inaugurates the city's holiday celebrations at 6 pm. The mayor said the city had been waiting for marches commemorating the police killing of teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos to end before the celebrations began. Athens' main Christmas tree was torched during major riots in 2008 over the police shooting of Grigoropoulos. There will be no central Christmas tree on Syntagma this year. The city estimates the cost of this year's celebrations at 200,000 euros, compared with 2 million euros three years ago. 

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2011/12/08/visualizza_new.html_8354444.html