Greek Culture
Through the eyes of an American
Observation #2
From the beginning of our trip, whenever we went somewhere in public where their were local Greeks and not just tourists, I noticed the locals were always playing with stings of wooden beads. They almost look like bead necklaces, but they aren't just circular, the have a "tail" with beads on them too. Many men fling them around, or move the beads along the string as they walk around, talk to friends, ect. I was curious because so many of them have them so I asked Coach Beason what they are, he told me that they are either prayer beads or worry beads. For praying they can move the beads to show how many prayers they have said in a certain time period, or to help them focus while praying. If they are worry beads they act like a stress ball or, for some, a cigarette, just giving them something to have in their hands.