The padrinos of the arras hold the 13 coins the bride and groom will present to each other following the blessing and placing of rings. This unusual custom comes from the Romans, whose tradition included breaking of gold or silver with one half to be kept by the woman and the other half by the man as a pledge of their marriage.
Bouzouki /Î¼ÏÎ¿ÏÎ¶Î¿ÏÎºÎ¹. Sirtaki or syrtaki /ÏÏÏÏÎ¬ÎºÎ¹ is a popular dance of Greek origin, choreographed by Giorgos Provias for the 1964 film Zorba the Greek. It is a recent Greek folkdance, and a mixture of the slow and fast versions of the hasapiko dance.
Greek ouzo (from grape) and tsipouro (from pomace), Turkish rakÄ± (from sun dried grapes) and arak at Arabic and Middle Eastern countries differ from rakia as they are redistilled with some herbs (commonly anise). Some tsipouro in Greece is made without anise in the same manner as pomace rakia (or pomace brandy). BoÄma rakÄ± in Turkey (common name of the domestic raki which is produced at homes and villages) is similar to rakia in the Balkans.