You read that the government called for a revival with a few people this Christmas, through the mouth of the government representative Stelios Petsas. I'm sorry if I spoil the story for you, but this year we didn't have a revue anyway, based on the first definition of the word, which we 'borrowed' from French, where the 'phenomenon' started.
'réveillon' has its 'base' in 'réveiller' which means 'wake up' and comes from the Latin 'vigilo' which means 'awake', 'to be awake'. The 'metaphor' served to describe what happened at Christmas and New Year. That is, the sumptuous dinners with the many (time-consuming to prepare and expensive ingredients) dishes that never ended and therefore the participants (family members and/or friends, logically the more the better) stayed awake well past midnight. Since the curfew in Greece is 'activated' from 22.00 to 05.00 it fatally 'disappears' what you knew as a revue. It comes close, however, to what was identified as réveillon, when the word originated.
As the CNRTL informs, the term first appeared in the 19th century, in a text (Loti, Journal, 1878-81, page 207) where someone recounted how 'we look forward with joy to midnight, in the company of a few companions, sitting in front of mugs of hot chocolate and brioche . An honest little New Year's Eve at the boarding school'. There was no electricity then, so people did not stay awake 'except on Christmas Eve, in order to take part in the celebrations', as scholars argue. There was the church service which ended after midnight (Christmas actually 'started' with the singing of 'Minuit, chrétiens' - see Holy Night). And upon returning home, the families ate the food they had been preparing for days, until dawn.
Thus food was put at the center of the story, with the dishes varying from family to family (according to each family's capabilities). They usually included meat pie, meatballs with gravy, pork feet and potatoes, and dessert was homemade donuts with jam. Everything was cooked for many days.
When the aristocracy "got" it, it made it a "fluffy" dinner, it was transmitted to the palaces of other countries, while it also "made" rules. Like for example that the evening starts with an aperitif:with finger food, accompanied by champagne. Then comes the normal meal which includes several dishes, which are served in a specific order (appetizers, main course with side dishes, cheeses and finally dessert which is not just any but the bûche de noël).
It is also clarified that the dinner is 'washed down' with different types of wines, from different regions, depending on the dishes and what goes with them. After the 'strong' drinks, there is coffee, nuts, chocolates and other delicacies that depend on what each region produces . Etiquette has not only the réveillon de Noël (Christmas Eve), but also the réveillon de Nouvel Àn (New Year's Eve) which, unlike its predecessor, focuses more on friends than on relatives. Obviously the more it spread, the more it adapted to the manners, customs and foods of each country.
Since the 60s, the number of people attending the Christmas service in churches began to decrease, with the celebration becoming more commercial - than sacred. Then began the exchange of gifts and her movement throughout the day, from midnight to gathering before midnight and wherever she goes.
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