A heartwarming video shared online last year tells the story of an 89-year-old Greek American man visiting Greece for the first time. His parents were born there before immigrating to the United States.
The TikTok post recounted, through a series of warmly lit videos, what user @AnnaMG24‘s ‘papou’ (what she affectionately calls her grandfather in Greek), got up to on his incredible trip.
The man was seen going through Greece’s cobblestone pavements with his walking stick in tow and looked to be overcome with feelings ranging from pride to happiness.
The Greek American during his first visit to Greece is shown in the video that had gone driving around the countryside as dusk falls, touring the nation’s well-known historical landmarks, including the Acropolis, visiting Greek Orthodox churches, wandering on islands, and taking sips of ouzo, the country’s most popular alcoholic beverage.
@annamg24 It took our Papou 89 years, but he finally got to Greece!!!! Can’t not cry at his pure joy and pride
#greece #papou #santorini #mykonos #athens #greektiktok #grandpa #grandparentsoftiktok #greecetiktok #familyvacation
Greek American visiting Greece for the first time
While the entire video has won over many hearts online, particular highlights from the happy montage include the grandfather being photographed holding a Greek flag high in the wind on a mountainside and showcasing his dancing prowess in bustling tavernas by dancing in the traditional Greek style with a large group of friends and acquaintances.
The video was captioned: “It took our papou 89 years, but he finally got to Greece!! Can’t not cry at his pure joy and pride”, while “pure happiness” was written across the video.
The vivid glimpse at ‘papou’s’ adventures in Greece was tugged at heartstrings across the Internet.
“My soul needed this. He looks so happy and content. He was meant to be there and looks at home. Love it,” one user wrote.
“Using the cane to walk but dancing hands-free is killing me,” another user joked, in reference to how the 89-year-old was caught gladly dancing without the support of his walking stick but appeared to be reliant on it at all other times during the trip.
One TikTok-er commented: “I’m so glad he got to go.”
The name of the 89-year-old man has not been made known. His parents are likely to have immigrated to the US in the early 20th century.
450,000 Greeks arrived to the States between 1890 and 1917, most working in the cities of the northeastern United States; others labored on railroad construction and in mines of the western United States; another 70,000 arrived between 1918 and 1924.
Today the US is home to the largest population of those of Greek descent outside of Greece with over 3 million Greek-Americans, mainly third or fourth generation immigrants, residing in the country.
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