What were the customs, traditions, and beliefs of the people of the plain in western Thessaly, the Great Thursday? This question is answered by Vasiliki Koziou-Kolofotia, a researcher of local history, author, folklorist, and educator.

On Thursday morning, the researcher stresses that housewives are busy painting eggs. She describes two of the recipes recorded in Kerasia and Krania, Karditsa. Dyeing eggs with rizari or onion leaves, which are very simple recipes, as she explains and suggests to all housewives.

Dyeing eggs with onion leaves

Put onion leaves and vinegar in a large pot of lukewarm water and boil them for about three-quarters to an hour. Then remove the pot from the heat, cover it with the lid, and leave it for 8-10 hours to allow the colour to come out well. Then drain the water and add the eggs with a wooden spoon, after having washed them well and wiped them with a towel. The eggs should be at the temperature of the place where we live. Boil them for a quarter of an hour, making sure that they are well covered by water. Then remove them with a wooden spoon and place them on a clean towel or paper towel. Then oil them with a soft towel or some cotton wool to make them shiny.

Also, according to her, a)The onion leaves for 30 eggs should be about three handfuls, and the vinegar 100 grams. b)The eggs should preferably be reddish. c)The color it gives is dark red to brick red. As many eggs can be dyed in the same water, but they will come out a little darker.

Dyeing the eggs with rhizari

In a wooden vessel or basin, dip roots of rhizari (an annual plant that grows in the mountains) and lapata (a type of vegetable) into a bowl and leave them for two or three days to get the colour out. On Maundy Thursday, we boil the pounded mixture for two hours to bring out the colour. Then drain it and add the eggs to the water, using a wooden spoon to cover them well. After fifteen minutes, remove them from the pot and place them on a cloth or paper towel. Then, with an oiled soft cloth or cotton ball, oil them to make them shiny.

In the past, the researcher points out, rhizari and lapata were also grown in gardens. With the root from the rhizari, our ancestors, in addition to eggs, used to dye the rushes they wore or the bahts and caramels (bedding). The threads of these fabrics were dyed indelibly. The caranguns, when they were to pass the shayyas with a lulac, first wetted them in the water that the lapata and rhizari drew out, and then lulaced them.

Also, on the morning of Maundy Thursday, during the Divine Liturgy of M. Basil, according to the Karditsa researcher, the women would take two p’taria (offerings) to the church, one for the priest and one for their house, then return and distribute them to their family members. They also took grain, pieces of bread, and all these were distributed to the congregation for the souls of the dead. After church, they went to the graves of the dead, where they lit candles and laid red eggs. On the evening of Maundy Thursday, the Christians went to hear the twelve Gospels and to venerate the crucified Christ, who was taken down from the sanctuary and placed in the middle of the church, where everyone passed by and saluted.

Many young girls made wreaths and placed them on Christ’s feet and hands or on the cross. Many women made handmade wax bunches of candles equal to the bosom of their children, and with these, they would animate the body of Christ. Still others made many yards of wax bunches, and with these they lit the church. This was done on special occasions, if they had a vow for one of their own patients. After the service, the girls and women would decorate the epitaph, and many of them, with their little children, would sit on their mats and keep Christ awake by singing dirges.

Speaking to APE-MPE, Vasiliki Koziou-Kolofotia stresses: “My first findings came from my immediate family environment: my grandmother, parents, relatives, then the wider area of my village, and finally the prefecture of Karditsa. All this material served me in my career as a teacher and later as an active member of various cultural associations.” And concludes by emphasizing: “Today, when in the context of globalization all those elements that characterize our national identity are beginning to fade away, it is imperative that our rich cultural heritage be preserved and highlighted. In this way, we are building a mound to hold together the timeless values of our nation and precious elements of our popular culture.”