Greeks celebrated Clean Monday and the start of Lent with the flying of kites and events all over the country. The Municipality of Athens organised events inviting the residents of the capital to celebrate on the hill of Filopappos, with young and old already gathering, early, to celebrate with fun and music. At 11 am the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens kicked off the beginning of the celebration, while at 12 the beloved Gogo Tsamba with her orchestra put on a great show for the Athenians with original traditional sounds.

Fasting dishes, Lagana, hot bean salad, and the ancestral halva awaited those who ascended the hill of Filopappos, where colourful kites are already flying in the sky and smiles abound.

The rich programme of carnival events, which ends today, was organised by the cultural bodies of the Municipality of Athens, the Organisation for Culture, Sports & Youth (OPANDA), and Technopolis, with the cooperation of the radio station of the city of Athens 9.84 and This is Athens.

“Kathara Deftera,” Greek for “Clean Monday,” is considered one of the most important annual feasts in Greece, commencing the 40-day period of Great Lent, or “Sarakosti,” for the Greek Orthodox Church.

The feast begins on the first day of the 7th week before the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.
Liturgically, however, Clean Monday — and thus Lent itself — begins on the preceding Sunday night, at a special service in which all present bow down before one another and ask for forgiveness.

In this way, the faithful begin the Great Lent with a clean conscience, forgiveness, and renewed Christian love. The day of Clean Monday is sometimes called “Ash Monday,” by analogy to Ash Wednesday, the day on which Lent begins in Western Christianity.

Clean Monday also puts an end to the riotous Carnival celebrations that preceded it, inviting all Orthodox Christians to leave behind the sinful attitudes associated with Carnival festivities — and non-fasting foods, which were largely consumed during the three weeks of the Carnival.

photo credit William Faithful