The first Monday of Lent (50 days before Greek Orthodox Easter) is a Public Holiday in Greece and Cyprus and marks the beginning of Lent and is celebrated all over
Lenten food, usually consists of vegetables, dried legumes and seafood (except fish) such as kalamari, octopus, shrimps, oysters, cuttlefish, mussels, lobsters etc. Lagana is a flat bread with sesame seeds and it is made only on Clean Monday.
Macedonian Halvas, is one of the main Lenten sweets, especially the variety made with tahini and sold in block or brick form. This type of halva is sold by weight and comes plain, flavoured with chocolate, or studded with nuts and we love eating it for breakfast or sprinkled with lemon juice and cinnamon on top, as a dessert.
Another tradition on Clean Monday is kite-flying. Wherever you look up in the sky you will see thousands of kites. The kites were know in ancient
Each part of
Another custom is alevromoutzouromata. At Galaxidi fires are lit almost every night and the local carnival events culminate in the festivities of Clean Monday. After the end of the float parade, people have lunch together at home or in the countryside. Then, they go to the marketplace where they carry ashes and flour in bags and throw them not only at each other but also at unsuspecting passers-by. The coast is transformed into a battlefield very quickly.
Watch this video at U-Tube to get an idea
I shall not post any recipe today but during these fifty days of lent I shall be posting some of the recipes I prepared today as well as other ones. Today I prepared Dolmades Gialantzi, meaning fake dolmades as they are without the ground meat and are therefore vegetarian, taramosalata, is a dip made with fish roe, an octopus and potato salada and eliopitakia (small olive pies). For dessert, I made a halva cooked in a sauce pan with fruit.
When I was younger I used t hate the foods of «nisteia». You make them look really appetising Ivy. Will you be fasting the whole 50 days?
Peter, it depends on what you were eating every day but imagine all those wonderful vegetarian dishes. I wish I could fast for all the lent period, not for religious reasons but it’s healthier once in a while to detoxicate from what we usually eat.
Hi Ivy! Happy lenten season to you! These dishes sound wonderful!
Come on Ivy lets go fly kites together and have some Macedonian Halvas which look delicious!! I really enjoy reading your posts Ivy it takes me into your part of the world – wonderful
Rosie x
Thanks Jenn, but I am not sure if it’s appropriate to wish the same to you.
How fun that would be Rosie. Unfortunately the kids have grown up and we have stopped flying a kite.
Wow Ivy, love to know about your traditions and this is a funny one!!!!
beg your pardon ivy, but the only true dolmades are the ones without meat – they’re not at all fake, and that’s what we ate today! http://organicallycooked.blogs.....ce_09.html
Ι wrote that Maria, because that’s what the word gialantzi means. I have not made this up.
Dearest Ivy, I hope that you have a blessed Lenten season.
Thank you so much Cynthia and I hope the same for you.
What a wonderful celebration, Ivy! I’m looking forward to your Lenten dishes!
-Chef
Ivy, that is really a feast! I could do with the 50 days of delicious food
Kali Sarakosti Hvi!
I also saw the roundup of closing Carnivali festivities and I had a good laugh with the Tirnavou pranks.
Seafood and veges – now it sounds like I could actually make it through Lent. I’m looking forward to your posts on these dishes.
I’ll look forward to your recipes during Lent Ivy. Being in Greece during Greek Orthodox Easter is something I would love to do sometime
This reminds me that while Lent is all about fasting and abstinence, there are so many traditional foods to look forward to
Gay
Thank everybody for commenting. I’am sorry for not replying to each one of you or visiting your sites but I have some guests at home and do not have a lot of time to sit at the computer.
[...] the beginning of Greek Orthodox Lent, Kathara Deftera or Clean Monday, I prepared several dishes and told you that I was going to post them during this period of [...]
[...] this day in parks and along the countryside, flying kites and having picnics. The food served on Kathara Deutera is simple and traditional as it is an important day that symbolizes the start of the Lenten period [...]