Clean Monday Kite Flying

Some Greek Orthodox communities mark the start of Lent in a quite different way. For them the first day of Lent is treated as the first outdoor day of the new year. Lent is the beginning of spring. After the long death of winter, here is the first sign that new life is coming. We must go out to greet it. The community celebrates this day by climbing the nearest hill and flying kites on the fresh spring wind!

Always more important than what we turn from is what we turn to. Here we meet the Spirit enticing, provoking, driving, inspiring us in the struggle to turn from our bondage to a useless evil, to live boldly and be caught up into the adventure of divine love.

Clean Monday (“Kathara Deftera”) and Great Lent

“Kathara Deftera” is the first day of the Great Lent Season. On this day, everyone in Greece goes on an excursion to the country where they fly kites and eat Lenten foods (octopus, shrimp, bread, olives etc.).

CLEAN MONDAY
Greek orthodox Christians saw in the Lenten season they way they do every year: with picnics, music, dancing, and kite flying.

Many people left Athens for the long weekend. Many more didn’t, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying Clean Monday in the traditional rural fashion.

Every year, they descend on Filopappou Hill, a stone’s throw from the Acropolis, and have the party that starts Lent.

And so they did Monday.

There’s song and dance, and kite-flying – it was a little too windy this year. “What can you do?” asked one disappointed man.

Never mind.

There’s always the song and dance.

And the food of course, the traditional Lenten fast feast. No meat, just vegetables and seafood, and the famous flatbread called lagana, which goes well with the dips.

It was cold as well as windy, but that didn’t stop anyone – the band just played on.

It takes more than a spot of bad weather to stop a tradition which, as one little girl put it, is about wishing everyone a long and happy life.

Able to express himself in a slightly more sophisticated way, Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos said he was filled with joy and the party spirit along with all Athenians.

The message to everyone from Filopapou was, “Happy Lent!”

From: Hellenic Resources Network.