Kathara Deftera

Kathara Deftera translated into Italian Clean Monday, in Greece and for the Orthodox Church is a true national holiday. Linked to religion, it is the first day of Lent as well as the beginning of a sort of purification which through fasting, giving  up meat and all foods that may contain blood, is respected for 48 days and ends with midnight mass on Saturdaybefore Holy Easter. We can compare Kathara Deftera to our Ash Wednesday.

The exact day on which it falls is linked to the date of Easter so it changes every year. The Kathara Deftera separates the Carnival celebrations where one indulges from all points of view including that linked to food consumption. Just a few words about this period: throughout the carnival we can say that it is an opportunity to eat as much meat as possible given the long fast and its highlight day is called Tsiknopempti Shrove Thursday translated, the day where we stuff ourselves more and dofull of proteins. The word Tsiknopempti is composed of two words Τσικνά which represents the scent of roasted meat and Πέμπτη which means Thursday. The origins of this festival linked to Carnival have roots in the Dionysian times considered auspicious moments for the arrival of spring and the consequent awakening of nature.

In the seven weeks before Easter, there is a very ancient tradition of Greek culture, that of Kyra Sarakosti. In short, a salt dough shape is made that represents a woman and in particular a nun with seven legs, one for each week of Lent without a mouth and ears, with a cross in her hand or on her head. The fact of not having a mouth or ears symbolizes abstinence from both gastronomic pleasures and gossip, an activity that is absolutely forbidden during the period.Every Saturday, one of Kyra's legs is cut, in short, an advent calendar linked to Easter.

The Kathara Deftera is celebrated in different ways in the Hellenic territory with different particularities such as in Karpathos where immoral gestures are made and those guilty of such indecency are taken by the guards to be judged and punished, in Thebes instead a wedding is officiated where the groomis shaved from his beard and the bride is actually a man in disguise, in Messinia in Methoni a parody of the Koutroulis Marriage is staged, a true event from the 14th century which tells of Ioannis Koutroulis, a proud knight who falls madly in love with a girl fromUnfortunately, Methoni was already married and, in turn, in love with Ioannis, unable to divorce as it was forbidden by religion, they had to wait 17 years to fulfill their dream, running away to take refuge with the  Constantinople Patriarch who agreed to the union. Hence a party that lasts several days with a commitment of a lot of money and therefore now every celebration that exaggerates in time and money is defined as the Koutroulis wedding. Finally, in Vonitsa the custom has it that a fisherman tied to a donkey goes around the whole village and then arrives at a boat that will be burned when put into the sea.

Despite the differences in its celebration, Kathara Deftera has very specific guidelines for all Greeks regarding food and everyone observes them with respect for tradition. Lagana must certainly not be missing from the table, a bread that is made only in this period of the year, without yeast with lots of sesame on the surface, seafood and fish so much so that on Kathara Deftera Monday it is consumed in industrial quantities,Taramosalata, the so-called common man's caviar, a sauce made of cod roe and finally Halvas, a tahini based dessert, a sesame and sugar paste combined with walnuts and square shaped chocolate and obviously wine or Tsipouro at will. During the Kathara Deftera, there are two activities to do, the classic outdoor picnic with family and friends, and the traditional kite flying which symbolizes the human soul rising towards God which legends link to the ritualancient when people wrote their wishes on kites to make them reach as high as possible so that the Gods could read them and grant them.

This is what this festival represents and if you are in Greece at this time of year, don't miss the opportunity to participate, it will be a special day to enter and understand the true soul of this wonderful land.