Apokries, Carnival, the festival of fun and masquerade for young and old.

What else
could you expect ( ) of a festival that comes down to us
from the ancient worship () of Dionysus in Greece?
Its no coincidence() that Dionysus is the god of wine. Wine loosens
inhibitions ( ) and brings a cheerful mood (
) that reaches its peak ( ) in the Christian world a few
days before people begin the long fast
During the 40-day Lenten fast in Greece, people eat no meat or animal products. This
is why the three weeks before Easter are called Apokries, i.e. abstention ()
from meat (). The same applies () to the word carnival, from the Latin
carne (flesh) and vale (farewell) [or otherwise carn- (flesh) and levare (put away)
()].

Apokries - Carnival History

carnival has its roots () in ancient ceremonies with dances and various kinds of
folk mummery () and disguise, () in order to propitiate harmful
spirits.( )
Down the centuries some of the ancient ceremonies and traditions have been lost, but
most have been incorporated( ) into the Christian religion and
taken on a different meaning.

In ancient Greece, the festival in honour of

( ) Dionysus took place in early Spring, as Dionysus symbolised lifes
rebirth () after Winter. Today, carnival is held in the same period but not
on a fixed date, as it depends on the moveable feast of Easter.

Apokries Celebrations in Greece

During carnival people dress up and enjoy the freedom of anonymity. asks let their
wearers lose their serious and respectable selves and have fun, forgetting their worries
and problems.
The mask is thought to be a descendant of the ancient identical clay () masks
worn by actors in ancient Greek comedy and satyrical drama. Then the Romans made
many different masks representing the various types of comedy. Many centuries later,
in Northern Italy, the commedia dellarte was developed, introducing the characters of
Harlequin and Columbine

Carnival in Greece
The word carnival may bring to mind the Rio Carnival of Brazil or the Carnival of
Venice in Italy, but important carnivals are also held in Greece. The best-known is the
Patras Carnival in the Peloponnese, while the Rethymnon Carnival is also becoming
more popular and better organised every year. Another well-known Cretan carnival is
the Malia one, which is also improving () year by year.

Apokries - Carnival Traditions

1. During the second week of Apokries, known as Kreatini (Meat Week),
meat may be eaten every day, even the traditional fast days of Wednesday and
Friday.
2. The Thursday of the second week of carnival is known as Tsiknopempti
(Tsikna Thursday). This is when the festivities begin. Traditionally, everyone
must cook meat so that the smoke or tsikna fills the air and everybody
knows its a feast-day. Thats how Tsiknopempti got its name.
3. On Tsiknopempti the first masqueraders make their appearance and the first
carnival parties are held. The bars and clubs are packed, especially in the
towns. There are all kinds of costume and you can hire the one you prefer.
Today you will see incredibly ugly women on the streets. Have Greek women
suddenly become unsightly? No, its just that lots of men dress up as women,
with hilarious results.

4.

The third week is called Tyrini

(Cheese Week) - people can eat dairy products and fish but not meat.

5. Apokria ends on Kathari Deftera (Clean Monday), the first day of Lent, the
40-day fast until Easter Sunday. On Clean Monday, the koulouma are held.
Everybody goes off to the countryside, eats Lenten food and flies kites. People
used to make their own kites and it took a lot of skill to make your kite fly
higher than the rest.

Halvas, the Apokries sweet

For Greeks, halvas is a Lenten sweet, especially the type made with tahini and sold in
cylindrical or rectangular form. This type is called Macedonian Halva. It is sold by
weight and is also available with chocolate or walnuts.