So yesterday I walked out of my apartment and through the school campus, and ran into three cowboys, several space aliens, a bunch of witches, and a hula dancer. It appeared to be Halloween four months late. I was a little surprised, I guess, but it did seem to make sense; I think every culture needs to have at least one holiday that is an excuse for dressing up and acting ridiculous, and clearly the Greeks just prefer to have theirs in February, not October.
As it turns out, it's Carnival. You probably all knew that already, as it seems to be Mardi Gras in the States. To be honest, I am little bit confused as to why it is Carnival here. Isn't the Greek calendar different? Isn't Mardi Gras/Carnival supposed to be 40 days before Easter? So why isn't the Greek Carnival 40 days before Greek Easter? But doesn't Mardi Gras usually take place on a Tuesday? So why is Greek Carnival on a Thursday? Maybe they aren't the same after all. I am so confused. However, it doesn't really matter. What really matters is, last night was part of an age-old tradition of celebrating wildly before a period of austerity, abstemiousness, abstinence, and abstention. Except that, of course, I have no intention of actually absteming from anything whatsoever. Except maybe chicken.
Anyway, I headed downtown to see what all the fuss was about, and discovered a massive celebration taking place in Aristotelous Square. There were men dressed as women and women dressed as men, and people of both genders with ridiculous afros. There were geishas and more cowboys, and any number of other unusual sorts dressed in any number of outfits, running aorund and yelling and acting crazy. Everyone was weird. It was just like being back in New York. It was delightful. There was also a wide variety of tasty-looking junk food, including the donuts pictured above.
Above is a picture of me at a cafe near the Hagia Sophia. This guy offered me retsina and souvlaki, and his friend took our picture. His friend was dressed like a Roman soldier, with one of those helmets that look vaguely like brooms. Unforunately, as I was not prepared for this particular holiday, I am just dressed up like a tourist.
Below is one of many, many little girls in long, pouffy, sparkly, princess dresses. This is exactly the sort of thing I would have loved to wear when I was five, proving that some things transcend cultural boundaries.
Now, take a good look at the picture below. You may be wondering "What is that?" Well, take a good long look. Notice the partially-hidden broomstick. Yes, indeed, that is thirty-five-year-old, six foot Harry Potter, smoking a cigarette with Yasser Arafat.
I love Carnival.
4 comments:
It is great, isn't it? The reason you are slightly confused is the Carnival season here lasts about 10 days. It starts usually on a Thursday (ie. yesterday) and ends on a Sunday (March 5th). The Monday after (March 6) is "clean monday", and is a national holiday. People go fly kites on that day, hopefully the wind won't be as crazy as it is today.
I haven't added it up but I assume March 6 is somewhere around 40 days before Greek Orthodox easter, which I think is the week after normal easter this year.
Greeks are so into the 40 days thing, even McDonalds, KFC, etc will have "clean" menus for people fasting.
Yesterday WAS NOT the beginning of the Greek Lent. Greek Carnival lasts 1.5 weeks and it conicides with the last days at which you can eat meat and dairy foods before Lent. What you witnessed yestrday was "Tsiknopempti" (=Smoky Thursday) which is the beginning of the season. This coming Sunday, February 26, is the Sunday of the Apokreo (=last Sunday that you are allowed to eat meat). The Sunday after that is the peak of the Carnival season, called the Sunday of Tyrofagos (=cheese eaters, i.e. the last Sunday that you can eat dairy products). The Monday after that (March 6) is "Kathari Deftera" (=Clean Monday) and THAT ONE is the first day of the Greek Orthodox lent. Traditionally during that day people eat shellfish which are allowed for fasting.
Many towns during that season organize folk festivals. My hometown (Naoussa, 1.5 hrs from Salonica) is one of them. Visit my hometown's website http://www.Naoussa.gr for some pictures and schedule of those events (only in Greek).
Greeks love an excuse to eat. And I'm not one to disappoint them if I could only get to Greece.
Thanks for correcting me guys. Actually, now I'm trying to decide where to go for this coming weekend (hopefully I'll have a day or two to travel)...maybe I should check out Naoussa.
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