Sunday was the end of carnival, a massive party day when all of Greece gathers together to celebrate eating vegetables for the next six weeks or so. At least, that's what I, the Not-Quite-Vegetarian, was celebrating. (I do eat meat, but as my friend Will put it, "not in Greek portions.") Everyone else was celebrating the beginning of the Greek Lent, which commences today, Clean Monday. OK, I don't know if "celebrating" is really the right word for what one does on Clean Monday. "Having fun while we still can" might be a better way to sum it up. But in any case, it was an enjoyable day.
I took a trip to nearby Naoussa with some friends to see
the action, which took the form of several parades and lots of dancing, eating, throwing of confetti, and playing of music. There were people dressed up in anything, masquerading as anything and everything. It ranged from traditional costumes to cowboy outfits, Roman soldier uniforms, witches, aliens, Zorros, clowns, and of course, for the vast majority of girls under the age of ten, poufy dresses.
The Naoussa parade is mock wedding procession led by lots of boys and young men in costume, with swords, dancing and escorting the "bride" to the church. There were several of these processions, each similar, but with some variation. The "bride" was, in some cases, played by little girls, and in other cases, played by men in masks and drag. In each case, (s) he was waving a white handkerchief, presumably as a sign of purity. Below, I've posted several pictures of brides, each one flanked by an army of escorts, all of whom were dancing and mock sword-fighting.
I hear that this parade originated as pagan tradition, and was adopted into the Easter calendar way back when. Actually, I have heard rumors that pagan fertility festivals were converted into Easter celebrations in a lot of places. After all, eggs are symbols of fertility, and they don't seem to have a lot to do with Jesus.
The parades were quite a spectacle, but they were only part of it. In every square of the town, people seemed to be gathered, dancing while bands played a sort of balkan influenced music- maybe gypsy music, but I am not sure. We (by 'we' I mean myself, co-Grinnell-fellow Brad, former Grinnell fellow Will and Will's mother) wandered around for a while, watching the bands play and people dance, ate souvlaki, had mezedes and tsipouro at a kafenio, and generally soaked up the Carnival excitement. The entire town seemed to be packed; every cafe was full, every taverna was filled with revelers, and there seemed to be people dancing in every plateia, or square. Actually, a lot of them were just sort of dancing through regular intersections. It was fun to see people in army fatigues holding hands with hippies, who were holding hands with people in traditional costume, who were holding hands with witches, while all of them danced in a big circle.
As the celebration became slightly more subdued, we wandered a bit through Naoussa, which is located in the mountains, and admired the scenery, which included some lovely waterfalls and some really nice views, like this one:
We ended the day by purchasing local fruit (I just love that it is strawberry season in Greece. Who would expect strawberries in early March?) and watching the sun set from the square in front of a local church.
And now, it's time for fasting. Bring on the beans!
2 comments:
Emily thanks for visiting my hometown (uh..ex-home town...alas I now reside in frozen Chicago--the way I celebrated Carnival Sunday here was by drinking some red wine and listening to a couple of CDs of that "gypsy/balkan" music you are referring to). It looks like you had a bright and clear day, fantastic for taking pictures. I have never seen the Mountain look so lovely.
I can recognize almost very street corner in your photos. This is so moving!!
One interesting thing about Naoussa, since you mentioned sunset: After the sun sets (i.e. hides behind the mountain) the daylight still lingers on for more than an hour before night finally arrives. As a kid, growing up there, I thought that this happens everywhere so I was surprised when I first travelled to a flat landscape (e.g. Thessaloniki), and realized that in most of the world
night comes within minutes after the sun sets!
Since you have now found your way to Naoussa I can recommend a couple of excursions towards the mountain (Mount Vermio), if you decide to go back. One, closer by, is "Agios Nikolaos" a beautiful green forest preserve that incorporates the spring/headwaters of the river that you saw forming the waterfalls. There is a hotel and restaurants that serve the local trout fish. From there you can find some trails climbing higher. You can get there in 15' by taking an "Astiko" bus that leaves almost every hour from the main square. Be careful that you get on the correct bus, otherwise you may end up in one of the villages in the surrounding plain!
The other mountain destination is further away (about 15 km) and is the skiing center of "Tria Pigadia" (="3 Wellsprings"). You probably have to take a taxi (again from the main Town square) to get you there. I read recently that there is one bus going there that leaves in the morning and comes back in the evening during the ski season but I am not sure of the timetable.
I'm glad you liked the post, Stefanos! Yes, Naoussa was great, and really beautiful! Thanks for the recommendations. Actually, I almost went on a field trip to Agios Nikolaos with some students here, before bad weather cancelled the whole thing. Maybe I'll make an excursion there in the future, however.
Also, I think you are still justified in calling Naoussa your hometown if you want. I've been bouncing around for the past four or five years, but I definitely consider New York my home.
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