Any tasty Tsiknopempti lore you could share with us? :P
This came after Tsiknopempti was over so it caught me off guard!
Tbh not much I can say but I can tell you why this day exists, which even some Greeks might not know. In fact I will make a Greek Carnival meaning post:
Απόκριες (apókries, Greek Carnival)
Tsiknopempti (Grilled Meat Smoke Thursday) was the Thursday that just passed.
It is the most famous day of the second week of Carnival.
Carnival celebrations in Greece last three weeks. The Greek word for Carnival is Αποκριά (Apokriá) or Απόκριες (Apókries) which means “(abstaining) from meat”. In fact, the English word has a similar Latin etymology (carne-vale). The Carnival celebrations herald the last weeks of allowed “debauchery” before the Great Lent, the most important and strict Greek Orthdox fast.
So, each week of the Apokries symbolises a different thing.
The first week is called Προφωνή (Prophoní) which more or less means “the Herald”. It is the introductory week to the carnival celebrations and in the past they used to send heralds to announce the opening of the carnival celebrations so families could organise their supplies for the festivities. In Byzantine times, the heralds would urge everyone to participate in the festivities even beyond their means “I herald to you, poor man, sell your coat, and partake in the celebration”. In Naxos island, in more recent times, the Byzantine heralding turned even more hardcore “I herald to you, poor man, and if you cannot buy, then steal!”. On this first week, it was also believed that the souls of the dead were released on the world of the living.
The second week is the Κρεατινή (Kreatiní) which means the “Meat Week” or Κρεοφάγος (kreophághos), “Meat Eating Week”. This is the week you are free to eat so much meat in order to make up for all the next weeks that you supposedly won’t due to the Great Lent. This is also the only week of the year that you can eat meat even on a Wednesday and a Friday (nowadays only applies to very pious Christians). The most famous day of the week is the Tsiknopempti (Grilled meat smoke Thursday) when it is tradition to eat grilled meats. The reason this Thursday is special is because it is the eleventh day of Carnival and Carnival lasts 22 days so it is exactly in the middle of the festivities. Therefore the meat eating is at its peak.
The Sunday of the Kreatiní week is called Κυριακή της Απόκρεω (Kyriakí tis Apókreo) which means “Carnival Sunday” but as we saw it technically means “Abstaining from Meat Sunday”. That’s because it is the last day of meat eating.
The third and last week of Carnival is called Τυρινή (tyriní) meaning “Cheese Week” or Τυροφάγος (tyrophághos) meaning “Cheese eating Week). It is nowadays the peak weak of carnival celebrations although traditionally it was supposed to be a mediator between the previous Carnival “debauchery” and the Great Lent, serving as a gradual preparation for the long fast. So during the Tyrophagos traditionally you can still eat animal based products like dairy and seafood but you can not eat red and white meat anymore. During this week people also eat pasta. The last day of the weak Κυριακή της Τυροφάγου (Kyriakí tis Tyrophághu), Sunday of the Cheese Eater, is the last and peak day of Carnival.
The next day is Καθαρά Δευτέρα (Kathará Ðeftéra), the Clean Monday or Ash Monday as it is known in other cultures, the purifying first day of the Great Lent.
I only recently learned what each of these days / weeks stood for so I thought it would be interesting to write about it!
