#sarakosti

[crispyliza]

Orthodox christian fasting is basically going on a vegan diet where for some reason you're still allowed to eat squid or octopus etc which I find really funny. The church just said "fuck cephalopods".

[elladastinkardiamou]

Recipe: Tahinosoupa, Greek Tahini Soup for Lent (and Beyond)

Megali Sarakosti (Μεγάλη Σαρακοστή) is the 40-day period of Lent before Greek Easter, running from “Clean Monday” to Easter Sunday. The fasting rules prohibit consumption of any kind of meat or animal-derived products like dairy and eggs. Fish is not allowed either (with a few exceptions), but bloodless seafood like crustaceans, shellfish, fish roe, calamari and octopus are fair game.

What always fascinated me is the fact that in Greek folk tradition, Sarakosti is personified as a woman, named Kyra Sarakosti (Mrs. Sarakosti), often made out of paper (still a common activity in schools – my son Apollo loves drawing her!), but also sometimes out of felt or even a basic dough. She wears a long dress carrying a cross on her head, or sometimes hanging from her neck, hands crossed as in a prayer position, and no mouth (often no nose either), so as to prevent her from tasting or even smelling food, temptations that may lead her to break her fast. Below her dress hang seven little feet, one for each week of Sarakosti; each Saturday, one of her feet is cut off – back in the day, the fasting period seemed so long that people made this simple DIY calendar to track the time remaining until Easter.

The idea behind fasting, however, is far more spiritual than just avoiding food: It is about the general abstention from physical pleasures in order to prepare, body and mind alike, to enter into a higher state of spiritual being and prayer. In that way, fasting in all its forms is a personal choice.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Kyra Sarakosti and Clean Monday

In the Christian Orthodox tradition, Lent it starts today, with Clean Monday, or Shrove Monday. While both Lenten traditions last 40 days, in the Eastern tradition Sundays are not counted, so the total time of Lent is 50 days.

To keep track of the weeks, children make a Kyra Sarakosti or Lady Lent calendar or cookie, with 7 feet or 7 shoes. Kyra Sarakosti does not have a mouth, since she is fasting. Her arms are crossed. Each Saturday, another foot is cut off, until the last Saturday, when the last foot is hidden in some other food and the person who gets it is considered lucky.

[elladastinkardiamou]

Kiria Sarakosti: the calendar counting down 7 weeks until Easter. It is not easy to translate the Greek “Kiria Sarakosti”, but we propose to call her “Lady-Lent” in English! It is an old tradition in Greece and a way to count the weeks from Clean Monday (the end of carnival) until Easter.

In most regions in Greece Lady Lent it is just a paper drawing, but in some places she can be made of dough and a lot of salt, so it will preserve better! In any case, it is not meant to be eaten, but to be used as a calendar! Elsewhere in Greece, you also find her made of cloth and filled with feathers. Its name in Greek recalls the 40 days of fasting beginning on Clean Monday and ending with the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. She has her arms crossed and is praying, and she has no mouth because of the fasting period. Lady Lent has 7 feet (one for each week of the Lent period. Click on the photo above to also see her feet!). The purpose is to cut a leg at the end of each week, so you can easily count how many weeks are left. The last leg is cut on Easter Saturday and after folding well, placed in the bread of the Resurrection. The person finding the piece in his bread will have good luck. Although this tradition is now a bit forgotten, many young children draw Lady-Lent in school. They will keep her in their room or in the kitchen of their house, in order to count the weeks till Easter! Easter is a one of the main celebrations in Greece, but also a two-week holiday for all school children!

[elladastinkardiamou]

Lentil Soup for the Soul: Holy Week at Home in Athens

This year Greek Easter will be celebrated a week later than Catholic Easter. I guess “celebrated” might not be the right word, as everything – for the first time in recent history – will be shut, even the churches.

In Greece, Easter is as important as Christmas. If they can, most Athenians leave the city to spend the holiday in the countryside or on an island, where the setting is ideal for the ultimate Easter tradition – a whole lamb on a spit, roasting in the open air on Easter Sunday. Everyone gravitates toward this central attraction, sipping on tsipouro and wine and munching on meze till the feast is ready to officially commence.

Since Greek Easter is a beloved family holiday, the government is taking stricter isolation measures for these days, which are considered “critical” as far as the coronavirus is concerned. They are even weighing whether to forbid, just this once, open-air lamb roasts and feast gatherings – a Greek drama if I’ve ever seen one.

Despite all that, we have now entered into the mystical Megali Evdomada, i.e. Holy Week. This week before Easter is normally the most important period of Lent, which officially begins right after Carnival and lasts for 40 days (this year it ran from March 2 until April 18).

In Greece, we call that 40-day period Sarakosti (derived from the Greek word for the number) and it is depicted as a woman wearing a long folk dress – Mrs. Sarakosti – with 40 little legs. Traditionally you are supposed to make your own Mrs. Sarakosti out of paper right after Carnival and cut one of her little feet each day until none are left, at which point Easter has arrived. Mrs. Sarakosti now has four little feet left hanging under her dress, which means we’re in the final stretch.

[elladastinkardiamou]

The advents calendar for Greek Easter!

Kiria Sarakosti: the calendar counting down 7 weeks until Easter. It is not easy to translate the Greek “Kiria Sarakosti”, but we propose to call her “Lady-Lent” in English! It is an old tradition in Greece and a way to count the weeks from Clean Monday (the end of carnival) until Easter.

In most regions in Greece Lady Lent it is just a paper drawing, but in some places she can be made of dough and a lot of salt, so it will preserve better! In any case, it is not meant to be eaten, but to be used as a calendar! Elsewhere in Greece, you also find her made of cloth and filled with feathers. Its name in Greek recalls the 40 days of fasting beginning on Clean Monday and ending with the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. She has her arms crossed and is praying, and she has no mouth because of the fasting period. Lady Lent has 7 feet (one for each week of the Lent period. Click on the photo above to also see her feet!). The purpose is to cut a leg at the end of each week, so you can easily count how many weeks are left. The last leg is cut on Easter Saturday and after folding well, placed in the bread of the Resurrection. The person finding the piece in his bread will have good luck. Although this tradition is now a bit forgotten, many young children draw Lady-Lent in school. They will keep her in their room or in the kitchen of their house, in order to count the weeks till Easter! Easter is a one of the main celebrations in Greece, but also a two-week holiday for all school children!

[tfoodproject]

Γαρίδες σαγανάκι... Shrimps saganaki with feta and tomato #saligaros #exarchia #shrimp #saganaki #sarakosti #seafoodathens #athenscuisine #σαλίγκαροςεξάρχεια #γαρίδες #σαγανάκι #rigasrigopoulos #σαρακοστή (at Saligaros σαλιγκαρος) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu3maJ2BKrE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=btblyo861mre

[pisinamarinazeas]

Η #pisina εύχεται καλή #sarakosti σε όλους και ετοίμασε ένα υπέροχο μενού για να σας έχει και αυτές τις μέρες κοντά της … Τηλ. Κρατήσεων : 2104511324 ... #marinazeas⚓️🚤 #piraeus ... (στην τοποθεσία Pisina Marina Zeas)