Customs of Kathari Theftera in Greece

 written by Kostantinos Z.

  In Greek, the Ash Monday is called Kathari Theftera (which means Clean Monday) or Koulouma. Kathari Theftera is the end of the carnival and the beginning of Lent (the forty days before Easter).

  In Nicholas Politis opinion (he is a famous Greek folklorist) the word Koulouma comes from the Latin «cumulus», which means abundance and end.

  The meaning of Kathari Theftera is spiritual and physical purification.

  Tradition says that this day housewives clean their utensils off the feast of Carnival.

Greeks don’t eat meat and products of animals like milk, cheese, eggs etc this day. The most religious people don’t eat oil, either. The meal includes olives, taramas salad (it is made of fish eggs), beans, sea food excluding fish (octopus, sleeve fish, shell fish),  boiled potatoes, vegetable salads and a kind of bread called “lagana”.

Another custom of this day is to fly kites, so all children pray for  good weather.