APOKRIES-----a greek festival

CARNIVAL TIME IN GREECE OR “APOKRIES”
Apokries or carnival is a period of fun ,dancing and singing for greeks. Apokries means stop eating meat , as the word carnival means.It is one of the most popular feasts in our country.It is connected with good time and fancy dressing.
The roots of this feast can be found in ancient Greece,in god Dionyssos’ worship.
Dionyssos was one of the twelve ancient greek gods.He was considered as the god of fetility.The ancient greeks honoured him in spring with float parades.Dancers and singers followed the floats,singing satyric songs. The dressing up was done to take in the bad winter spirits that keep the earth dead and let her blossom.
The same parades take place nowadays all over Greece, the last Sunday before Fast begins. They mean the start of spring.
There are a lot of traditions and customs all over Greece.On the last Sunday of Apokries people put on fires in open places ,dance and sing traditional songs around it.This has the meaning of purification and catharsis before Fast.During the last week of Apokries (just before Fast)people eat mainly dairy products and eggs.The second week before Fast they eat mainly meat.On Thursday of this “ meat week”, everybody goes out to have fun( lots of them are fancy dressed) and eat at restaurants .It is a special day for us.
The big day is Sunday before Fast.In the evening we visit parents ,grandparents,relatives to ask for forgiveness and apologise if we had a row with any of them.We have to kiss the hands of the elderly .In this way we show respect.The children get money that night. Also, in the villages grandma has a hard boiled egg and when her grandchildren visit her she does the following custom.She ties the egg with a thread on the edge of a stick.The children have their hands behind their back.They are on a line. She touches their mouths with egg once each round.The one who will bite The egg will get money to buy sweets I t is very funny and the adults want to do it with their parents.Biting the egg symbolizes the close of the mouth that will open again At Easter.
At school parties are held the last three hours of Friday before the carnival holidays.

The first day of Fast is also a holiday for us.We go to the countryside and we fly the kite.Even the Prime minister does the flying in Athens.This custom symbolizes the coming of th e spring.The kites are the herald of spring. These are some of the customs and traditions we have durimg carnival time in our area.