Crete tourist guide

Today Greece smells like smoke

2023-02-16 19:27:45

Tsiknopempti is a Greek holiday that falls at the end of Carnival, 11 days before Clean Monday. This year, this day falls on today and you can roughly compare it to the Polish "fat Thursday". However, unlike Poles who eat donuts that day, Greeks set up grills in many places in cities and towns and grill like crazy, eating large amounts of meat.

Source: EntaXoyas/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY 3.0

Tsiknopempti does not have a simple translation into Polish. The word Tsikna means the smell of grilled meat, pémpti means Thursday. To put it simply, it can be translated as a smokey Thursday, or even better as a Thursday smelling of grilled meat smoke.

According to Greek Orthodox tradition, the faithful who wait for the forty-day fast before Easter can eat as much meat as they want on this particular Thursday and party as long as they can. This tradition is, of course, a good opportunity for family meetings or with friends, the more so that in many towns, on the main squares, grills are displayed on which meat is roasted. In the evening, when the Greeks sit down to tables laden with food, you can hear music everywhere, sometimes singing and loud conversations. Taverns on this day prepare a special menu, and one of the most popular dishes are souvlaki and paidakia, i.e. grilled lamb ribs. In some parts of Greece, apart from grilled meats, nettle cake (Πίτα με τσουκνίδες) is also baked.

Probably the genesis of this custom should be sought in the ancient rites in honor of Bacchus. They have survived to our times, but with some modifications. Eating and drinking is undoubtedly a celebration of earthly pleasures, which is neatly explained by the need to strengthen oneself before the rigorous Easter fast.

In the old days in the villages, apart from grilling meat, people dressed up and went in groups from one house to another asking for refreshments and wine. At the same time, they attracted their neighbors from whom they had just received delicacies in these pilgrimages. In modern times, Tsinkopempti has largely lost its religious dimension. It is rather another opportunity to meet in traditional taverns, which on this day become the main attractions.

Gosia,  2023-02-16 19:27:45

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