Saturday, April 23, 2011

eastertime


eastertime is hectic in this part of the world. It is the major holiday of the year, and most people go whole hog with church every day of the holy week, fasting and lamb on a spit on sunday.
Easterday is called "Lambri" which means bright, and the 40 days (49, actually) of Lent are also spring cleaning time, the village gets whitewashed, inside and out
families get together to celebrate, mostly in the countryside, and anyone with some land roasts lamb over an open fire, on a spit
in Athens it happens sometimes on the balconies..
it does seem as if the land itself is celebrating, glorious sun, flowers, grasses, trees in flower
I don't go to church, but it is not possible to ignore the surge of energy..it is wonderful, really
the son is here from Poland with his dad
with a very clear wish to do the roasting thing
so I've gone traditional (again) this year, preparing a homeric feast and tomorrow I'm lighting a fire


Telemaco went to church on tuesday and came back intrigued.."they were talking about a whore" he said..(it is the day they tell about Mary Magdalene)

bundling eggs was fun, madder and onion skins and lots of little leaves and flowers
having coffee with a friend, getting frustrated when the thread wouldn't stay where I wanted it to:
"the problem with eggs is that they are round"
"how would you want them to be?"
"rectangular and flat"
"hens would need a trapdoor.."

10 comments:

Valerianna said...

The one time of year I missed on Samos was Easter - I heard it is spectacular! With all the flowers blooming and people in procession from the chapels with wildflowers. This morning here we have snow, and my daffodils are bent over in submission.... I LOVE the comment about chickens needing a trapdoor... HA!
Smelling the roasting lamb, yum!

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

always love word from your world
and how GOOD, the eldest son and
his father came.
i wish you such a joyfull day

jude said...

enjoy the holiday.
i will visualize the trap door.

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

manya...here is a little big
thing for you that i re-found this
morning while looking for something else:

well...i just looked at it and it
is too long for here, so go over
when you can to Windthread and
it will be there waiting for you

Manya Maratou said...

hey all..wish you were here!

cindy said...

Manya, what a mystical world you create and are a part of! laughing about the trap door, whirling from the visions you've described in your last couple of posts, will come back hoping for more and more stories.

Harnett-Hargrove said...

Thanks for the glimpse! xo -J

Catherine Bainbridge said...

I so enjoy hearing your cultural tales! You should write about these experiences and publish... your writing -like your cloth making - is extremely rich. Thanks for this sharing.

Hugs
Catherine

Anonymous said...

Reading your stories...makes me miss my Grandfather. He was always filling my head with tall tales.

Judy Martin said...

Thank you for your glimpses of Greece. Much appreciated.

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