Greece Ermioni Info: Clean Monday

In Eastern Orthodox calendars, the Monday after Carnival is called 'Clean Monday' or 'Kathari Deftera' and can be sometimes referred to as Ash or Shrove Monday. It is the start of fasting for Lent and the build up to Easter. On this day, the tradition has been for children and adults to go and fly kites, which does require a great deal of skill. However, today it has rained heavily in Ermioni, which has meant no kite flying at all. But generally the tradition in Ermioni has been the flying of kites on the top of Pronos Hill, which gives fantastic views across the whole of Ermioni. Plenty of Greek music has been played, with locals dancing and singing and 'fasting' goods served. Such foods are cuttlefish, squid, octopus, seafood, taramasalata, vegetables and Lagana, which is a large flat bread, made with no yeast. Lent is taken very seriously by Greek people.