It’s Green Monday, a national holiday in Cyprus. Also known as ‘Clean Monday’ (“Kathara Deftera”) begins the season of Great Lent (“Sarakosti”) in Eastern Orthodox Churches on the first day of the seventh week before the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.
Great Lent corresponds to Lent as found in Western Christianity, though the lengths of the periods are calculated in different ways. They both use a period of 40 days between the beginning and end of Lent, because of the 40 days that Jesus is said to have spent fasting the desert. However, Western Christendom doesn’t count Sundays because Jesus is recorded as having resurrected on a Sunday, whereas Eastern Orthodox churches do count Sundays.
Liturgically, Great Lent begins on the preceding Sunday night, at a special service in which all present bow down before one another and ask for forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin the Great Lent with a clean conscience, forgiveness and renewed Christian love
This first day of Great Lent is called “Clean Monday” because Christians should begin the holy season with “clean hearts and good intentions.” It is also because the season of Lent is regarded as a time when Christians should clean up their spiritual house, coming to terms with their lives and rededicating themselves to a more holy and righteous way of living.
Because Clean Monday is also considered to mark the first day of spring, Greeks tend to celebrate it with outdoor activities and picnics rather than fasting and prayer. These activities are often called ‘koulouma’.
Dude…
KATE MIDDLETON
Hope everyone had fun yesterday!!
Today is the birthday, in 1941, of American singer and songwriter Wilson Pickett, who recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are ‘In the Midnight Hour’ (which he co-wrote), ‘Land of 1,000 Dances’, ‘Mustang Sally’, and ‘Funky Broadway’. Pickett died of a heart attack on 19 Jan 2006 aged 64. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixhkdO_IdU
Comments