An Expat in Athens: Carnival’s Kites and Calamari

Yesterday was Clean Monday for Eastern Orthodox Christians, which means that Apokries (or Carnival celebrations) are winding down and Lent has officially begun. In Athens, where I shot this photo, Greeks spent the day eating fish—fried calamari and taramosalata, or fish roe dip, are special favorites—and flying kites on Philopappus Hill near the Acropolis. This year, Athens was far emptier than usual, since many Athenians had gone out to the provinces for the festivities.

Interestingly, I noticed that at least half of the kite enthusiasts were immigrants—Russians, Albanians, Pakistanis, Nigerians.

There were plenty of European and American tourists, too, who were worshiping the weather and trying to fly kites of their own. At the entrance of Philopappou Hill, vendors sold “old ladies’ hair” (cotton candy) and halva. There was also a battle of the bands of sorts: An Albanian clarinetist and percussionist, Peruvian flutists, Roma accordion players, a Northern European didgeridoo player and an African man strumming a guitar and singing “Hotel California.”

The last week before Lent is a nonstop party, full of screaming people in costume and kids hitting each other with inflatable bats (something which still befuddles me). Though the state television station had live coverage of carnival parties throughout Greece and central Athens was inundated with revelers on Monday, the holidays don’t get much attention outside of Greece and the Orthodox world.

Rio and New Orleans may have dibs on the most raucous and headline-producing carnivals, but Greece’s celebrations are as integral to cultural identity as the Acropolis, feta cheese and Alexander the Great. Clean Monday is the last hurrah before the sobriety of Lent, and, true to form, the Greeks celebrate it with all they’ve got.

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