Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα), also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of the Eastern Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Great Lent.
It is a movable feast that occurs at the beginning of the seventh week before Orthodox Easter Sunday.
A common term for this day, Clean Monday, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. It is sometimes called Ash Monday, by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the day when the Western Churches begin Lent).
Liturgically, Clean Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the preceding Sunday night at a particular service called Forgiveness Vespers. This culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present bow down before one another and ask for forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin Lent with a clean conscience, forgiveness, and renewed Christian love. The entire first week of Lent is often called Clean Week, and it is customary to go to confession during this week and clean the house thoroughly.
This Sunday also ends the preceding Apokries (Carnival) celebrations, inviting everyone to leave behind the ‘sinful’ attitudes associated with Carnival festivities and non-fasting foods, consumed mainly during the last three weeks of the Carnival.
This Monday is a national holiday across Greece, and special events and activities will take place in all towns and villages.
There is usually music, dancing, and delicious vegetarian food to mark the start of this particular Greek Orthodox period of fasting and contemplation.
Saracosti, the significant period of Lent before the Orthodox Easter, takes its name from Tessaracoste, which comes from the word forty, which is the forty days until Palm Sunday. One more week until Easter day makes a total of 49 days of “fasting.” During this period, we fast so that our bodies and spirits are “cleansed” to prepare for accepting the Resurrection.
During Saracosti, no meat or dairy is eaten. Lenten food usually consists of plenty of olives, taramasalata, Halva, vegetables, legumes, and seafood, such as calamari, octopus, shrimp, oysters, cuttlefish, mussels, lobsters, etc. Fish is prohibited except on two occasions: on the 25th of March (Annunciation of the Virgin Mary) and Palm Sunday.
Kathara Deftera (Καθαρά Δευτέρα) is a day when families and friends celebrate with delicious fasting foods and the widespread custom of flying kites.
Kali Sarakosti!
