Apocries
Apókriës ( Greek απόκριες ) is the Greek carnival festival . Translated it means something like 'meat over' and takes place in the three weeks before the start of Lent. With the so-called pure Monday, Kathari Deftera ( Καθαρή Δευτέρα or Middle Greek Καθαρά Δευτέρα Kathara Deftera ), the carnival season ends. Since in Greece, unlike in Western Europe, the Easter date is determined according to the Julian calendar and the old lunar cycle , the festival only sometimes ends roughly with German carnival.
The carnival season is divided into three weeks with the names Profoni , Kreatini (meat week) and Tirofagou (cheese week). The meat week is the second week and is the highlight with a barbecue Thursday, the tsiknopempti (burned-smelling Thursday). It is similar to the custom known in the Alemannic region as Schmotziger Thursday (from the Alemannic Schmotz 'lard', 'fat') or as Weiberfastnacht .
Old customs and costumes have been preserved, for example, on the islands of Skyros and Skopelos , which are part of the northern Sporades . The celebrations probably go back to the Dionysia in honor of the Greek god Dionysus , which were celebrated at the beginning of spring and were taken over into Christianity through accommodation . The stronghold of the modern Greek Carnival is Patras .