20 Important Calendar Dates To Remember: Celebrating Greek Traditions with Food and Feasts

Yesterday was the first day of the year. Well, not the normal calendar first day of the year (since it is only September) but the day which marks the beginning of the Church year. It was a little confusing at first, so I did some research, compiled my notes and then published a post about Orthodox New Years Day – you can read it here.

Writing the New Years Day post inspired me to think about other special events that happen throughout the year. So, to make it easy for everyone, I compiled a list of 20 Important Calendar Dates To Remember.

Greek Cooking Challenge Recipe 2: Pastichio

How to Be A Good Greek Cook – Join the #GreekCookingChallenge in 2014

Greek Cooking Challenge

February 2014

Pastichio ~ Greek Style Lasagne

Pastichio is a Traditional Greek Pasta Dish that is often described as a Greek Style Lasagna.

Souvlaki for the Soul Pastitsio – Visit:http://souvlakiforthesoul.com/2008/07/pastitsio-recipe

Seemingly Greek Patsitsio – Visit: http://seeminglygreek.com/2010/12/patsitsio/

Kouzounas Kitchen Pastitsio – Visit:http://kouzounaskitchen.com/2013/07/15/authentic-greek-dish-pastitsio/

Pastichio

I’m not sure who discovered it first, the Greeks or the Italians, but pastichio and lasagna are very much the same. The main difference is that the Italians will use sheets of pasta and the Greeks use penne pasta or macaronia.

Pastichio is a dish that is eaten at almost every family celebration, perfect for birthday parties, family dinners, name days, Easter, Christmas or just when you are having people over to visit.

It is normally served in a large rectangle dish and there is usually enough to feed 15-20 people. Perhaps this is why the Greeks and the Italians like to make pastichio – because we always have sooooo many people invited to our parties!

Sometimes pastichio is spelt pastitsio but it is pronounced PA…STI…CHI…O and so I spell it the way it sounds. 

Here is the pastichio recipe that I plan to cook for the Greek Cooking Challenge:

Greek Tzatziki Recipe! Yum!

My friend Ioanna lives in Greece and she is an amazing Greek Cook. She knows how to make Tzatziki the traditional way and I would love to share her recipe with you. Tzatziki is an easy recipe to make. It’s certainly not rocket science but it is tricky to get the taste right. Ioanna says:

“it’s the small things you do that can make a big difference to your Tzatziki”

I have asked Ioanna to share her secretes with us here on Greek Weddings and Traditions. If you have any other Tzatziki secretes to share please post them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
            Sia x

~*~

I am very proud to share the real Tzatziki recipe used in Greece!

Making tzatziki may not be rocket science, but the small things do make a huge difference: Make it for someone, tell your friends coming over that you made it all by yourself, dip your fingers in it to taste it, make a mess of the kitchen while preparing it. It is all part of the awesomeness of the home-made tzatziki…

Tzatziki Ingredients:

oil and vinegar

Cucumber, yoghurt and garlic

Pepper and salt

♦

All you need is:

• 1 Kg Greek Yoghurt
• 2 cucumbers
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 5 table spoons virgin olive oil

Why is Greek Easter different to Aussie Easter?

Easter Eggs painted in many different colours representing the many different traditions that are celebrated at Easter time around the world.

As a child, all of my school friends thought that I was so lucky because I got to celebrate Easter two times every year. First would be the Aussie Easter where we ate hot cross buns for breakfast and then spent the rest of the day hunting for chocolate Easter eggs that had been hidden in sneaky corners around the house and garden; And then a few weeks later I would celebrate Greek Easter with my family by eating tsoureki and cracking red died, hard-boiled eggs.

Back then, I thought that the difference between Aussie Easter and Greek Easter was about the food. You get chocolate eggs for Aussie Easter and hard-boiled eggs for Greek Easter.

As an adult, I now understand that there is a much deeper reason for differences between the two Easter celebrations. I now understand that Aussie Eater is a celebration of the Catholic religion (as well as other Western religions) and that Greek Easter is a celebration of the Greek Orthodox Religion (and other Eastern religions).

But why do the Western and the Orthodox Easter celebrations fall on different dates each year?

The Greek Tradition of the “Clean Monday”

The Clean Monday (Ash Monday) indicates the end of Carnival and the beginning of fasting (Lent) in the Orthodox church.

Photo taken from periergaa.blogspot.com

The Greek “Clean Monday” is celebrated 40 days before the Resurrection of Christ, the Christian Easter. It was named this way because Christians are “cleaned up” spiritually and physically; it is a fasting day and a day of rest.

The beginning of Lent in Greece is a special day celebrated by getting together and eating various Lenten dishes, like the traditional bread lagana (unleavened bread made that day only) and halva. On this day, it is common for people to think about ‘getting back to nature’ and so you may see many families and groups of friends making trips to nearby natural destinations. The best part of it is the flying of the kite, that needs great craftsmanship and perfect weather of course.

The tradition of celebrating this day in the nature is called “Koulouma” (Κούλουμα). Greeks gather in groups of people and visit the countryside, taking with them meatless dishes, and have fun flying the kite. And as in every Greek celebration, there is lots of dancing and singing.

“Clean Monday” has been named this way by the Greeks throughout the centuries and means “spiritual and physical purification”. The flying of kites is often interpreted as the desire of man to chase away evil. 

Many also associate this name with the fact that housewives “clean” their kitchen utensils on Clean Monday to recover from all the cooking that is done during the Carnival.

Things you can eat on Clean Monday:

Seafood: shrimp, crawfish, lobster, crab, octopus, squid.
Shellfish: mussels, oysters, clams, shimmery.
Legumes: soup, salad eyed.
Vegetables: Salads and pickles
Bread: lagana
Sweets: halva, jams and sweets

♦
This is a day of fun, food and family.
Where are you spending this Monday?
♦

source: wikipedia, www.hotelsline.gr

Related posts you might like:

• Make This Thursday a Smelly One – Celebrate the Greek Tradition of Tsiknopempti
• Welcoming Spring with a Greek Tradition
• The History of Vasilopita

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Ioanna Aggelidaki is the Social Media Manager and Contributor of the Greek Weddings and Traditions Blog.
You can connect with Ioanna on Twitter, check her creative Cow Art and follow her blog, life portfolio.  

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