An Early Easter miracle !!

Well it had to happen, I went to church last night!! My friend Kath encouraged me to go into the church with her whilst the Big Friday service was going on. It was actually really nice and both the mens and womens choirs were singing. It seemed like there were hundreds of people in there and as more came in some left to make room. I lit a candle and enjoyed the spectacle. The miracle is that the church is still standing! At 10pm everyone left the church to walk the streets of the village and visit all the central churches. The entire evening was accompanied by special sound effects provided by bangers and mortar bombs, which were throw in gardens, empty buildings and drains along the route with seemingly hundreds thrown into the centre of the square when we got back there. After an hour and 45 minutes we arrived back at the church, where they prayed for another 10 minutes before disbanding.
I returned home at 1.30 to find that Ginger had abandoned her kittens in their box and was hiding under the kitchen sink unit in absolute terror. I think I will have to leave the TV on tonight to deaded the noise as it promises to be an even bigger night!!

Oh my poor ears already !!!!

Well Easter started last night.....gone is the quiet calm of Lent.....at around six the locally made "bombs" started...they are like English bangers but around 100 times more powerful, a bit like a mortar bomb.....they throw them in the middle of the square and some were so loud my windows shook.
Then a little bit of a lull overnight until just after 8 this morning....more bombs and the church bells have been ringing constantly for the last two and a half hours. I think they will keep going now all day. I will be going on the walk around the Churches tonight for the first time and will report on that later.

A New Home

The babies finally have a new home. I persuaded Ginger to move them to a box in my bedroom from the drawer under the back bed. Maybe now I can get to my computer equipment and do some work.....

Independence Day

Today was both Annunciation and Independence day here and the whole village turned out in their best clothes. A church service was followed by a parade of locals in Cretan traditional costumes and school children in their Blue and white outfits. The parade stopped at the Cenotaph to lay wreaths and then continued to the village square where it disbanded and everyone sat and drank coffee and wished each other χρονια πολλα (Chronia polla - many years - a traditional greeting used for all celebrations)

A brief background to what its all about!
In 1821, Greeks vigorously rose up against the oppressive Ottoman Empire which had occupied Greece for nearly four hundred years, embarking on the ultimately successful war of independence. Bishop Germanos of Patras boldly raised the Greek flag at the monastery of Agia Lavras, inciting the Peloponnese to rise against the oppressors. While the exact date probably was not March 25th, it did occur in late March and it was gradually associated with the religious feast of the Annunciation.

On this day in the Orthodox calendar, the archangel Gabriel appeared to the maiden Mary and announced the news: she was pregnant with the divine child. Bishop Germanos chose this day to deliver a different but not unrelated message: a new spirit was about to be born in Greece. The churches celebrate the Festival of the Annunciation with pomp, ceremony, and joy.

Instant Family

On a personal note I now have an instant family of five. My Γατακι (little cat) has just had five kittens in my shoe drawer under the back bed......she kindly allowed me to sit with her the whole time. Here is a picture of them when she had just finished giving birth and one when she had cleaned them all up. They all look healthy so its just a matter of finding homes for them now!!!!

Carnival day

Last night was the village carnival and the locals have been fundraising all week to pay for the festivities. The programme started at 3pm with the childrens activities including a bouncy castle with slide, a clown and a magician.At 7pm the Cretan music with professional dancers started and at 9pm it was the main carnival. All the drinks are free and needless to say, most people enjoy one or two (or maybe more!).The sound has to be experienced to be believed because as you may notice on the photograph the whole church front is covered with speakers and the lighting rigging. There are souvlaki (kebabs) stands and a really big bonfire in the middle of the square to keep everyone warm. Most people dress up or if not at least wear silly wigs. There are people working the carnival who go round and black everyones face with burnt cork (all the workers are volunteers and wear an orange uniform). It is estimated that around 5000 people attend the carnival in Mochos as it is the only one still running in the local area. Many only start to arrive around 12 or 1 in the morning. Mochos carnival is actually held the week before the main carnival at the end of Apokries as this is when everyone goes to Rethymnon for the National carnival parade. Here are one or two photos to give you an idea, but as I was partying I didn't manage to get too many good ones once it got started for some strange reason!!!!

Tsiknopempti

Today is Tsiknopempti and marks the Thursday of the second week of Apokries, where everyone eats meat. Tsiknopemti means tsikno = smell of burning, pempti = Thursday. This is the day everyone cooks meat in thins strips until is is crispy and starts to smell burnt. The whole village smells of cooking meat. yum yum.