Holy Tuesday

Holy Tuesday April 15, Corfu
Sunny with some clouds 18 °C

Holy Tuesday starts at sunset with the Vesper on Monday.

In a warm setting of the church where my father sings, I went for the first time this week to church. I had forgotten the feeling. Singing Byzantine psalms and accompanying my father, as I did long ago as a child. The curls and stripes above the words made sense once again and I felt pride to know that this old music is passed on from generation to generation. 

When you see the hymns and join the choir, they make sense. Every word and every note has its place and all together make this feeling,  that has survived for centuries.  

Parable of the ten virgins

Matthew 25 (1:13)

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
³When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
⁶But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.”
⁷Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
⁸The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”
⁹But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”
¹⁰And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.
¹¹Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.”
¹²But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.”
¹³Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Corfu during the night from Monday to Tuesday

Ionian Bank, now museum of Greek Coins

The sun had set and darkness came, only to bring the light of the full moon. The Ionian Bank, opposite the church, was beautifully lit and I made a picture of it. It was renovated a few years ago,opening its doors as a museum of Coins. 

I found my friends and we went to a small tavern called Mpeldes. There with every rink you order, they bring you a plate with various cooked food. As we were fasting, our plate consisted of potatoes in the oven, mushrooms, taramosalata and salad.I know, I should have made a picture and make you drool over the amazingly delicious food we have. But I won't be so harsh on you. 

We left as the place closed around 2am to look for a bar but ended up at the Palace.  There, a group of young musicians were improvising and playing jazz, rap and other kinds of music. 

They were students of the Ionian Music University. 

We bought some drinks and chips at a kiosk and stayed there until almost dawn. Just for the record, it was cold and damp. Otherwise I think this post would have a beautiful sunrise picture.

Corfu Symposium

Theotoki wine

A few hours later, I went to Fiori Hotel. There my friends from Green Corfu  had organised a four day Symposium. I went there to present Oinovation, an entrepreneurial start up that I have worked for and promotes Greek Wine in a unique way. 

In the afternoon, we went to the Theotoki Estate. The vines and olive trees stretched all around us and the building where the wines were held was stunning in its simplicity. The descendants of this important family, hold their land with love and their biological products are awaiting the official stamp. They may not be labeled as biological yet, but they always have been and always will be in compliance with nature.

Salto wine bar

When we returned from the Estate, I took a fellow attended to town. She was from Crete and lives in Athens. She wanted to visit Salto, a new wine bar in Corfu town. The owner is a local Chef who many food loving guests of our island adore. It was no wonder why! If you are in for an amazing culinary experience, then do not miss out. 

The New Fort, seen from Salto

Holy Monday

Holy Monday April 14, Corfu

Sunny with some clouds 23 °C

The bell tower of Saint Spyridon

The Gospel that is read on Sunday's Vesper is from 

Matthew 21(18-22) :

In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry.

And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. The he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the tree withered at once.

When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?"

Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown down into the sea", it will be done.

Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive."

Bible Browser

Vespers during the Holy Week

You might have noticed that I gave you the gospel of Holy Monday, that was read on the evening of Palm Sunday. The day used to start at the end of the previous one and not on the morning of the next. Confused? Let's just say that the Vesper of the one evening is actually the Mattins of the next. 

On the evening of Holy Monday, I finally went to church. I went to the church where my father sings and stayed for the Vesper. It is amazing, to read from the books they do and read who says what and when. It is a strong narrative, that takes you back in time. Every day you are prepared for the events on that Jewish Easter, that changed our history for ever. 

The Vesper on Monday, that is actually the Mattin of Tuesday, is a beautiful parable about the ten Virgins. We will read that parable together on my next post.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday April 13, Corfu

Sunny (until the evening when it rained) 20 °C

Photo by Xenia

A long time ago, there lived a young man.

He lived in Nazareth with his parents and siblings and he became a carpenter.

Around his thirtieth birthday, he was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan and upon his return to Galilee, he recruited his first disciples.

He was recognized as the Messiah they as Jews were waiting for.

We now know him as Jesus Christ.

Palm Sunday

 On Palm Sunday the gospel tells us the story of  Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey where he is welcomed by the crowd. People place Palm branches on the ground for him.

The day before and six days before the Jewish Passover, Lazarus had been awoken from the dead and many who were there believed in Jesus and his teachings. This upsets the Jewish chief priests.

These small details are important for the story that is to unfold in the next few days.

This is one of the pictures you will see in the Churches that day.

Saint Spyridon

Photo by Maria Victoria Douka 

Every year on Palm Sunday, there is a procession of our Patron Saint Spyridon.

Brass bands from all over the island, students from the secondary school, scouts, the military and priests walk together a long way through Corfu Town in a slow procession, accompanying his remains.

Saint Spyridon saved the island of an epidemic outbreak of plague in 1630. In 1629 four case were observed and as time passed, more more people became sick. Despite the measures local authorities took, the spread of the illness could not be stopped.  People went to the churches of the Saint to pray, as their last resort.  (Photo by Maria Victoria Douka )

Photo by Xenia

The Saint seemed to hear their calls. As Easter neared, sick people would see him bless them in their sleep, giving them their health back.  The guards of the Old Fort claimed to see an unnatural glow hovering over the city during the night. Every day the ill would reduce in number, until on Palm Sunday everyone was cured.

The Corfiots believed that their salvation from the plague was a miracle by their Patron Saint Spyridon. Since then, every year they honor him with the longest procession of the year. This procession goes around the whole perimeter of the post Byzantium city of Corfu.

Photo by Xenia

Photo by Xenia

Photo by Xenia

Photo by Xenia

Photo by Xenia

Photo by Maria Victoria Douka

 Visit Corfu's Photo by Maria Victoria Douka  for more amazing photo's.

Corfu, the greenest of them all

Saturday April 12, Corfu

Mostly sunny  19 °C

Welcome my fellow traveler,

welcome to the greenest island of Greece!

Walking home today, after shopping for groceries

Wild flowers 

I safely arrived yesterday with Ryanair, at 8 in the afternoon, just on time to see Corfu Town under the setting sun.

The tourist tour, that my mother takes when someone just arrives with the plane, takes you along the city's sights and ends of course at home.

There our cute little dog, Samson, started running around me like crazy, making funny little noises out of shear happiness. No human can make you feel so welcomed, so missed, so good to be back!

My cat Arya came too, craving for my attention. She climbed on my shoulder, not wanting to leave me out of her sight!

After a few hours with my parents, I went to the small guesthouse and slept straight away.

The morning came and I woke to a bright sun and an almost totally clear sky. After a cup of coffee and breakfast, I went with my mother to see a few friends and buy groceries.

Upon our return, I made these photo's. Along the main road there is a small patch of land where our olive trees stand. These trees give us enough olive oil for a two years. Their olives are small but full of taste. Under the trees lies a natural garden full various indigenous plants that now have beautiful flowers. Some years this garden surprises us with a new flower or herb that some bird or wind has brought our way.

Old pine tree

This pine-cone tree is over 200 years old. My great-great grandfather planted it and used it to divide the land for his children. They used this tree as reference to divide their land for their children and our family will continue doing so as long as this tree stands. In the warm summer days, the pine nuts that fell would be gathered by me and my best friend. We then crack them open with a stone and eat them. They were always fresh, soft and oh.... so tasty!

This tree is taller than a building with two floors. An uncle of mine had once climbed it, to remove a dead branch!

Here some pictures from Casa Lucia, where we went this afternoon for Tai Chi 

The garden where we do Tai Chi

Two cottages where you can stay 

Paschalia

Spring in Corfu 2014

Good day everyone! 

Lets welcome Spring with this amazing weather!

Today 20.3.2014  Longas, North East Corfu 

Photo by Giannis Mazis: www.mazisphotography.com

www.facebook.com/GiannisMazisPhotografy

Today is the first day of Spring or Vernal Equinox : 20th of March at 16:57 UTC.

This means that today we will have exactly 12 hour of light and 12 hours of dark in every latitude of our amazingly beautiful planet Earth.

So if the weather is great where you live, go for a walk. This is the first day of Spring!

From tomorrow, the days in the Northern Hemisphere will grow longer and the the days in the Southern Hemisphere will grow shorter. If you live in the Northern part, prepare yourselves for  Summer....

But here we are preparing for Easter!

From tonight, look daily at the moon. As the moon grows fuller, we will be nearing Easter. The night that will shine bright with the full moon will be the full moon before Easter.

To be exact, in 31 days from now, I will be in the garden of my parents house on Corfu, with friends and family, eating lamb, salads, Easter bread and eggs coloured red. We will probably have a few delicious desserts and an incredible warm sun to accompany us eating outside.

Pictures have been streaming in from friends, who have been walking on the beaches of Corfu and sharing the amazing Pasxalies that have started to bloom.

Here some pictures of Corfu this past week:

Photo by Giannis Mazis: www.mazisphotography.com

www.facebook.com/GiannisMazisPhotografy

Photo by Giannis Mazis: www.mazisphotography.com

www.facebook.com/GiannisMazisPhotografy

Photo by Giannis Mazis: www.mazisphotography.com

www.facebook.com/GiannisMazisPhotografy

Photo by Maria Victoria Douka: victoriasphotostigmes.blogspot.gr 

www.facebook.com/mariavictoria.douka

Photo by Maria Victoria Douka: victoriasphotostigmes.blogspot.gr 

www.facebook.com/mariavictoria.douka

Photo by Maria Victoria Douka: victoriasphotostigmes.blogspot.gr 

www.facebook.com/mariavictoria.douka

Photo by Lizan Marie Moraiti:  www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Studio-Lizan-Marie

Photo by Lizan Marie Moraiti:  www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Studio-Lizan-Marie

 

Enjoy :-)

Corfu Easter 2014 "Η Κυρά Σαρακοστή"

" Την κυρά Σαρακοστή 

που 'ναι έθιμο παλιό 

οι γιαγιάδες μας την φτιάχναν 

με αλεύρι και νερό. 

Για στολίδι της φορούσαν 

στο κεφάλι ένα σταυρό 

μα το στόμα της ξεχνούσαν 

γιατί νήστευε καιρό. 

Και τις μέρες τις μετρούσαν 

με τα πόδια της τα επτά 

κόβαν ένα τη βδομάδα 

μέχρι να 'ρθει η Πασχαλιά"

source e-children.blogspot.nl

Lent, or in Greek "Sarakosti", is a period of seven weeks before Easter. During Lent we prepare physically and spiritually for the great event of Easter.

Everything actually begins three weeks before Lent. During the three weekends of Carnival, we start to refrain ourselves first from meat and then dairy products. 

The first Monday of Lent is called "Kathara Deutera" (exact translation Clean Monday) and it is the first day of fasting: we do not eat meat, fish, diary products, eggs. We do eat shellfish, fish roe, squid, cuttlefish and octopus. During Lent there are also days we do not use olive oil, like Kathara Deutera, and that is often the hardest. Try eating a nice salad without any dressing.....

During Sarakosti, the services on Sunday are different than the rest of the year. I really enjoyed going to church with my father on those Sundays. I loved the melodies, the psalms and the stories. You, as a person, stand central. The virtues that you should cultivate are to be found in the parables and you are given a centreline to work on during the following week. Your spiritual evolution is really important. Every year this is the period of reflexion and growth, after the long winter and before the even longer summer.

The picture and the poem at the beginning of this post are about Kura Sarakosti (freely translated mrs Lent). In some areas of Greece, grandmothers used to make this pastry out of a simple wheat and water dough. She was usually pictured as a nun, with a headscarf, a cross, she had no mouth and had seven feet. Those feet were cut off, one each week of Lent. Thus they could easily see how many weeks there are left for Easter. I can not remember anyone on the island who made a Kura Sarakosti. First time I read about it was at school and we probably made one.

Sarakosti is a wonderful time. The sun start to grow warmer, spring is at its best and flowers are coming out everywhere! Of course there is the occasional rain and the storm passing by. Maybe even a bit of frost or hail. The first swallows arrive and at the nearing Easter the pink flamingoes pass by on a salt lake on the south of the island.

The whole island is preparing for the great event and everyone is feeling the anticipation grow. These days here in the Netherlands the weather is warm and sunny. It feels like here too the spring has taken over nature. I feel a little bit like home, wearing a t-shirt when sitting in the sun.

Easter is coming! How many weeks still to go?

  

Corfu Easter 2014

One month to go!

This year the Greek Orthodox Easter is on the same Sunday as the Catholic Easter: 20 April 2014

The first thing everyone asks is why is Easter celebrated on a different date each year and why is the Catholic Easter often on another Sunday then the Orthodox? My first reply is actually a question. "Do you want the short explanation or the long story?"

The short version is that Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday, after the first Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox. The date of the Vernal Equinox is fixed. With the New Calendar that the Catholics use it is on the 21st of March and with the old calendar it is thirteen days later. When the first Full Moon after both those dates is the same one, then Easter is celebrated all over the world on the same Sunday.

Confused? Let me know in the comments below: what you want to know next!