In case you didn't know, Greece is predominantly Greek Orthodox Christian. Something like 99 percent of the population. On the Orthodox calender, Easter has to come after Passover and this year it falls five weeks later than the Roman Catholic Easter. So, to make a long story short, Carnival was for the past three weeks and clean Monday was today because everyone in the country starts fasting tomorrow.
The whole point of this blog is to tell you about the absolutely amazing time I had during the weeks of Carnival. In case you are unfamiliar with Mardi Gras or the Carnival celebration in Brazil, I'll let you know that only the last week of Carnival is like that. The rest of the time is filled with tiny celebrations in cities around Greece that can be described more like Halloween. Kids get all dressed up in cute costumes and wander around the local plateas (squares) whacking each other with blow-up hammers and buying Dora the Explorer balloons from vendors.
As Carnival progresses, the age of participants increases. The second week is littered with teenagers dressing up in ridiculous costumes to impress the opposite sex and generally acting like buffoons. I would equate this time period to Halloween on any college campus across America. This week is not nearly as much fun as the two on either side. There is not much happening that is different than normal, except the 15-year-old dominatrixes walking up a Syntagma Square.
The third week is when all the partying really starts. This is when people in their 20s and 30s (and some who still think themselves that young) dress up and go out. We started our Carnival celebrations on Wednesday night with a BBQ on the top of the Arcadia center. It was some of the best fun I've had yet. We learned traditional Greek dances, ate traditional Greek food. (Well, most of us. My party arrived slightly too late to get any of the good stuff).
The entire week ends in a giant celebration to kick off the beginning of the Greek Orthodox lent. The biggest party to go to is in the city of Patra, which is about three hours north of Athens. It's the third largest Carnival party in the world (after New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro) and is a crazy, crazy experience. Imagine House Party weekend times about 20 and you might get half way there. Everyone gets dressed up in crazy outfits, there are parades everywhere, giant statues of funny juggling men with big noses, and no sleep ... yeah, that was a little hard. The whole point of Carnival is to go out, dance, sing, enjoy yourself ... and not sleep. It was one of the best experiences of my life and everyone should experience it once in their lifetime.
