Apokries, Greece's carnival season which lasts two weeks, is the festive season preceding Kathari Deutera (Lent). It's a period of masquerading, eating, drinking and dancing, and it reaches its peak with extravagant parades of giant floats and colourful street events.
The roots of Apokries can be traced back to ancient Greece where festivals dedicated to Dionysus were celebrated to welcome the rebirth associated with the arrival of spring. These ancient festivals and celebrations were marked by large feasts, music and dance, as well as people wearing masks and dressing up in costumes. As time went on and centuries passed, these pagan rituals intertwined with Christian practices, eventually leading to the Apokries carnival season becoming a dedicated lead-up to Lent practice.
Apokries is celebrated everywhere in Greece - the city of Patras is where the biggest and best carnival celebrations take place, the biggest in all of Europe.
This year, as always, there were processions in Athens but, as always again, we decided to celebrate in our municipality, on Kalamakiou Avenue. Even though we arrived early, the wide long avenue was already packed with people. There were loudspeakers blaring out loud Brazilian carnival music, whistles being blown, confetti, streamers - a wonderful party atmosphere, everyone enjoying themselves.
We were greeted by this woman on stilts who was very good
I remembered the Brazilian dancers from two years ago
Many people were dressed up, and not just kids
There were many floats and processions, starting with this train for the kids
The crowds kept getting biggerlots of confetti and streamers
There was always a gap between processions and some would take this opportunity to take centre stage
A lot of the processions were organised and led by the local primary schools
the playing cards one was very good
The best one, organised by one of the primary schools was about the water company, EYDAP. They have been dumping sewage where they should not - what is it about water companies, dumping sewage so that can increase their profits? We have the same problem in the UK at the moment. Anyway, in Alimos, when there is a downpour, as a result of their disgraceful behaviour, the sewage bursts out
in the same way as you can see in the sculpture on the float, and floods the main road by the sea that connects Athens with our district and all the other districts by the sea. Our wonderful mayor has been campaigning against this, and has been trying to get the company to pay up and mend their ways.
The procession was led by this man carrying a photograph of a television screen with the face of our mayor on it
The dressing up consisted of manhole covers
and turds
lots of them
It was brilliant.
Another primary school and their procession
and meanwhile, some were doing their own thing
This one loved posing for me
so much fun
another police officer
scary
We all dispersed on the corner of Kalamakiou and Thoukydidou. A two-minute walk and we reached the sea but before that, kite sellers, preparing for tomorrow's Koulouma celebrations
A bit of calm, peace and quiet after all the noise and excitement
Pennarubia, the cafeteria
was packed
and the winter swimmers were doing their own thing - I counted six in the water.
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