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Book Launch: Women of the Sun A Novel By Hyllus Maris and Sonia Borg
Translated into Greek by Yota Krilli
Presented By Associate Professor Vrasidas Karalis
SPRING SENSATION
: KORITSI STIN ATHINA BLOG Greek city's exclusive blogger direct
from Athens discusses Spring in Greece
I was walking home from the bus stop the other night,
with the new found daylight savings light accompanying
me, and a breeze of familiarity blew over my shoulder.
I shuddered with excitement; it was Spring playfully
whispering in my ear. I turned to see her, but all
I felt was the sweet smells of fresh flowers embrace
me, nature was awakening and I was smelling the ‘drosia’ in
the air.
The year is going
full circle and I feel like I’m re-generating. It’s
a sense that’s vibrating throughout
the city.
Sitting
at Thiseio station early that day, I looked over at
the ancient ruins where fresh green shrubs were popping
through the cracks of the marble floors and columns.
(My mind wonders as I try and imagine the amount of
Spring’s
these ruins have actually ‘lived’ through).
A small red poppy flower ads some colour to the scene.
This change in season brings about a metamorphosis
to the visual landscape and the usually grey Athens
seems to be bursting with colour. Cherry blossom trees
are everywhere, light greens, yellows, grass green,
deep apricot, and lets not forget the amazing shades
of purple that brighten up my day.
My mum used to tell me about being in the horio and
hearing the echoes of the “kioni”,
a bird that comes out in the evening to let everybody know its Spring time. A
few nights ago her memory became my reality, I heard “kion” “kion” and
this time my hearing senses brought Spring into my
life.
All over it’s a sense of beginning, the day has
gotten longer, the cafes have opened up their outdoor
areas, the clubs in Glyfada are throwing their annual
opening parties. You can feel it coming; summer is
literally in the air.
We had an encounter this time last year, Spring and
I. But since then I have grown quite close with Summer,
Autumn and Winter is quite cool also. I feel as if
I have gone through so much since Spring and I last
spoke. That living through all these transitions of
seasons requires the awakening of all my senses. To
smell, to see, to touch and do, to hear and to taste
the sweetness of it all makes life engaging, exciting
and undeniably intoxicating!
ORTHODOX
EASTER
IN GREECE
Considered the most important holiday on the
Greek calendar, the celebration of Orthodox Easter (Pascha, Greek: Πάσχα)
is unique in almost every corner of Greece. Special traditions
mark not only the mourning of Christ’s Crucifixion and the
celebration of Resurrection, but also the passage from winter to
spring.
The uniqueness in celebrating Easter the traditional Greek way
lies more in the week leading up to the event (Holy Week) rather
than the actual religious holiday.
The word "Pascha" derives from the Jewish "Pasah" which means "Passover".
Jewish people celebrated "Pasah" to commemorate their liberation from
the Egyptians and the passage of the Red sea.While in the ancient Greek years,
Easter time coincided with the month of Anthesterion (the flowering month), a
celebration of spring and the rebirth of vegetation.
Saturday of Lazarus
Holy Week is the last week of Lent, the week immediately preceding Easter Sunday.
The week of Easter begins on the Saturday of Lazarus with children going from
door to door singing the hymn of "Lazaros" and collecting money and
eggs.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem that
was marked by the crowds, who were in Jerusalem for Passover, waving palm branches
and proclaiming him as the messianic king. The branches of the palm trees symbolize
Christ's victory over the devil and death.
Holy Monday
On Holy Monday the Church tells us the parable of the barren fig tree.The first
days of Holy Week remind us of Christ's last instructions with his disciples.
These teachings inspire the readings and hymns which are consisted of Great
Compline, Matins, Hours and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts with Vespers.
Holy Tuesday
The need for true repentance is the concern of Holy Tuesday evening's service.
The Gospel tells Christ’s prophecy of His second coming and the Last Judgment.
Holy Wednesday
On Holy Wednesday afternoon the Orthodox Church administers the sacrament of
Holy Unction for the bodily and spiritual health of the participants.
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday celebrates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. In
the evening, the Holy Passion service of the reading of the Twelve Gospels is
conducted and the crucifixion is re-enacted. In these readings Christ's last
instructions to his disciples are presented, as well as the prophecy of the drama
of the Cross.
Good Friday
Friday of Holy Week, traditionally been called Good Friday, is a day of mourning
in church. It commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. The drama of
the death of Christ is followed with great devoutness. Early in the morning,
parish girls collect spring flowers for the epitaph (bier). Vesper evening on
Good Friday, is followed by the procession of the bier. Mournful dirges are heard
all day and culminate in the evening with the spititually uplifting candlelit
procession of the epitaph through the streets.
Holy Saturday
On Holy Saturday evening, the Resurrection mass takes place. At midnight the
ceremony of lighting of candles is the most significant moment of the year. People,
carefully, take home their lighted candles with the holly light of the Resurrection.
Before entering their houses they make a cross with the smoke of the candle on
top of the door, they light the oil candle before their icon-stand, and try to
keep this light burning throughout the year.
Easter Sunday
The Lenten fast ends on Easter Sunday when friends and family gather in homes,
eating lamb on the spit and dyed eggs. This day is also called "Lambri" (Brightness)
because the day of the Resurrection of Christ is a day full of joy and exhilaration.
The traditional services and customs of Orthodox Easter are inevitably
linked with both fasting and festive foods. When the Christians
began to celebrate Easter, they retained some of the features of
the Jewish Passover, such as eating lamb. In Byzantine times, it
was the custom to bake ring-bread with a dyed red egg in the middle.
The egg is a symbol of life, while red is the color of life.
During Holy Week complete fasting is to take place. Palm Sunday, which is the
first day of the Holy Week, is a day when only fish and fish courses are served.
On Good Friday, sweet things are not eaten - for the love of Christ, who was
given vinegar to drink. Soup made with sesame-paste, lettuce or lentils with
vinegar is the food eaten on this day.
Following 40 days of fasting, the traditional Pascha meal is abanquet of meat,
eggs and other long - forbidden animal products. Cheese, eggs, and richly scented
breads play an important part on the table, but the meal is always centered around
meat.On Easter Sunday celebration begins early in the morning with the cracking
of red eggs and an outdoor feast of roast lamb followed by dancing.
Easter Recipes
The Easter table reflects the culinary differences around Greece. Recipes have
evolved based on the lie of the land, on what is available place by place, and
on the tastes and origins of local populations.
"Mageiritsa" made almost universally from any variety
of chopped, sauteed innards, herbs and lettuce, and bound with avgolemono, the
country's well-known egg-and-lemon sauce-is not the dish of choice with which
to break the fast.
"Lamb" (or goat on the islands) is the traditional
Easter meat served throughout Greece, although how it’s cooked varies from
region to region. Spit-roast lamb, which originated in Roumeli, is now the prevalent
tradition, but many areas preserve their distinctive way of preparing the Easter
dish. On many islands–including Andros, Samos, Naxos, and Rhodes–lamb
is stuffed with rice and herbs, then baked in the oven.
One of the nicest Greek customs is the use of "red eggs" for the Easter
celebration Greeks mainly color eggs red (scarlet) to signify the blood of Christ.
They use hard-boiled eggs, painted red on Holy Thursday. People rap their eggs
against their friends' eggs and the owner of the last uncracked egg is considered
lucky.
There are many other delicacies included in the Paschal feast depending
on the region of Greece. Included in these are cheese pittes, regional
fresh cheeses and yogurt served with honey. As previously mentioned
the sweets include special tsoureki and of course, the koulouria
tis Lambris (Paschal cookies).
The Holy Light
On Holy Saturday at the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarch enters
the Holy Sepulchre alone to pray. Moments later he emerges with burning tapers
to proclaim that Christ has risen, and the bells ring out. The " holy fire",
he miraculously receives, in this annual, centuries - old ritual, from the entirely
darkened chamber surrounding Christ's place of burial, is later flown to Athens
Airport. From there it is received by a guard of honour and it is taken to distant
parts of G! reece. The flame arrives in Athens at the church of Ayioi Anargyroi
in Plaka, seat of the representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem to
the archbishop of Athens, from whence it is distributed to the churches of Attica
for the midnight service.
Easter Customs
These are customs related to the religious holiday of Easter which is the biggest
celebration of the Orthodox Christians and the one richest in folklore. All over
the country a plethora of customs and traditions are observed during the week
prior to and during Easter. There is a festive atmosphere everywhere and people
eat and dance usually until late into the night.
Many places in Greece celebrate Easter in their own way. A few examples:
On the island of Patmos the ceremony of the Washing of the Feet takes place on
Holy Thursday morning. It is based on the New Testament and can be compared to
corresponding Byzantine customs. On the island of Tinos, on Good Friday, Jesus
Christ’s Holy Sepulchres (of both Orthodox and Catholic churches) meet
at the port of the island. The members of the clergy chant together and the portable
Holy Sepulchre of the church of Aghios Nicolaos goes into the sea. In Vrodathos
on the island of Chios, once the psalm commemorating the ascension of Christ
begins, on Holy Saturday, fireworks ! light up the midnight sky.
On the island of Corfu the patron saint Spyridon is celebrated. His body, that
has not decomposed, is carried around and is believed to perform miracles. On
Easter Saturday ceramic pots are thrown out of people's windows to throw away
Evil.
On the island of Crete, as well as in any places around Greece, a doll is made
of old clothes from each house hold and burned symbolizing the burning of Judas.
In Central Greece, in Nafpaktos, on the evening of Good Friday, large crowds
of people who accompany the epitaph, pass through the town's harbour where lighted
torches have been placed for this purpose on the fortress surrounding it. In
the centre of the entrance to the fortress, the torches form a large cross, which
lights up the harbour, creating a scene of unforgettable beauty.
In Leonidio in Peloponnese on the night of the Resurrection the sky is filled
with hot-air balloons released by the faithful of each parish.
In Thrace and Macedonia young women in traditional clothing called the Lazarins
go around the villages singing traditional Easter songs.
Forging the Aussie Greek connection - Forgotten
Anzacs.
Peter Ewer, the author of Scribe’s
upcoming release Forgotten
Anzacs: the campaign in Greece, 1941, is pictured
with the Hon. John Brumby MP, Premier of Victoria, at the
reception for the Victorian Spirit of ANZAC Prize.
Peter was invited to speak to the 10 students who won the
prize and have been selected to travel to Greece and Crete
in April as part of this year’s tour.
Until Forgotten Anzacs there has been no history on
the campaign in Greece and Crete written from a truly Anzac perspective.
THE landscapes and the peoples of Melbourne and Greece seem
to have almost merged in some ways.
The cafes and lounges around Lonsdale St have the feel of Athens.
And many a rotary hoist can be found in Greek backyards whose owners have relatives
Down Under.
But before the wave of immigration made Melbourne one of the world's biggest "Greek" cities,
our nations had forged a brotherhood in blood.
It came from April 1941, with the brave but ill-fated efforts of a poorly organised
British-Anzac force to defend Greece from Nazi invasion.
Many Australians - some of Greek heritage - are unaware of this joint history.
It belongs to heroic Greeks and forgotten Anzacs.
This Saturday at the Melbourne Town Hall, the Greek community will honour "the
contribution of the Hellenes to the Australian war effort in the 20th century".
And 10 young Victorians will soon visit Greece as winners of the Premier's
Spirit of Anzac prize.
The origins go back to October 1940.
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini looked to emulate Adolf Hitler, and saw an
easy prey in Greece.
Unprovoked, he sent in his troops, only to get a profound shock - the Greek
people rose as one.
The Italian army left in tatters.
The Greeks, under General Alexander Papagos, gave the Allies
their first substantial land victory in World War II.
With Hitler coming to Mussolini's rescue, Britain's Winston Churchill thought
he could build a "Balkan Front", drawing Yugoslavia and Turkey in
as allies against the fascists.
British and Australian troops were set to sweep Italy out of
North Africa, but instead many were sent to Greece.
New Zealanders joined to create an Anzac force, as in Gallipoli
in 1915. Churchill's wishful thinking was matched by poor planning.
The Australian Cabinet learned that our army commanders
thought the expedition was doomed only after the troops were
on their way.
When the Aussies got to Athens in March and April 1941, they accelerated a
cultural exchange that has led to our modern links. First impressions resulted
in some surprises.
A young infantry officer, Frank Reid, found no translator available.
The call went out for any Greek speaker among the Diggers. One sergeant came
forward, sheepishly.
It transpired his real name was Christopoulos and he had enlisted under an
anglicised name. Reid and his comrades were dumbfounded - "he looked like
a bushman to us".
But these forgotten Anzacs never stood a chance - without air or tank support,
Hitler's panzer tanks and dive-bombers chased them back across the Mediterranean,
with heavy losses.
There were 594 killed in Greece and Crete, hundreds more wounded or taken prisoner.
But they never forgot the hospitality of the besieged Greeks.
Don Stephenson, now of Bentleigh, tramped through a town to the evacuation
beaches, to find an elderly woman at her front door, offering food.
It still moved him 60 years later: "Do you know how big you feel? All
you're worried about is getting out, and she's trying to give you this bit
of chicken."
Dimitris Tsiaousis, who later emigrated to Australia, ran supplies to the Anzacs
hiding in the hills after they had been bypassed by the Germans.
The cost was prodigious - Tsiaousis lost his father, mother and two uncles
to ruthless Nazi reprisals against partisans.
Tragically, this was typical
of the immense suffering.
About 25,000 Greeks were executed.
The Nazi occupiers stripped the farm land to feed their army.
By 1945, 400,000 Greeks had starved to death.
From post-war political turmoil, came the thousands of Greek
migrants to Australia. Some of them brought memories of the Anzacs
in 1941.
Kevin Price was an anti-tank gunner who fought the first of the
battles on the northern border of Greece.
He came home to East Malvern, to find the local fish and chip
shop under new management - of a Greek family, who witnessed
that battle near their village.
This Anzac Day, the heroism of the Greeks and the sacrifice of
the Australians deserves recognition.
Saturday's event, staged by the RSL Hellenic sub-branch, is a
great start. - Peter Ewer's book, Forgotten Anzacs,
Makedonas injured in crash
A popular Greek laika singer injured in a private helicopter crash
was due to undergo surgery for spinal injuries on Wednesday, but
doctors said his overall condition was good and were optimistic
about the outcome.
Costas Makedonas and his flying instructor,
a retired Air Force officer, had flown from Athens' Eleftherios
Venizelos International Airport (AIA) to Tanagra and were on their
way back to Athens when their private helicopter vanished from
radar screens at 2:43 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon some 40 kilometers
north of Athens, just 7 minutes before they were due back at the
AIA.
A search and rescue operation was immediately
mounted by military aircraft, and the missing helicopter was spotted
south of the town of Malakasa. The two passengers
were reported to be in good shape, and were rushed by ambulance
to a hospital in Athens.
The instructor was reported in good health but
hospitalised for precautionary reasons, while Makedonas was transferred
at his own request to a private hospital, where he will undergo
surgery.
Top Records
Presents Ilias Hatzi New Video Clip "TO
ZEIMBEKIKO TOU ILIA" From his latest CD "Geia
Sou
Top Records Presents Ilias Hatzi New Video Clip "TO
ZEIMBEKIKO TOU ILIA" From his latest CD "Geia
Sou" Join Ilias Hatzi FAN CLUB to win
free tickets to his next concert. For more info
go to www.iliashatzi.com One
of Australia's leading bouzouki players Ilias
Hatzi is also giving bouzouki and guitar lessons
who ever is interested in learning contact Ilias
Hatzi. Also Ilias Hatzi is available for all your
functions. Everything you want to know is on his
website.
Where : The Long Room 162-168 Collins St Melbourne
Come down and have a drink... after all the Easter festivities, family and food, come and enjoy some great music, a drink at a world class venue with friends. Special greek City price $10 More
details here....
Where : The Clock Tower Center 750 Mt Alexander Road Moonee Ponds 3039
The Committee of “Return to Anatolia”, which consists of representatives of the Hellenic Pontian, Assyrian and Armenia People are holding the second annual Return to Anatolia conference More
details here....
The 26th annual Greek Festival of Sydney will launch with a special two day long celebration at Darling Harbour on the 29th and 30th of March. More
details here....
Dancebox presents the first event after Greek Easter. Party at the flashback night that always delivers. Accept no imitations!! $3 drinks til 10.30pm + $15 entry b4 10pm.
More
details here....
In the history of Greek Clubbing in Australia, this event has broken all the records. 4 years...52 events...Watershed...Cherrijam....Nothing compares! Get ready for the Greek Night of the Year!!! More
details here....
Everyone's favourite Greek + 80's night celebrates it's 1st Birthday with a huge festivities planned! Featuring DJ's Darcy, Steve Kay, Con Andrews + Tommy Tsonis LIVE on Bouzouki.
$3 drinks 9.30pm- More
details here....
Where : Factory Theatre 105 Marickville Road Marrickville - formerly the Palati
Bringing him back to his roots "From MARRICKVILLE with Love", is not just a stand up show it's a musical autobiwography! Star of “Who Let the Wogs out?” makes his Cracker debut with a brand new show. More
details here....
Australian pop star, Kylie Minogue, who for the last two decades has millions of fans worldwide is giving for the first time a concert in Greece, on 22, May, at Terra Vibe. More
details here....
GREEKCITY NEWS
KOSTAS MAKEDONAS FOUND ALIVE
Both passengers of an Olympic Airlines helicopter reported missing at 14:45 have been located and transferred hospitals. One of the passengers was singer Kostas Makedonas. >> More info
DROUGHT-HIT
CYPRUS TO IMPORT WATER FROM GREECE
Cyprus will import from Greece some 8 million cubic meters of water this summer
to tackle the serious drought the east Mediterranean island is facing, Agriculture
Minister Michalis Polynikis >> More
info
RETURN TO ANATOLIA
The Committee of “Return to Anatolia”, which consists of representatives of the Hellenic Pontian, Assyrian and Armenia People are holding the second annual Return to Anatolia conference >> More info
SOUTH GIVE FAWKNER THE BLUES
South Melbourne has issued a warning to the rest of the Foxtel Cup teams by producing an outstanding display of fluent and attacking football against the Fawkner Blues on Sunday to run out convincing >> More info
NIMETZ
ARRIVES IN ATHENS
The UN mediator for the nagging "name issue" between Greece and the neighbouring
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) arrived in Athens on Friday a day
after holding meetings with the politi >> More
info
03
May Timotheou
I was walking home from the bus stop the other night,
with the new found daylight savings light accompanying
me, and a breeze of familiarity blew over my shoulder.
I shuddered with excitement; it was Spring playfully
whispering in my ear. I turned to see her, but all
I felt was the sweet smells of fresh flowers embrace
me, nature was awakening and I was smelling the ‘drosia’ in
the air.
