Triodio Period
The Triodio period is a ten-week ecclesiastical preparation period of the faithful for Easter which begins almost 2 months before Easter Sunday.
It is called the triodio period because it is referring to the liturgical book of the Orthodox Christian Church, which contains the services from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee to Holy Saturday. These hymns have three cadences, unlike the rest of the hymns of the church, which have nine cadences. This is why this book, and by extension this period of time, was called a triodio.
Common is the phrase the Greeks use: "The Triodio opened" which means that the triodio period began.
This period can be divided into three distinct parts:
A. Preparatory period for Lent
It lasts from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee to the Sunday of the Tyrian (a day before Clean Monday).
It is the stage of preparation for the fasting of Lent that follows, but also a period of revelry with the carnival events, meat consumption, and many other customs.
B. Great Lent
It runs from Clean Monday to the Friday before the Saturday of Lazarus. It is a period of strict fasting, reflection and prayer, which prepares the believer for the Passion Week and the Resurrection of the Lord.
C. Holy Week
It runs from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday and is dedicated to the Passion of Christ.
Preparatory period for Lent
The first period before Lent has a double expression in the social life of the Greeks:
It is the stage of preparation for the fasting of the Great Lent that follows, but also a period of revelry with the carnival events, which are a red flag for the Church, due to their pagan origins, being at their peak.
The Triodio period begins with the Carnival season, which lasts three weeks before Clean Monday when carnival events culminate and traditional carnival customs are revived all over Greece.
The myths and legends of our country come to the forefront through costumes, dancing, feasting and singing.
The biggest carnival event in Greece is held in Patras for two months, while on the last Sunday of the carnival season there is a parade of floats led by the effigy of the god of carnival and a sequence of various other clever masquerades, with the participation of 40,000 carnivalists and a large number of visitors.
Other centres of carnival parades in Greece with a large turnout of people are Xanthi, Rethymno, Moschato, Attica, Plaka in Athens, Thebes with its famous "Vlach wedding", Naoussa, Syros etc.
THE APOKRIES/ CARNIVAL
Apokries or Carnival is the three weeks period before Clean Monday when Lent begins.
The main elements of the carnival season are fun, jokes, and of course disguise. Several customs and traditions dominate the season all over Greece.
More about Triodio period coming soon...