“Christos anesti”! Christ has risen. “Alithos anesti”. Indeed He has risen. These are the words that we Greeks say at the culmination of the Holy Saturday Mass. It is a few minutes before midnight. The land is dark. The people wait. Time stands still. And then life begins again. The priest brings out the Holy Light and proclaims the Resurrection of Christ.

Clean Monday in the Orthodox religion this year falls on Monday, February 19, and marks the beginning of the 48 day Lenten period before Easter and the end of Carnival period. For some, it is a welcome change from excess and worldly pleasures and a chance to direct one’s attention inwards. To cleanse and purify the body as well as the spirit, hence the name, “Clean Monday”.