Anastasia

Greek Easter Customs and Traditions

Easter  is the greatest celebration of the year  for the Greek Orthodox Church . It is the symbol of human rebirth and the promise of life after death. It is the ultimate message of love and forgiveness, it is the time when God and sinners reconcile and spread the love Jesus Christ  taught the world with His death and glorious Resurrection.

A few  days before Easter, housewives do the spring cleaning so that everything looks new and shiny for Easter. The Holy Week begins on Monday following Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday , olive branches are taken to church and left  there for forty days. The  sanctified olive branch is then taken home. The olive leaves are placed in a special pot called “kapnistiri” and are used for incense burning. The smoke from the olive leaves is believed  to remove  all evil and jealousy in the family.

Easter 2006 at Saint Raphael's Church

On Holy Thursday, eggs are dyed red, ready to be cracked soon after Resurrection on Easter Day’s early morning hours.  The icons in our churches are covered with black cloth as a sign of mourning for Our Lord who went to the cross and died in order to take away our sins. The power of death and the reality of evil ruled the world on that dreadful Thursday. Yet, Jesus Christ’s death marks the beginning of the victory of life over death. The solemn service consists of The Twelve Gospel Readings – narratives from the four Gospels relating the events of the Holy Passion and Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples.  After the fifth gospel, the crucifix is adorned with a flower wreath and carried in procession.  Earlier in the morning, the Holy Communion is taken. It consists of a few drops of red wine mixed with some breadcrumbs symbolizing the blood and the body of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday is baking day. The Greek homes are filled with the delightful scents of mastic, mahaleb and cinnamon while flaounes, tsourekia and koulouria (sesame bread) are being baked.  However, Good Friday is also a day of mourning, fasting and prayer.  In the evening, at church, we observe the liturgy of Epitaphios  - a shroud depicting Christ’s sacred body is carried in procession and placed in a flowered bier that represents Christ’s tomb.  With both sorrow and joy, during this solemn and profoundly touching ceremony, we sing along with the priests and choir “I Zoe En Tafo” :

 "In a tomb they lay Thee O Christ the life. By Thy Death Thou has cast down the might of death and become the font of life for all the world"

  

On Holy Saturday morning, we observe the “First Resurrection”, that’s when the news is brought that Christ is no longer in His grave. At about 9:00 in the morning, the church bell rings joyfully, the church doors are banged and the black cloth covering the icons falls.  But the grand liturgy of Resurrection is held at midnight. Everyone goes to church with a candle. At about midnight, the lights go off and the priest solemnly proclaims “Here is the Holy Light” which is actually brought from Jerusalem to the Orthodox world. Then we all light our candles and greet each other with “Christos Anesti” (= Christ Has Risen) to which the other replies “Alithos Anesti” (He Has Risen Indeed). Then off we go home for a midnight supper consisting of magiritsa (Greek Easter Soup) and flaounes, tsourekia and koulouria.

Magiritsa

Easter Sunday is a day of feast, dancing and singing. Lambs are roasted on a spit and a sumptuous Easter lunch is prepared which usually lasts till late afternoon.  Families gather together or go on picnics, both children and adults engage in red-egg-crack competitions. The winner is the one whose egg is left uncracked! Easter Day also reminds us that we should forget and forgive allowing the Holy Light to shine on.

Roasted lamb on a spit

Do you celebrate Easter in your country? Have you got any special customs and traditions?  

25 March 1821 - The Greek Revolution

March 25 is a landmark in the history of the Greek Nation. The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire leading to freedom and independence started on March 25 1821. All over Greece and Cyprus, the day is celebrated with parades and tributes to our illustrious ancestors and the great heroes of 1821 whose self-denial opened up the road to Independence: Georgios Karaiskakis , Theodoros Kolokotronis, Athanasios Diakos, Laskarina Bouboulina,  Lord Byron and many others told the world that freedom can only be gained through sacrifice and patriotism.

The Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453 and the Greeks remained under the Ottoman rule for nearly 400 years. During this time their language, their religion and their sense of identity  became stronger than ever before. On March 25, 1821, the bishop Germanos of Patras raised the Greek flag at the Monastery of Agia Lavra in Peloponnese and the Greek revolution started against the Turks. Shouting out "Freedom or Death", the people of Greece, faithful to their heroic heritage, fought the War of Independence for 9 years  until a small part of modern Greece was finally liberated and  declared an independent nation. The struggle for the liberation of all the lands inhabited by Greeks continued. In 1864, the Ionian islands were added to Greece; in 1881 parts of Epirus and Thessaly. Crete, the islands of the Eastern Aegean and Macedonia were added in 1913 and Western Thrace in 1919. After World War II the Dodecanese islands were also returned to Greece.

The banner says: "Return to Ammohostos", now under Turkish occupation. In my heart of hearts, I know that one day we'll go back.

The Greek Revolution is interpreted by many Europeans  as a battle between the ideals of the ancient Greeks against the ruthless Turks who had been occupying and suppressing the descendents of Pericles, Socrates and Plato. Many, including  the British poet Lord Byron volunteered to fight in order to support the greek cause for freedom. Lord Byron spent the last year of his life in Greece, where he had fully invested himself in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire.

In Larnaca, just like in every single town or city of the Republic of Cyprus, 25 March was celebrated with a grand parade of the younger generation determined to preserve our heroic heritage.

  Hope you enjoy the video - just a glimpse of the parade in Larnaca.

 

BrainDriver: A Mind Controlled Car

Imagine you could drive your car using only your thoughts. German researchers have just made that possible -- and they have the video to prove it.

Following his recent interview on the Robots Podcast about autonomous vehicles, Raúl Rojas, an AI professor at the Freie Universität Berlin, and his team have demonstrated how a driver can use a brain interface to steer a vehicle. Here's what the researchers say about the project, which they call the BrainDriver:

After testing iPhone, iPad and an eye-tracking device as possible user interfaces to maneuver our research car, named "MadeInGermany," we now also use Brain Power. The "BrainDriver" application is of course a demonstration and not roadworthy yet, but in the long run human-machine interfaces like this could bear huge potential in combination with autonomous driving.

To record brain activity, the researchers use an Emotiv "neuroheadset," an electroencephalography, or EEG, sensor by San Francisco-based company Emotiv, which design it for gaming. After a few rounds of "mental training," the driver learns to move virtual objects only by thinking. Each action corresponds to a different brain activity pattern, and the BrainDriver software associates the patterns to specific commands -- turn left, turn right, accelerate etc. The researchers then feed these commands to the drive-by-wire system of the vehicle, a modified Volkswagen Passat Variant 3c. Now the driver's thoughts can control the engine, brakes, and steering.

To road test their brain-controlled car, the Germans headed out to the former airport in Berlin Tempelhof. The video below shows a driver thought-controlling the car, Yoda-style. "Don't try this at home," the narration says, only half-jokingly.

via spectrum.ieee.org

Would you dare to drive a mind controlled car? Well, I wouldn't! I'm not a daredevil, after all, and want to have full control of my car!

Saint Valentine's Day - For or Against?

I am an incurably romantic person who believes that love is very important and deserves to be celebrated on a special day. Valentine's Day is an excuse to splurge a fancy dinner, eat chocolate to your heart's content and ....buy lingerie! It is also an occasion to say "I love you." I know that actions speak louder than words, but these three magical words  can do wonders when spoken! Some of you hate the commercial side of  Valentine's Day. But most of you celebrate Christmas or your birthday even though these days also have a materialistic side - organise parties, give and receive presents. We all expect presents at Christmas and on our birthday, so, why not expect presents on Valentine's Day? Not necessarily expensive presents.  Valentine's Day is a also a great reminder that love should be celebrated every single day of the year because true love is timeless.

I'll love you and leave you with my most favourite love song - "Love on the Rocks" by Neil Diamond.

Love on the rocks
Aint no surprise
Just Pour me a drink
And I'll tell you some lies
Got nothing to lose
So you just sing the blues all the time

Gave you my heart
Gave you my soul
You left me alone here
With nothing to hold
Yesterday's gone
Now all I want is a smile

First, they say they want you
They haven't really need you
Suddenly you find you're out there
Walking in the storm
And When they know they have you
Then they really have you
Nothing you can do or say
You've got to leave, just get away
We all know the song

You need what you need
You can say what you want
Not much you can do
When the feeling is gone
Maybe blue skies above
But it's cool when your love's on the rocks

First, they say they want you
They haven't really need you
Suddenly you find you're out there
Walking in the storm
And When they know they have you
Then they really have you
Nothing you can do or say
Youve got to leave, just get away
We all know the song

Love on the rocks
Aint no big surprise
Jsut Pour me a drink
And I'll tell you more lies
Yesterday's gone
And now all I want is a smile

Old Photographs

This photo was taken by dad on Christmas Day 1961. He loved photography as a hobby and he'd always take pictures of me and my brother. What I can't understand is my brother's ....miserable look! Poor darling! The flash must have scared him! I also hate the outfit I put on for Christmas. But it was my uncle's Christmas present. He had brought it for me from Lebanon and I wanted to put it on for Christmas. On a black and white photo, it looks black but it isn't. As my mother told me, it was deep purple.

Purple is my least favourite colour, so I really cannot understand now why I decided to put on a purple outfit on my civil wedding ceremony which took place in Geneva, in December 1983. Most of my friends and family thought I was crazy to wear purple on a wedding ceremony as purple seems to be the colour of the dead! But in 1983 it was trendy just as it was last winter! Fashion is like history. It repeats itself. 

To me old photographs are precious. And, occasionally, I like to browse my old photo albums and dream. They make me long for home. No wonder Jim Capaldi's song is one of my favourites.

 

UFO Over China (06/10/2010) Marks 8th Time Since June

via www.youtube.com

I have never seen a UFO or had encounters of the third type - or whatever these encounters are called. However, according to Dr Drake's mathematical calculations, it is a 100% mathematical fact that we are not alone in this vast universe. And I will agree. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is one of trillions of galaxies in this vast universe. Therefore, I think it's very unlikely that living creatures can only be found on Planet Earth. What I can't quite understand is the reason why so many UFO sightings were reported in China within a few months!

Here's what to do if you see a UFO

Photo Credit

The Mutual UFO Network, or MUFON, has compiled guidelines for witnesses to report UFO sightings.

1. Remain calm. But protect yourself from any hazards, real or perceived. Be prepared to take evasive action to get out of the object's way.

2. Be objective. Not every UFO is extraterrestrial; eliminate other possibilities first. Only after that should you consider that what you saw might be a true UFO.

3. Use a camcorder or camera to record the event. Try to keep reference points in the field of view, as this will aid in analyzing the film. If you do not have a recording device, then draw pictures of what you saw.

4. Tape your tale. If you have a tape recorder, record your description of the event as it happens. Include reference points. If you don't have a tape recorder, write down your observations immediately.

5. Get other witness observations. Ask other witnesses to write or record their observations, but do not discuss the event with them until after your observations have been recorded.

6. Leave the area alone. If the UFO left some trace of its presence, do not disturb the area around it and restrict access to the site. Photograph the area around the site before you enter, and note the exact position of everything. Take close-up photos or video of the evidence before touching it.

7. Gauge the size. If the sighting is from a distance, at an arm's length, what would it take to cover the object? A quarter? A penny? A dime?

8. Gauge the distance. Try to judge the distance from you to the object, the object's altitude and its speed. Was it across the street or was it over the next field? Was it treetop level or a few hundred feet up? Did it cross the sky in five seconds or five minutes?

9. Record any encounter. Should you encounter some type extraterrestrial being associated with the craft, be prepared to protect yourself. From a safe distance, in a concealed position, photograph or videotape the being. If you are unable to safely get photos of the being, draw and write down a description as soon as it is safe to do so.

10. Report your experience. Immediately report the event to a UFO research origination for investigation.

www.mufon.com

Pottery in Cyprus

Photo by Anastasia - A jar  (pythari) where wine used to be kept.

The art of pottery-making was developed in Cyprus since prehistoric times. It was one of the most creative fields of ancient Cypriot art with potters of the time leaving us with a heritage of significant work which are the envy of even the best modern artists of this kind.The revealing of pottery during excavations from ancient times is the primary means through which we are assisted in indicating the periods of human mental development and progress. The fame of the pottery and pitharia (jars) of old Cyprus reached Europe as early as 1934. As Gloria London quotes in her book “Traditional Pottery of Cyprus” one traveler of that period wrote that “sweet wine was kept in big pitharia because they did not have any cracks in them.” Elsewhere in the same book, Ms London says that Giovani Mariti, an Italian priest, traveled to Cyprus in 1772 to learn the technique of pithari-making and storing of wine. During the medieval period pottery flourished in Cyprus. Glazed pots were created not only for the local market but also for the neighboring countries of the Middle East.

via Embassy of Cyprus in Washington D.C.

 

TV or Not?

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without the telly? To me it would be a much better place to live in. We'd read more newspapers and learn the real news without all the show and drama TV news seems to promote and, unfortunately,  this seems to attract viewers. We'd entertain friends or play board games more often, we'd go to the theatre or to the cinema more often, we'd attend a sporting event rather than watch it on TV. We'd even read more books or take up a creative hobby or listen to the radio every day! In short, we wouldn't be victims of passive entertainment.

In my childhood and teenage years, there was only one TV channel in Cyprus - the CyBC - Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. The programme started then at 7:00 pm and ended at 11:00 pm. And yet, there were so many TV series and cartoons worth viewing then.  As a child, I really loved : Casper the Ghost, The Flintstones, Peyton Place (possibly the first soap opera worldwide), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Well, I used to have an argument with my parents who wouldn't let me watch that! ) , The Man from U.N.C.L.E - I was in love with Robert Vaughn and hated David Mc Callum!

Back to the present. There are so many TV channels now most of which broadcast ..trash! I hate all this horde of reality shows such as Big Brother, Survivor and WipeOut   not to mention all these cooking reality shows announced on the greek TV! What I love on our TV is Greys Anatomy  , Vimata Stin Ammo based on a story by Korina Avraamides which I happen to like very much. That's all I watch on TV right now. Get On Stage 2 and Greek Idol    

Folk Dances in Cyprus

Kandila Dance

Cypriot dances are mainly of the type performed by a confronted pair, invariably two men or two women, or men's solo dances displaying virtuosity and often performed with a hand-held object, either a sickle, knife, sieve, or tumbler. In their steps and general characteristics - such as the movement of the body and limbs - they have features in common with dances of the historic Greek island area (the Asia Minor seaboard, Aegean islands and cities, and the Ionian isles). Apart from these common features, Cypriot dances are distinguished by steps peculiar to certain localities, such as stamping in one spot with the feet, crossed alternately in front of each other, in the "second" and particularly the "third" ""kartchilamas"" and in the "syrtos" for men. Improvization is another characteristic of Cypriot dances and may be attributed to their being performed by only two people and so to an overriding sense of comparison and, by extension, of competition. But it is to be noted that improvization and the freedom of the dancer to do his own thing are constrained by the community's severe strictures upon any excesses. Indeed, the more inward-looking the community, the more rigorous the restraints.

Here are some of the most popular men's dances:

Zeimpekikos

The "zeimpekkikos"is a solo dance that allows the dancer freedom to strike his own attitudes and to range more widely over the floor than in any other Cypriot dance: it also has more composite steps within the basic step pattern. All these factors help the dancer to show off his virtuosity to greater effect. Some dancers are noted particularly for their performance of the "zeimpekikos".

Tacha Dance

The "tacha" is a virtuoso's dance. The dancer spins a sieve in which he has placed a tumbler full of water, of which not a drop must be split. In the past twenty years or so dancers have been using an even greater number of tumblers. 

Kandila Dance

The "arapies tis kandilas" - dance with a tumbler - has become a similarly extravagant dance After covering a half-filled glass with a kerchief the dancer turns it upside down and places it on his head, endeavouring to keep it upright as he dances. At the climax he kneels down and leans backwards to resume his original position without letting the glass fall or the water spill. The contemporary dancer balances as many glasses as he can on his head.

Drepani Dance

The "dhrepanin" (sickle) is a harvest dance. The best reapers would 'play the sickle' as they reaped, cutting swathes in the air and making swift passes about their bodies and over their heads or neatly topping the corn ears, but without ceasing to mow.

The day reapers finished the last of a farmer's fields the "potherka" would begin: threats made in jest by the reapers against the owner lest he fails to treat them handsomely, various games, and the harvest supper. A tune the instrumentalists played to the reapers during the "potherka" on the monastic estate of Saint Andrew's survives at Rizokarpaso. Old folk living in the locality of Karpasia used to call the sickle dance 'sickle games'. Till quite recently it was still seen at festivals including the celebration of the 'Cataclysmos', a festival held at Pentecost. What we know about 'sickle games' and the sickle dance in general bears witness to its antiquity. Passages of the harvest dance in Cyprus reflect a ritual involving fertility magic and the averting of evil. 

SOURCE: kyprosnet

Heat Wave And Letters To Juliet

On the island of Venus, Aphrodite is being ruthless! Since the beginning of August, the sun has been burning hot and , as a result, the beaches are packed at this time of year when 75% of the citizens of this republic are off on holiday...which means that almost everything is closed - supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and some shops excepted - department stores in particular. Humidity has dropped, though, which makes candlelit dinners on the veranda a real pleasure - especially if you have a fan or air-conditioner for outdoor use! I don't mind hot weather, really, as I'm lucky enough to live near the beach. Nothing can be more invigorating than a good swim in the sea early in the morning and a good film at the cinema in the evening.

 

I've recently seen Letters To Juliet directed by  Gary Winick and loved it!When Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young American, travels to Verona, Italy- the romantic city where Romeo first met Juliet- she meets a group of volunteers who respond to letters written to Juliet seeking romantic advice. Sophie finds and answers a letter that has been lost for 50 years, and is stunned when its author Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) arrives in Italy with her handsome but overprotective grandson to find the fiance she left decades before. Fascinated by Claire’s quest, Sophie joins them on an adventure through the beautiful hills of Tuscany searching for Claire’s long lost Lorenzo. The journey will change their lives forever, as they discover it’s never too late to find true love.

Love does wonders! My most favourite plants - basil, mint and parsley - have survived the heat wave! And their divine smell mingles with that of perfumed candles.