Next: 15 Mar 2027
Clean Monday
The first day of Orthodox Lent, kept in Greece with a picnic of flatbread, shellfish and tarama.
What is eaten for Clean Monday
Clean Monday opens Great Lent in the Orthodox Church. Meat, eggs and dairy are put away, but shellfish and other seafood without blood are allowed, so the fast begins with a feast of its own. Greek families go outdoors, fly kites and lay out lagana, a flat sesame bread baked only for this day. With it come taramosalata, olives, octopus, squid, prawns, stuffed vine leaves and bean dishes. Halva made from tahini is the sweet.
The dishes
Also part of it, and being written: Dolma (Vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs.).
Written by the Thali desk with AI assistance. Background: "Clean Monday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Taramasalata: Robert Kindermann, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Fasolada: Miansari66, CC0, source
- Lagana: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source