Easter in the countryside after two years of pandemic: a return to the good old days

The people of Greece are celebrating Easter again in the villages with great enthusiasm! Two years after the start of the pandemic, the countryside is coming alive again.

Many residents of large cities return to their native places for a while and relax with loved ones in the spring nature after a long and hard winter.

In the countryside of Central Greece – Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus and Lassithi – neither the “remnants of the coronavirus” nor the rise in fuel prices could interfere with the celebration of Easter. With the start of Holy Week, the movement began, and yesterday the last guests arrived at their destinations without problems, as the weather conditions were generally good.

“After a two-year ban, people took the opportunity to return to their villages,” Lamia Mayor Timios Karaiskos said in an interview with APE-MPE. In Magnesia everywhere “smells like Easter”. The mayor of South Pelion, Michalis Mitzikos, called this year’s Easter “a return to the good old days.” In the courtyards of Thessaly houses in every district there is a big celebration, with homemade delicacies, an abundance of wine, music and, of course, a lamb on a spit.

In Epirus, since Palm Sunday, villages inhabited only by the elderly, and even then very few, have been filled with joyful voices. In Achaia, the inhabitants of the 65 villages of the municipality of Kalavryta are once again experiencing days of joy and fun, because two years later their houses again, as before, opened their doors to invited guests – relatives and friends.

Picturesque villages on the Lassithi Plateau are once again filled with people and voices in honor of the most popular holiday – Easter. “Our villages are filled with life and the joy is great,” said Lasithi Mayor Yannis Stephanakis.

“Today, the holy day of Easter, reminded us of those years when families gathered around skewers and tables laid with refreshments. Without forgetting what we have been through and the need to protect ourselves, it is understandable that we must continue to be vigilant. But today’s images of the villages come to life, I think, are the best opportunity to think that this is how we want to celebrate the holidays in the future, and we will make sure that we comply with everything that is prescribed,” Mr. Stephanakis added.

Source link