Its All Greek 2 Me

In the Orthodox calendar, Clean Monday (Kathari Theftera) marks the start of the 48-day fast for Lent or Sarakosti and Holy Week (Megali Evdomada). All this builds up into the feast of Easter (Lambri or Pascha) which is determined by the Julian Calendar and is the most celebrated holiday for Greek Orthodox people.

It all starts with the Apokries - Carnival or Mardi Gras - which usually falls in March and lasts for about 2-3 weeks. Our youth club will be celebrating this on 16th March at the Glynhill Hotel in Renfrew (see ad). There are usually masquerade parties and carnivals where people and bands in costume roam the streets - something like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The wearing of masks is common and probably derives from the practice of actors in ancient dramas and comedies.

During Apokries, humans have the opportunity to go beyond the limits imposed by conventional social pretensions - we are free to follow our passions and desires, regardless of age or sex. You could say that "Apokries" is a way of relaxing so that we are ready to be committed to fasting. The word "apokria" means literally "from-meat", or abstinence from meat.

There were many rituals associated with the celebration. The first week was heralded by drumbeats and gunshots (in the city of Patras "delalis" announce the coming of Apokria, much like the old town crier). The second week, is "meat fare" week where we eat mainly meat (although these days, all weeks are "meat" weeks!). Tsiknopempti (Thursday of "tsikna" - smell of the meat on the fire) falls on the Thursday of this week. This is a day of family gatherings, good times and, of course - eating meat!

The long journey of the Olympic Games began over 2,700 years ago. Records of Olympic history show that the ancient Olympic Games were held in Greece as early as in 776 BC. It was then that the basis of the Olympic Movement began to evolve into a philosophy of life: exalting and combining the qualities of body, will, and mind in a balanced whole. Out of this philosophy the Olympic Ideals were born, placing noble competition, sport, peace, culture, and education at the very core of Greek civilisation.

By 393AD, when Emperor Theodosius abolished the event for being too 'pagan', over 290 Olympic Games had been held. But despite the abolishment of the Games, the Olympic Ideals survived the centuries and were eventually revived by the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In 1896 the first Modern Olympic Games were held in Athens and since that time have been on a journey around the world for more than a century.

Now, at the dawn of the 3rd millennium, the Games are returning to the country of their birth and the city of their revival. In 2004, Greece will be called upon to empower the Olympic Movement once again, placing sport at the service of peace.

The city of Athens will offer a unique Olympic experience in a safe and secure environment. An environment greatly improved through infrastructure projects as varied as the construction of modern competition venues and the development of a state-of-the-art transportation network. And it is through this kind of projects that the 2004 Games aspire to leave a lasting legacy to the people of Greece and the world.

As we reported in our last newsletter (Issue 1: November 2002), the Stavros S Niarchos foundation has donated a sum of money to the Outward Bound Trust, with a specific focus on young Greek/Cypriot people in the UK. In November 2002 the first phase of this programme began with a taster weekend for Greek youth leaders and young people from communities across the UK at Outward Bound Eskdale in the Lake District. Here Rania Panayi and youth leader Anne McKay each report on their experience.

The voice of youth
Rania Panayi

Our group from Glasgow, along with representatives from Greek/Cypriot Communities in Birmingham and London, attended two days of activities and discussion at the Eskdale centre.
The key idea of this Outward Bound programme is to help bring young Greek/Cypriot people together and to help develop their personal skills such as self confidence, communication, problem solving, planning and team work though fun, physical and mental activities.
As representatives we were given a taster of what was on offer. To start we had a few ice breaker games which aimed to build the relationship between our instructor and the other Greek/Cypriot representatives. It worked well. After some games we were all more relaxed with the instructor and each other. After the icebreaker games we went on to physical and mental exercises.
One example of both combined was the spider?s web. By using bungee ropes a web had been created between two trees. Everyone in our team had to go though the web without touching any side of a section within the web - every section had a different shape and size. If a member successfully passed though the web, that individual section would now be closed and would not be able to be used again. Also if one member touched any side while passing though this would also close that individual section. This exercise had us constantly communicating with each other. It was also a great laugh, as we had to carry some members though, which involved a lot of trust. This exercise also helped us to realise that planning ahead is important.
Along with the Outward Bound Trust instructors, we also had the opportunity to brainstorm at the end of the activities. A number of issues were referred to in regard to young people from the UK?s Greek/Cypriot communities. A few of the most recurring issues were the fact of the rapidly declining youth involvement within all of our communities, the necessity for modernisation and the need for more and improved communication.
As a result of the weekend, everyone had made new friends, gained skills and had a genuinely great time.

A Youth Leader's View
Anne McKay

I found the Outward Bound an experience to remember. Being one of only two females in the company of eight men was sometimes quite intimidating. The men tried to take charge but they all wanted to be leaders, which I found in all exercises was not possible. I found myself shouting at one point just to be heard. I think that it was because Greek/Cypriot men are quite chauvinist and even though these men were brought up in Britain the stigma of a woman being weak and men having to take over remained with them stronger than ever.
I think it was an enlightening experience. I do not normally like to be told what to do but at Outward Bound you have to select a leader and follow orders otherwise nothing will get done. I found this rewarding as it showed me the way to give some responsibilities
up to the younger generation of the youth club and at the same time showed them how to handle these responsibilities.
Following orders from a leader does not mean that that person is better than you are. The leader should always be open to ideas from the other members of his/her team and be prepared to accept that his/her ideas are not always right. Trust and trusting your team members was a very important lesson at the Outward Bound weekend as well. Although only knowing the other team members for a few hours we had to rely on them to complete a task by putting in some ways our trust in their hands.
I have learned a lot at the Outward Bound weekend and hope to pass some of the skills gained there to the younger members of the Greek Youth Club.

by Keith Dinnie

Keith has been dj'ing Greek nights in Glasgow for 3 years. He lived and worked in Greece for 6 years, in Athens, Kavala, Komotini, and Thessaloniki.