PHOTOS: Amid coronavirus pandemic, Greeks fly kites to mark Clean Monday
Updated On Mar 16, 2021 01:43 PM IST
Clean Monday marks the transition from Carnival to the beginning of Lent, a period of spiritual purification in preparation for the solemnity of Orthodox Easter, and kites have been an essential part of celebrations for more than a century in Greece. Scholars have found evidence of Easter-season kite-flying in Europe as far back as the 17th century, likely symbolizing raising one’s soul to God or Jesus’ resurrection. For many religious Greeks, it also signifies a desire to reach for the divine. Colorful kites danced in the skies above the hilltops and seafront promenades of Athens on Clean Monday as Greeks turned out to celebrate the Eastern Christian holiday in their traditional fashion after being hit hard by the pandemic during the winter. The country is still in lockdown, with most retail businesses shut and people allowed out of their homes only for essential purposes and generally within walking distance. But over the weekend, street vendors pulled out colorful displays of kites, and on Monday many families came out to fly them while wearing masks and minding social distancing guidelines.
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A family tries to fly a kite in a field of flowers in Drapetsona, a suburb of Piraeus, near Athens, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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Kites fly in the sky behind a church on Clean Monday, in Cape Greco near the Ayia Napa resort, on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)(AP)
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A father with his daughter tries to fly a kite during Clean Monday, in Cape Greco near the Ayia Napa resort, on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)(AP)
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People fly kites in Drapetsona suburb of Piraeus, near Athens, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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People fly kites in Filopapou hill of Athens, on clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP)
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Kites for sale in Alimos, a suburb of Athens, on Saturday, March 13, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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A child holds a kite ready to fly it on a hill of Athens , on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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A girl wearing a face mask tries to fly her kite during Clean Monday, in Cape Greco near the Ayia Napa resort, on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)(AP)
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People fly a kite during celebrations of Clean Monday at Filopappou hill as the Parthenon temple is seen atop the Acropolis hill in Athens, Greece March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Costas Baltas(REUTERS)
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A kite on the ground as people walk at Filopapou hill on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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A family flies a kite at Filopapou hill of Athens, on clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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A couple flies a kite in Drapetsona suburb of Piraeus, near Athens, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent.(AP)
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A woman flies a kite on a hill in Athens, on clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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A woman flies a kite at Filopapou hill of Athens, on clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus, and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the kite-flying, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)(AP)
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