Lent

It's no secret that we Greeks love Easter ("Pascha"). In the Orthodox Christian Church, it is the most important religious holiday of the year, a time of intense spiritual reflection and solemnity.

The Household Basket is a successful measure that, in combination with the Market Pass, has helped to lower inflation, Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis asserted in a press conference held on Wednesday.

Today is Lazarus Day (Lazarovden/Лазаровден), the first of three major holidays associated with the miracle of the resurrection along with Palm Sunday (Tsvetnitsa/Цветница) and Easter (Velikden/Великден). Name day is celebrated by Lazar, Lazarin and Lazarinka.

The name has ancient Jewish origins and means "God's help".

Pope Francis led the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Lent on Ash Wednesday, as they scaled back a centuries-old ritual to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Francis, who normally marks the start of the penitential season with an outdoor procession between two ancient churches in Rome, instead said a Mass for about 120 people in St. Peter's Basilica.

On April 16th the Orthodox Church marks Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries.

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The day is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday.

The Holy Week for Orthodox Christians begins on Monday after Palm Sunday.

The last week of Lent is called the Holy Week because it is dedicated to the memories of the last days of the earthly life of the Christian savior Jesus Christ - his sufferings, the death of Jesus by crucifixion and his burial.

Athenians took to Filopappou Hill and other parts of the capital to fly kites, one of the most popular traditions of Clean Monday, the first day of Lent. After a week of unseasonably good weather, temperatures are forecast to dip mid-week. [Stelios Stefanou/InTime News]

The news of a protest by employees at the Ministry of Education, who were unhappy that they were not allowed to leave work earlier to celebrate Tsiknopempti (the Thursday marking 11 days before the start of Greek Orthodox Lent when Greeks traditionally eat grilled meat) is not only a laughing matter but indicative of a particular mentality that has proved so harmful to the country.

Turkish Red Crescent ("Kızılay" in Turkish) lent a helping hand to 14.7 million needy people during the holy month of Ramadan.       

Bulgaria marks on April 25th Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries.