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| Welcome to our Newsletter of February 2009
The Weather
 Picture taken on Mount Pantokrator on a rainy day in January 2009
B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
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| A festive celebration
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| The Carnival period for 2009 starts on Sunday the 8th of February and lasts until Clean (Ash) Monday on the 2nd of March. The three week celebrations consist of masquerades and many traditional and religious events. Carnival dates are tied to the Greek Orthodox Easter which is usually different from the Western Easter but every few years both calendars coincide. The corresponding Greek word "Apokreo" or Apokria means to say goodbye to the period of meat-eating or abstinence from meat (Apo-kreo = away from meat). In the same way the word "Carnival" is made up from the words carne = meat and vale = take leave of. Carnival is essentially the period leading up to Lent and the preparation for the biggest holiday of Christianity, Easter. It allows people to have some fun before Lent starts on Clean Monday. During Lent, Christians fast to mentally and physically prepare themselves to participate in the Passion of Christ during the Holy Week. The roots of the Carnival customs can be traced back to antiquity. They are related to the celebrations in honour of the God Dionysus, where enthusiasm, gaiety and banter prevailed. These festivals took place at the beginning of spring, in order to procure a good harvest and successful breeding among the animal stock. When Christianity became the dominant religion, elements of ancient Greek worship were incorporated into the customs and traditions pertaining to the period before Lent. In the past, the festive atmosphere was created by groups of masqueraded people who at night roamed the streets and the neighbourhoods, singing ribald and satirical songs. However, with the passage of time, standardised celebrations with fancy costumes and floats organised by the local communities prevailed to a greater or smaller lesser, to the detriment of the older, more spontaneous celebrations.
Carnival is closely related to the cultural heritage of each region and in many parts of the country substantial efforts have been made in recent years to revive traditional carnival customs. Dominant elements in these customs are the phallus symbols and satire, which centres on local events or focuses on current Greek and international issues. The most important Carnival in Greece is held in Patras which culminates on the last Sunday of the Carnival period with the burning at the stake of the King of Carnival and a big parade of floats and costumed groups. Many traditional events and customs take place during the carnival period on the beautiful island of Corfu. As time went by, the Carnival celebrations were broadened and enhanced in Corfu by Venetian influences. Traditional figures, disguised as doctors or notaries made their appearance. Moreover the use of masks and soot to blacken the face was established. The suggestion of ideas, the work and all the necessary preparations for the carnival floats begin a year in advance at festive boards in tavernas and private houses. The craziest ideas are put forward and the one that is chosen is kept completely secret until the moment of its first appearance on the streets of the town. Celebrations begin on the second Sunday of the carnival period, with a trial run of the Carnival procession through the town to check the floats, to start off the fun and to get everyone into the right mood.
"Tsiknopempti" (loosely translatable as "Burnt Thursday"), February 19th As in the rest of Greece, "Tsiknopempti" is the day or rather the night, when everyone is "obliged" to eat meat because the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter approach. Thus groups of people meet up in tavernas and homes and engage in an eating and drinking spree to the accompaniment of Greek music. The Corfiot Petegoletsia (the Gossip) on Thursday, February 26th Re-enacted in the Pinia area in the Old Town centre, the gossip custom ["the Corfiot Petegoletsia" or "Petegolia"] relates to an old tradition of street theatre. The island's narrow cobblestone streets - called "kantounia" - are lined by houses. Women standing by their windows exchange scurrilous gossip about local affairs, in authentic Corfiot dialect. The performance culminates with traditional songs and mandolin music. On the last Sunday of the Carnival, March 1st Also known as the "Cheese eating Sunday" as no meat products are allowed at this time. The tradition says that "Macaronia" was often served on this day. Maybe this will come as a surprise but the word "macaronia" is not Italian as many believe, but Greek! It derives from the word "macaria" which means "blessed" and the word "aeronia" which means "eternal". Thus macaronia. The previous Saturday a special service for the dead is held in the Orthodox Church and part of the rites includes the making of grain dishes probably a survival of the ancient rites of Goddess Demetra. The climax of the celebrations is the impressive procession of King Carnival, who is responsible for whatever bad things happened during the previous year. He is brought to trial and sentenced to death by fire so that all evil spirits are burnt with him. After the end of the procession, king Carnival is cremated. His will is read, whereupon a big party with songs and dances begins.The climax of the celebrations is the impressive procession of King Carnival, who is responsible for whatever bad things happened during the previous year. He is brought to trial and sentenced to death by fire so that all evil spirits are burnt with him. After the end of the procession, king Carnival is cremated. His will is read, whereupon a big party with songs and dances begins.
An extraordinary custom takes place in the village of Episkepsis , at Saint Basil's square. The priest leads off the dance called "Doxa".... (Glory...) and all the men of the village follow in order, each according to his age and rank in Episkepsis. It is danced without instrumental music. The priest who leads the dance chants the first verse and the rest of the dancers repeat it. At the end of the dance, old women perform the traditional circular dance of Corfu to the accompaniment of music that they themselves play. This custom can be found in other villages of the Oros region, but nowhere else in Greece. In his book entitled "Customs and rituals of the People of Corfu", Mr Charles Klimis claims that the dance of the old women is a relic of maenadic, bacchanal rites dating back to around 500 BC.
The Holy wedding custom has survived in several villages, including Klimatia, Chlomos, Marathias, Kritika and Giannades. The carnival wedding as it was called until 1960 used to be performed in the majority of Corfu's villages. It gradually died out in some of them but remained in the memory of people. However, in other villages the custom has been preserved up to this day. The ritual starts in the morning when the men of the village gather in a house to dress the bridegroom. Meanwhile, in another neighbourhood, the local women dress the bride. The fact that the bride is actually a man and a mustached one indeed is probably due to the rules of the patriarchal society which forbade women to play an active part in the activities of their land. A demon in the form of a satyr also participates in the marriage rites, doing its best to spoil the wedding. Throughout the whole ceremony, the villagers continually shout obscenities and tease one another.
Clean Monday, March 2nd Clean Monday or Ash Monday is a public holiday and is generally a family oriented day, celebrated outdoors where picnics and kite-flying prevail. Clean Monday is the last day of the Carnival period and the first day of Lent. Therefore all food consumed must be "pure" without the shedding of blood. Of course this allows the consumption of shellfish, fish roe (taramosalata) and similar delicacies. Two specialities made for the day: a dessert called "Halvas" with semolina, nuts, raisins and cinnamon and a special flat bread named "Lagana" which attracks people to the bakeries from very early in the morning just to be sure that they will get one.   Halvas dessert Lagana bread
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Feature Property for sale
In 1983 the estate was listed as "A work of art and preservable historical monument" because it represents Heptanese architecture [Architecture typically representative of the Ionian Islands]. As it is a monument any renovation must follow the lines of the antiquities department and must preserve the buildings external appearance in respect of their original state. Asking price: € 850,000 - GBP 763,172 for latest currency rates please click here For further details please e-mail us at nenilam@jonathanedunn.com
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| A lesser known fact about Corfu
The Liston
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 Picture taken on June 2008 At the lower part of the great Spianada Square there are the two largest residential quarters of the town, two old multi-storey buildings with arches and Venetian lanterns, known as "Liston". There are various explanations for that name. As Venice has got a Liston di Piazza on St. Markus Square, one explanation says that the name derives from the Venetian word "Liston" which means large, straight but not long main road. According to other sources the name comes from the "List" where all the names of Nobles were written "on" (Libro d' Oro). The district already existed before the residential quarters had been built and it served as a means of protection for the Spianada. The construction of today's buildings started by the French after 1807 and finished by the British at 1814. The plans were made by the French Engineer Conte Mathieu de Lesseps - father of Ferdinand Lesseps creator of the Suez Canal - who was inspired by Rue Rivoli and Rue Castiglione in Paris. The French intended to build arched houses right to the top end of the Square, but before they were able to finish it they had to leave Corfu due to the arrival of the British. The building closer to the Palace accommodated one of the most luxurious hotels of Corfu from 1850 until 1913. Grand Hotel "Saint Georges" was famous for its golden cutlery and its rich wine cellar in the building's basement. The most famous Greeks visited the hotel as did many distinguished Europeans, Lords, Princesses and wealthy Tycoons. The "Liston" was unapproachable to the ordinary people. Only the nobles could go there and every family had their private table. The only time that changed was the Carnival period where the different social classes mixed in disguise. The women were called "maschera" due to the black mask they were wearing while the men were dressed with silk, black long mantles with hoods and white masks. The anonymity that the masks provided gave courage to the people and forced the nobles into tolerance and concession. Finally they were all singing in the streets in a Venetian dialect:
"Siora mascara ve conosco Se de bianco se de rosso Se de verde se de giallo Siora mascara andemo a ballo"
The Liston crowded on a day of celebrations The buildings of Liston Today the Liston is a famous meeting point full of coffee places where people meet at every opportunity even if the weather is not good. In summertime the area is packed with locals and tourists alike who enjoy the coolness under the arches, a glass of ouzo under the shade of the trees or just to experience the vivid evenings with different artists performing in front of the arches. |
| A Character from Corfu's past Corfiot Villagers, 1900
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| The Jonathan Edward Dunn Team
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