Easter in Cyprus Part 2: Green Monday Traditions

With carnival now a colourful kaleidoscope of memories, Green Monday is in full swing, and families and friends are gathering together island-wide to celebrate the commencement of Lent.

As the first day of fasting for a period of 40 days, Green Monday is a public holiday, and is traditionally celebrated with a lavish lunchtime meal of fasting foods, such as vegetables, grilled shellfish, and special unleavened bread known as lagana.

Green Monday often coincides with the first flowering of spring, and so lunch is typically enjoyed out in fields and parks, under the soft sun and blue skies.

In fact, kite flying has become closely associated with Green Monday, with many children competing as to who can succeed in soaring their kite the highest and for the longest. A view of any town and city in Cyprus will almost certainly be comfortingly embellished by hundreds of kites gently lulling in the sky: a testament to the power and kinship of tradition.

Columbia Beach Resort is excited to be serving its own Green Monday feast, and invites guests to experience this traditional lunch.

For those at home who would like to try putting together their own Green Monday spread, opt for fresh, chopped vegetables lightly sprinkled with salt and lemon (such as radishes, kouloumbra – also known as kohlrabi – spring onions, cucumbers, rocket, tomatoes, and more), and a selection of grilled shellfish, spanning prawns and octopus, to squid.

Green Monday lunch is priced at €35 per person. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 will dine with a 50% discount on the aforementioned price, whilst children under the age of 6 will dine free of charge. To book your table now, simply call (+357) 25 833 000 or fill out our booking form

Columbia Beach Resort’s Green Monday Meze

Starters
Platter of raw vegetables
Boiled beetroots
Boiled potatoes
Taramas
Tahini
Hoummous
Scordalia
Mixed olives
Pickled vegetables
Selection of halva

Mains
Deep fried calamari
Grilled octopus
Kathistes soupies
Rice with spinach
Artichokes à la polita
Mushrooms
Boiled beans
Lentils

Desserts
Halvas katsarolas
Loukoumades
Fruits
Mahalepi

Check back soon for the third and final part of our Easter blog post series, brimming with the customs and traditions of the big day itself!