Tsiknopempti

Tsiknopempti (Greek Τσικνοπέμπτη), literally "Thursday of the Smoke of Grilled Meat", is part of the traditional celebrations for Carnival season in Greece and Cyprus. The three weeks of Carnival in Greece are, in order, "Profoni" (Greek Προφωνή), "Kreatini" (Greek Κρεατινή ), and "Tirofagou" (Greek Τυροφάγου). Tsiknopempti is the Thursday of the week of Kreatini, during which large amounts of meat are traditionally consumed prior to the arrival of Lent, the fasting season leading up to Easter. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, fasting on Wednesday and Friday is important, therefore Thursday is the best day for Tsiknopempti. Tsiknopempti is celebrated 11 days before Clean Monday.

Similar celebrations known as 'Fat Thursday' are held in many other countries. In many countries there is an equivalent festivity day widely known as "Mardi Gras".

Etymology

The name Τσικνοπέμπτη comes from the Greek words τσίκνα, which is the smell of roasting meat, and from Πέμπτη, which means Thursday.