The customs and Greek traditions that exist throughout the year and in all parts of Greece, are beautiful to be learned by the younger generations, who will keep them "alive". Kyra Sarakosti is an old custom, like a makeshift calendar, that counts the weeks of Great Lent, starting from Clean Monday. This year, take the opportunity to make it with your children!

An old custom...

In some regions, Kyra Sarakosti was made of paper. It was the drawing of a woman with a wide skirt, a cross on her head, crossed hands because she was praying, without a mouth due to fasting, and with seven legs - one for each week of Great Lent.

Starting from Clean Monday, every passing Saturday, they would cut off one leg, and in this way, they knew how many weeks were left until Easter. On Holy Saturday, they would cut off the last leg and hide the paper in the bread they baked for the night of the Resurrection. Whoever found the paper leg in their slice of bread was considered to have good luck.

In some parts of Greece, Kyra Sarakosti is made with dough, consisting of flour, salt, and water. Of course, it is not eaten! You will see that the recipe contains a lot of salt. It is necessary to prevent the dough from spoiling.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water approximately
• 1 cup salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Cloves for decoration

Instructions:

• Put the ingredients in a bowl and knead until you get an elastic dough
• Shape Kyra Sarakosti by making the body, the skirt, the face, and her 7 legs
• Decorate it as desired with the cloves
• Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper
• Bake in a preheated fan oven at 160°C for 20-30 minutes

A Different Lady Lent

You can make a different, colorful Lady Lent together with the children, using clay! In this way, they will learn about this beautiful tradition in an even more creative way, adding color and imagination.

For Lady Lent, the following verses have been written:

Lady Lent

which is an old custom

our grandmothers used to make her

with flour and water

For decoration, they would put

a cross on her head

but they would forget her mouth

because she was fasting for a long time

And they would count her days

with her seven legs.

They would cut one each week

until Easter came