Mnymosyna

It's a funny thing here when Sunday church services only have a handful of people in the pews and off day memorial services are full to the brim. The last Sunday service had 25 people and that included the priest and the baby in the bjorn. The memorial service in Kato Kleisma yesterday and the memorial service in Aetofolia today had more people spilling out of the respective churches than an Easter Saturday liturgy. Which leads me to beg the question, Why?


The liturgy service is the same. It takes about an hour. The time it takes place is the same, at 9 am. The church bells give off the same ding dong ding dong ding call to the villagers. So if I factor out all these variables, the only thing left is the food. And oh boy, do the memorial services have good food.


The memorial service starts at 9 am. The church proper is full of people, the men in the front, women and children in the back. Some men stand by the entrance to the church but most sit outside in the courtyard. Some men pretend they are praying and have their heads bowed but personally I think they're taking a refreshing nap. Others have no pretense and talk in low voices. Small children come in and out of the church. For memorial services, most women tend to wear darker clothes. The men wear various shades of blue. Inside the church, at the entrance, are the candles in a tall stand. Today, Faviana said that she thought she smelled popcorn. Nicoletta, the other 6 year old in the village, responded, "That's not popcorn, someone burned their hair!"


The liturgy ends around 10 am. The people holding the memorial service for their loved ones step out a couple of minutes early to go prepare the coffee. Various other women help serve the food. So what's on the menu? Greek coffee in porcelain cups. On the tray is a can of Noynoy condensed milk and sugar to add to the coffee. Next is paximadia (twice baked bread) and following that are slices of kefalotyri cheese. Then come the baked goods: small tsourekis sealed in a bag. (These the people take home to eat). Yesterday's sealed tsoureki bag also contained an almond cookie. Today's contained only the tsoureki. The almond cookie came sealed separately. There was also spinach pies, cheese pies and lots of little chocolates. Oh, and let's not forget the raki (moonshine) that flows like water here.


The men stand in clumps outside. The women are inside the church hall drinking their coffee. Our hall is small and the chairs are lined side by side against the four walls. Once everybody has their fill of food and drink and the gossip has come to a close, people start to drift away. Most of the gossip centers on who's coming, how long their staying and who's not coming and why. Some friends who have come separately and have not seen each other in a while, leave together. Others are invited back to people's homes.


So who did I see? I saw George Sklavos, a cousin of my Dad's that I absolutely adore. What a nice man. He seems so sad. I haven't seen him since his wife passed away several years ago. His daughter, Zaklyn, is here from Paris. He gave me her number so we could get together. I saw Theia Toula and Uncle John. Angela stayed in the village. The mnymosyno was for the grandmother of the Gkeka family who passed away two years ago so there were many members from that family here. And of course, all the winter villagers were there to pay their respects. Lots of people from Kato Kleisma and Kalloni. Most of the people there were over 60. There were a handful of people in their 30's and a handful of children.