Grill Day or Barbecue Thursday (Tsiknopempti)
Apokrea in Greek (Carnevale in Latin) means abstaining from meat and preparing for the fasting period before Easter, it is within this holiday spirit that we have the custom of "pig slaughtering" in Messinia, when every home slaughters an animal the day before Tsiknopempti.
Residents then "tsiknizoun" (smoke), the meat and sausages that will be preserved. To this day it is a custom to go out on Tsiknopempti and savor the aroma, and taste, of grilled meat, drink some wine, and leave one’s worries behind.
In practice, the Grill Thursday marks the start of Halloween and Carnival events, which conclude on Clean Monday (Kathara Deutera). Tsiknopempti, Halloween (Carnival) and Clean Monday have a different date, usually from mid-February to early March.