Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent before Orthodox Easter, also known as Shrove Monday, was celebrated and observed in a much more subdued manner than in previous years, as pandemic-related restrictions, essentially a partial nationwide lockdown, kept churches closed in most of the country, while bans on non-essential travel outdoors limited the mass congregation of people in parks and travel to the provinces.
Clean Monday is annually an occasion for picnics and family dinners with seafood and other traditional dishes that are allowed during the Lenten season, culminating on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, which this year falls on May 2. A national custom of kite-flying on the day is also widely observed.
This year witnessed most churches and chapels without worshippers in areas where Covid-19 concentration is highest.
