Maria, Greece, Thessaloniki

In Greece, burgers were not really common until a few years ago. That's why they have a traditional kind of sandwich called "Pita me gyro". The basic ingredients are gyro, which is meat similar to kebab but from the cow, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Then they add ketchup and mustard. In the South of the country, they add tzatziki, which is a sauce made of yogurt, cucumber and garlic, and they call this sandwich Kalamaki.

On Easter Sunday, in the villages, people usually roast a lamb on a spit. This is a tradition in Greece and the lamb is shared with the neighbors. This festivity is related to the Christian religion. In fact, some people still don't eat meat during 40 days (it is called Lent, a period of 40 days commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert) before Easter, but most of Greek people don't eat meat during the week before the Sunday of Easter. That's why, at the end of the week, people share a piece of meat.

There are also funny usages during this week before Easter. For example, Thursday is dedicated to painting eggs. First, the eggs are boiled and then they are colored, mostly in red. Then, on Saturday, there is a kind of egg's fight. The eggs are clattered to each other and one will be broken. Then, people eat them.

In the daily life, local alcohol is drunk especially on Saturday. The most common are Ouzo and Tsipouro, whose taste is similar to anise for both but the difference is that Ouzo is sweet. Both are colourless but if you want to distinguish them, you can put ice on Ouzo which will become white, instead of Tsipouro, which will stay colourless.

It is usually drunk in shot glasses but slowly. Some people add water or ice on it, so it becomes less strong (it is indeed 40% or 45% alcohol). They drink it with Meze, which can be a salad or bread with sauce, just before the main dish, for lunch.

In Greece, you can go "for a Tsipouro". That means that you can go to a place where you can drink Tsipouro and listen to traditional music. The Tsipouro is accompanied with a snack but you can't go to a Tsipouro for a dinner. The advantage of this alcohol is that you don't have a handgover the following day!

Painted eggs for Easter.