The past brings us to ERT Archive to remind us how people celebrated Halloween and Lent Monday. Look what their lens captured News Bee 8 and March 9, 1970, with the carnivalists in Athens, Piraeus, Patras and Plaka, as well as the preparations for the first Lent and the kite flying, as well as a collection of photographs covering the period from the 1920s to the 1990s.

1970’s HALLOWEEN AND KOULOUMA

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The weather may have been rainy, but the fun was not lacking in the carnival procession in the center of Athens. The “queen” of the carnival, actress Anna Kalouta, arrived by helicopter at Panathenaic Stadium, then take her place in her chariot and give the signal to begin the grand parade. Cheerleaders, masquerade groups, chariots and even antique cars flooded the streets of Athens as crowds gathered to participate in the great Carnival celebration. The exact same climate prevailed in Piraeus. The rain did not hinder the groups of carnival-goers, who spread the fun in the world with or without chariots. In Patras, the weather helped more, both those who took part in the grand parade and the thousands of people who took to the streets of the city to enjoy it. The spree continued into the nightclubs, with lots of dancing and singing. The paper war gave and took the alleys of Plaka, and the masquerades had their honor there too.

THE Green Monday found the Athenians in the street again, this time equipping themselves with the supplies for the first fasting table. Laganas, halva, seafood, vegetables and anything else that protects the day. But no kite can be made without a kite. The town’s hills were filled with young and old having fun flying kites.

see another series of photos with snaps of Halloween and Kouluma in Athens, starting from 1920s to 1990s. Masquerades in Zappeion, carnival cars and merry-go-rounds in the streets of the city, Koulouma on the hill of Philopappos, but also snapshots of the carnival shots with Melina Mercouri. The material comes from the collections of Petros Poulidis, Yion Poulidis and Aristotelis Sarrikostas, from the ERT archive.

See more on archive.ert.gr