Tsiknopempti is a Greek tradition celebrated on Thursdays 11 days before Greek Easter, where meat is grilled and consumed in large quantities. At one school in Cyprus, preparations for Tsiknopempti began early and students grilled meat at the school grounds to feed over 255 people. The meal included grilled meat, cucumber, and tomato served in pita bread. After the meal, students participated in traditional games like sack races and donkey rides, and concluded by dancing traditional Greek dances.

1. TSIKNOPEMPTI
At Konstantinoupoleos Gymnasium

2. THE MEANING OF TSIKNOPEMTI
Tsiknopempti comes from the Greek
word "tsikna" which is the smell from
grilling meat and " Pempti" which in
Greek means Thursday.
Why is it important?
It is an important date since Cypriots
and Greeks consume a lot of meat 11
days before the Green Monday, which
marks the beginning of fasting before
Easter.

3. PREPARATIONS
At our school preparations began
early in the morning. The whole meal
was sponsored by the Parents’
Association. Students grilled the
meat at the school grounds. The
meal was
They prepared food for 255 students,
the teachers, the school staff as well
as the Parents’ Association.

4. STUDENTS PREPARING SOUVLAKIA (GRILLED
MEAT)

5. GETTING READY FOR OUR
SOUVLAKIA(GRILLED MEAT)

6. OUR MEAL INCLUDED
 Grilled meat, cucumber, tomato all served in pita
bread (traditional bread)

7. TRADITIONAL GAMES
 Students participated in the traditional
games. The first game was sakoulodromies.
Students put their feet into a bag and they
start running. The winner is the student who
arrived first at the finish line.
 The second game was donkey rides. One
student carried on his bag another student
and they had to run a race. The winner is
the group that came first at the finish line.

8. PLAYING TRADITIONAL GAMES

9. TRADITIONAL GAMES

10. DANCING ZEIMBEKIKO

11. DANCING ZEIMBEKIKO

12. DANCING HASAPIKO