OXI Day and Greek lunch

Today we went to church.  We don't eat before taking Communion, so didn't eat or drink until after church.  We go to a Greek Orthodox church, and today is a holiday in Greece.

OXI DAY!

Oxi Day Parade Painting - Oxi Day Parade Fine Art Print - Yvonne Ayoub

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/oxi-day-parade-yvonne-ayoub.html

The Wikipedia entry detailing the origins of OXI Day is HERE.

It is a day of celebrating a defiance against insurmountable odds, which allowed a rich and ancient culture to still be alive and thriving today.



Because it was such a special day, church was standing-room-only, and there were plenty of snacks and a lot of visiting in the church's function room after church.

When I take Communion I do consume gluten, and when we have a memorial service at church I also consume koliva.  I do this for a couple reasons.  Number one, I am not celiac, so I will not suffer greatly from consuming wheat.  Number two, I believe God's grace will cover these things that are blessed.

Other than that, I didn't eat any of the Greek baked goods and pastries.  We visited with family and the kids ran around with their friends.  From there we met with the kids' Godmother for lunch at a local Greek restaurant.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my meal, but it was good.  Not just good.  GOOD.  I wanted to lick the fork.  It was so good it made me suspicious there was some ingredient in there I wasn't supposed to have. ;)

The restaurant served us complimentary saginaki, which was generous, but only one of my children and their Godmother ate it.  The other two children don't like it.  I love it, and took a small nibble.

My meal was salmon, shrimp, rice, green beans and potatoes.  Delicious!

I ate about half the dinner and took the rest home to eat again tonight.