| Clean Monday | |
|---|---|
 Kite-flyers on Clean Monday on Philopappos Hill, Athens, Greece | |
| Observed by | Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians; Eastern Catholics |
| Type | Eastern Christian |
| Date | 48 days before Pascha Sunday |
| 2023 date |
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| 2024 date |
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| 2025 date |
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| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | First day of Great Lent |
Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα, Kathara Deftera), also known as Pure Monday, Green Monday or simply Monday of Lent is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity[1] and is a moveable feast, falling on the sixth Monday before Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week, preceding Pascha Sunday (Easter).[2]
The common term for this day, "Clean Monday", refers to the purification of the body in preparation to the Great Lent: first day of abstinence of non-fasting foods and, for those who are blessed and able to do so, also fasting from all kinds of food. Traditionally, as it happens in many Orthodox countries and traditions, people do a very strict fast, purifying themselves of all food until the Divine Liturgy on Wednesday, in a way that the Holy Body of Christ is the first nutrition that Christians will have during the Lent. Outside the Orthodox Church, it could be sometimes called "Ash Monday", by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent in Western Christianity).[2] The term is often a misnomer, as only a small subset of Eastern Catholic Churches practice the imposition of ashes. The Maronite, Chaldean and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Churches are notable amongst the Eastern rites employing the use of ashes on this day.[3]
- ^ Fr. Daniel Findinyan (March 7, 2006). "Frequently-Asked Questions about Great Lent". Welcome to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ a b Menzel, Konstantinos (2 March 2014). "Clean Monday, Everything You Need to Know". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Simon, Theresa (February 9, 2018). "Why Ash Monday and how is Lent forty days in the Maronite Church?". Living Maronite. Retrieved February 28, 2020.