Tsiknopempti, literally Smelly Thursday, or even Charred, Smoky, or Barbeque Thursday “because of the smell of the grilled meat in the air”, is part of the traditional Carnival  celebrations in the run-up to Lent in Greece and Cyprus.

The name Tsiknopempti (Τσικνοπέμπτη) comes from the Greek words Tsikna (τσίκνα), which is the smell of roasting meat, and  Pempti (Πέμπτη ), which means Thursday.

Tsiknopempti is the second to last Thursday before Lent and on this day, large amounts of meat are traditionally consumed prior to the arrival of Lent, the fasting season leading up to Easter.

In the Greek Orthodox tradition, fasting on Wednesday and Friday is important, therefore Thursday is the best day for Tsiknopempti. Tsiknopempti is celebrated 11 days before Green Monday (or Ash Monday), the first day of the Great Lent and therefore a public holiday in Cyprus. This year it will be on March 2.