Carnival celebrated across Greece

Sunday, the last day before Lent, according to the Christian Orthodox calendar, saw the culmination of Carnival celebrations across Greece.

Helped by the sunny weather, many thousands took part in the processions and other celebrations of Carnival.

The best known event, in Patras, Greece's third largest city, attracted some 40,000 revelers. The carnival procession included a Chinese troupe, "Flying Dragons and Dancing Lions - Team of Cuigezhuang Township".

If Patras represents the modern version of the Greek Carnival, internationalized and more than a bit garish, other cities stage celebrations based on old traditions, as in Naoussa, home of the "Genitsaroi and Boules" ("Soldiers and Brides") procession with references to ancient coming-of-age rites _ for males only, of course _ and to the resistance to the Turkish occupation.

"Boules," the brides, are...