Saturday was May 1st (or May Day), and while it may not mean much to Americans, here in Europe it's a surprisingly big holiday, marking International Workers' Day. Most Greeks I've talked to are surprised that it's not also celebrated in the US, since supposedly it took its inspiration from the Haymarket Affair in Chicago in 1896. But I imagine it never caught on in the US due to its popularity with the various Socialist and Communist regimes here in this part of Europe.
In any event, like many public holidays in the US, for most people it's mainly an excuse to take it easy. Here at our parish in Panorama we organized a small cook-out, with Fr. Alexis in charge of roasting a goat.
Fortunately, we had a beautiful day--sunny, with highs in the 70s, and we spent a very pleasant few hours out in the large and manicured back yard of some parishioners here in Panorama. The babies really loved crawling around in the grass and the sun.
Here's Phoebe swinging.
Here's Paul swinging with his godfather, Paris, and giving him a five.
Everyone loved watching the babies feed themselves (and make a big mess). Here, Fr. Panayiotis' wife, Presbytera Despoina, sits with Presbytera Pelagia and the babies as they eat.
The goat, just before we ate it.
Elly, who works at the church, brought her family to the picnic. Here, her daughter Despoina, was playing with Phoebe. Below, she's helping Phoebe kick the soccer ball, which the babies loved.
It soon turned into a soccer match, with Fr. Panayiotis' daughters helping the boys. The babies had a great time kicking the ball around.
Here, Benjamin and Phoebe check out the fluffy dog, which, fortunately, was very patient.
For dessert, the babies got their own Panorama trigonas.
Here's Fr. Panayiotis with Paul, as Paul tries on Pres. Despoina's sunglasses.
The babies were totally exhausted after a full day of fun.
For more photos of the day, click here.
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