Students from the 1st Vocational school of Ierapetra write about the history of Lagana for the eTwinning project "Bread as tradition".

2. Lagana is the lenten flat bread that is
traditionally eaten on Clean
Monday,which is the first day of the 40-
day Greek Orthodox Lent . Lagana is
never cut with a knife but rather broken
apart , because iron was believed to
contain the power of evil . It is thought
that the word might be the precursor to
the flat , wide pasta shape , lasagna.

3. The history of Lagana runs throughout our food tradition from
ancient times till today . Aristophanes
in “ Ecckesiazuase ” says:
“Lagana Petta “ i.e. “Laganas are made “ and Horace in his
documents mentions the lagana as “The dessert of the
poor”. Also it was used by Israelites during the night of the
Great Exodus
from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.

4. A typical example of Lagana is the one in the
shape of a lady called “ Mrs Lent “ .It
represents a tall woman without a mouth as
she doesn’t eat.

5. The custom of Lagana remains unchanged
over the centuries and is prepared and
consumed on Clean Monday.

6. Nandia Kritikaki
Marios Verikokakis
Katia Giannakidi
Thothoris Grammatikakis
Esmeralda Pjetri
Giannis Paterakis