37In Metsovo, on the ninth, the twentieth, and the fortieth day of a death, family and friends gathered at the deceased’s home to share their grief and celebrate life. Grieving was an organized ritual which took place at designated times, allowing the bereaved to release the sorrow which had been building since the death, each memorial being further from the last, until the shock and loss was absorbed into the normal passing of life.
Because they were in America, Zoitsa invoked Papa Yiorgos’ argument that one had to respect the ways of one’s host country, and the old ways of mourning need not be observed. In no mood for a confrontation and mindful of her obligations towards Nick’s business, Maria Christina reluctantly agreed and only kept a candle lit on her dresser, in front of her icons
