Clean Monday
Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named "lagana" () and the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Orthodox Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted in European denominations. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe etc.). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, a notion which was used symbolically in Ivan Bunin's critically acclaimed story, "Pure Monday".
Israeli paradox
Israeli Jews eat a diet which is richer in linoleic acid (the most readily available plant-based form of omega-6 fatty acid, found in many vegetable oils) than any other population on the planet. Average per capita consumption is approximately 30 grams a day (11 kilograms annually), compared to 25 grams daily for the average American in 1985.