The “Forty Martyrs of Sebaste” were Roman soldiers quartered in Armenia in 320 CE; they are greatly revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In Greece, special foods are prepared, such as cake with 40 layers of pastry and stew with 40 herbs. In Romania, little cakes called sfintisori (“little mints”) are baked and given to and received from every passerby. Coliva is also traditional. Farm tools are readied for work, and hearth ashes are spread around the cottage to keep the serpent from entering. (Each home is said to have a serpent protecting it). Discuss