Greek Easter – Letters from Athens

Happy Easter everyone!

This year, everyone celebrates Easter together.

Due to complicated calculations concerning the Vernal Equinox, the split between the Roman and Byzantine Empires and their different calendars and the division of the Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic (look it up, people, I can’t be bothered to explain further) usually there are two Easters, one for each church. Sometimes, though, they coincide—and this year they do (the last time was in 2017).

Therefore I am in the happy position to wish you all a Happy Easter, wether you smash red eggs or wait for the Easter Bunny. Enjoy your lamb on the spit, your Hot Cross buns, your Easter Bonnet Parade (is that still a thing?), your egg hunts and your indigestion. Or anything else in your local or family traditions.

Happy Easter, Greek friends!

Καλό Πάσχα🐣

I’m sure by the time this is published, everyone will be groaning under a surfeit of lamb, mageiritsa, manouri, red eggs, and wine. And tsoureki.

If any new readers are interested in Greek Easter customs, I have written about them in earlier posts, which you can find here : https://athensletters.com/?s=Easter

And here: https://athensletters.com/2016/05/01/celebrating-greek-easter/

A lovely Greek Easter

Greeks love Easter—even the agnostics and atheists. The rites surrounding it are lovely, at a time of the year when nature is at its best.

The culmination of a week of special church services is the mass celebrating the resurrection, at midnight on the saturday. Unfortunately, at most churches celebrations are riotous, with fireworks and crackers going off even during the service—and cars going past sounding their horns.

Thus we were delighted to discover a completely different atmosphere at a nearby church where we’d never been before. Families and friends had gathered and small children ran about despite the late hour. Everyone sang together.

The holy light passes from one candle to another, and each family carries one lit candle home, to bless their house.

And of course, Easter involves lots of food: lamb cooked in a variety of ways, red eggs to be cracked against each other, a special sweet bread called tsoureki. (I had wriiten about Easter customs in a previous post:

https://athensletters.com/2016/05/01/celebrating-greek-easter/.)

To all Greek friends, Χριστός Ανέστη.

Easter Lilac

Πασχαλιά (Paschalia) is the Greek name for lilac: the Paschal flower. It always blooms for Easter.

For Greeks, Easter is a more important holiday than Christmas: a time for fasting and feasting. A celebration of spring. Even people who are not religious will go to church at least on Good Friday and then Saturday night for the Resurrection, in order to join in the festivities. Sunday is spent with family and friends, preferably in the countryside, which is covered in wild flowers, with the aroma of roasting lamb wafting about in the breeze.

For those who have not been following this blog for long, last year I wrote a post on Greek Easter traditions which you can read here.

The date upon which Easter falls is calculated according to the moon and the vernal equinox and Greek Easter this year coincides with the other Christian churches – it doesn’t always, since the calculations are based on different calendars (Julian versus Gregorian). So, for all those who celebrate this holiday, whatever their customs and traditions, I wish you a very joyful and happy time!

I couldn’t resist making a quick sketch of the lilac bush in our garden.