?Easter in Greece is the biggest holiday of the year for members of the Greek Orthodox Church. The holiday is called “Pascha” which means Passover and it is a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. It is marked with a Holy Week of traditions known as “Megali Evdomada”. The date of the Greek Orthodox Easter is determined on the basis of the Julian calendar, and typically occurs a week later than the Western(Protestant, Catholic) Easter which uses the Gregorian calendar.
Throughout the Holy Week, churches hold services at least once a day and members observe a strict fast.
Customs vary by location, but often there are picnics, carnivals and kite flying competitions during the week. Women prepare specialty breads for the Easter feast and eggs are dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ.
The most sacred day of week is Friday, a day of mourning as the church holds a service for Christ’s funeral. At dusk, the priest leads a somber parade of parishioners through the village streets.
On Saturday, men slaughter lambs and women bake cheese pies or kalitsounia in preparation for the Sunday feast. The "Anastasi” or Resurrection takes place at midnight. Parishioners gather in church an hour before with unlit candles. During the service, the Priest passes the Holy Flame throughout the congregation and all light a candle and say “Christos anesti, Christ is risen”. Lit candles are taken home and the black from their flame is used to make the sign of a cross on the door of the parishioner’s residence. The weeklong fast is then broken with a traditional meat soup known as Mageritsa. This significant religious ritual is followed with fireworks and bonfires throughout the villages.
After a Sunday church service, families and friends gather to enjoy a traditional meal of roast lamb which is often cooked outside on a spit. Following weeks of spiritual preparation, Greek Orthodox Easter is a festive day of rejoicing with food, wine, music and dancing.
