Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year in Greece.
The date of the Greek Orthodox Easter is based on a modified Julian calendar and the festivities do not usually occur at the same time as other Christian Easter celebrations.
This year we celebrated Easter on the 27th of April.
The actual Easter festival begins on Good Friday and people go to the church to see how the priests take down the icon of Christ off the cross, wrap it in linen and put it in a great casket covered in flowers symbolizing the tomb of Christ.
I never really cared much about the church ceremonies leading up to Easter, with the exception of the candle lighting ceremony that begins at 11pm on Saturday night when pretty much the entire country is in church. The lights are turned off at midnight and the priest announces that Christ has arisen from the dead as candles are lit from his and then from each other. The dark night is filled with light from the candles and the church bells ring in celebration, fireworks go off, ships sound their sirens. To me there is something beautiful and magical about this. Since I was a child, it seemed to create sacred space and awaken something ancient in me.
After that we begin the journey back home, each person holding the lit candle after the service is over.
On Easter Sunday friends and family gather in homes, and we are eating lamb roasted on the spit and dyed eggs. Before the red eggs are eaten, however, we crack them and whoever wins by having a whole egg at the end, will get all the luck.
Now let me share with you some of the photos I have taken:
I haven't tried before to upload multiple images in an article and I may make a mess out of it. Next time it may be better!
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Comments: 33
I think your grouping of the images has worked out just fine - clustered together just like the eggs and the people holding the lit candles.
I'm featuring this in the Chat & Connections Garden Cafe.
The practice of dyeing eggs red in Greece is a centuries-old tradition as well, with family members and friends attempting to "crack" the other's egg with their egg, beginning usually, at the traditional Easter Sunday dinner table.
From ancient times, the egg has been a symbol of the renewal of life, and the message of the red eggs is victory over death.
The symbolical and church significance of the egg has its roots in the greatest antiquity. Long before Christianity, all the cultured nations of antiquity held the egg to be the symbol of life in all their beliefs and customs. According to heathen cosmogonies, the original world's chaos was contained in an egg, which broke into two halves, the one forming the sky and the other the earth.
I wish one day all the friends I have in Gather to come and celebrate with us this wonderful tradition which for many may seem strange, but I assure you that it ios mostly colorful and at least this is a day when all are in the spirit of love and light!
thank you for featuring the article. You must teach me how to publish articles together with photos the way you do it.
This was just a delightful article. I'm glad you went on to explain in your comments about the significance of the "egg". Wonderful info...I do so hope one day we will all be together to celebrate your Easter. I would love to carry candles through the streets of Athens.
Happy Easter, my friend.
Thank you dear friend
Why to be careful about so many things? this is a question running in my mind lately.
love ya
You never know! and maybe sooner than one may expect we may all meet here in Athens and have the greatest time ever!
That would be gorgeous
hugs
love and hugs dear friend
Thank you for telling us of the significance behind the red eggs and I so loved the ceremony and ritual on the Saturday night before Easter morning. I wish we had that!!
thank you for being a healer, my spiritual guide, and a friend. I missed you dearly~
Thank you
I do not remember if I have asked you or not: Have you ever been to Greece? would you like to come?
In stars, in light
In rain and wind
In love and joy
Souls get together
to tell the story
of never ending space
Alpha and Omega
no destination
only the journey!
Your soul would have made Byron write more poems...
Yes, I love you and you are so dear to me my friend
I cannot imagine what you are going through at times, but I can understand how you are re-born out of the ashes!
namaste my friend
I have shared Orthodox easters in Cyprus, Corfu and Santorini. I love it!
It was wonderful to share an Easter with you.
I know that I'm a bit late but the Easter traditions never really change, do they.
First of all I found that your photo arrangement was beautifully done. Bravo.
For me, Easter is the most important part of the Christian calendar. It's the time when Christ revealed to us the true power of the forgiveness of sins.
I was touched by tour coloured eggs story. We do the same in our family. Bless you.
How come you do the same in your family? are you an orthodox? not that it matters because as all of you know, I am not a church goer and not a fanatic about religion. But this is one of the celebration that I really like.
thank you my friend for coming here and what doeas " LATE" mean? nothing in fact.
light , love and hugs
Painted eggs? Ah. if you only knew how many Greeks there were in SA at one stage.
We had a thriving Hellenic community and cultural habits spread between all such communities. We were large enough to be home to many nations but small enough to prevent these communities from living isolated lives.
So, Marinela, if you want to hear bouzouki music and break some plates, come with me this Saturday night. *big smile* Love and hugs and light on your path.
OK, I will board the 1st plane and be there in time for the bouzouki, flowers and plates. I know you love our music, so thank you so kind for a lovely invitation my dear one.
But I'm kind of like Fred ... religious ritual isn't my thing. It if the personal relationship of God through Christ that is my joy. But what a fun day to have with him.
Thank you for visiting my site. I just had to come back and see who you were :) I'm so glad I did.
Thank you
I joined gather in December 2008. I did not know it existed.
rading comments of my gather friends i realized that it will take me time to read all beautiful texts and see photos. For the time being I cannot see videos.
so Marinela please do not be angry with me for commenting so late.thank you