Easter Customs

These are customs related to the religious holiday of Easter which is the biggest celebration of the Orthodox Christians and the richest one in folklore. The word “Pascha”, Easter in Greek, stems from the Jewish “Pasah” which means “Passover”. Jewish people celebrated “Pasah” to commemorate their liberation from the Egyptians and the passage of the Red sea, while Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ the Saviour and the passage from death to life. The corresponding Greek word for “Pascha” is “Lambri” (Brightness) because the day of the resurrection of Christ is a day full of joy and exhilaration.
Easter is a moveable holiday. Its celebration falls on the first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox. All over the country a plethora of customs and traditions are observed during the Holy week prior to Easter.
The preparations for the celebration of the Resurrection start on Holy Thursday. On that day housewives traditionally prepare tsourekia (sweet buns resembling brioche) and colour eggs with special red dyes. Ever since antiquity the egg symbolises the renewal of life and the red colour symbolises the blood of Christ. In the past, people used to place the first red egg on the icon stand of the house in order to cast out evil spirits. In some villages they used to mark the head and the back of small lambs with the red dye used for the dyeing of the eggs. They also used to keep one of the big round Holy Thursday loaves at the icon stand in order to protect the members of the family from spells.
Friday is the most sacred day of the Holy Week, the day of the culmination of the passion of Christ with the deposition from the cross and Christ’s burial. Because it is a day of mourning, housewives do not do any house chores, avoiding even cooking. Women and children go to church to decorate the Epitaph (Bier of Christ) with flowers they collect or buy. In the morning of Good Friday, Christ’s Burial is reenacted in church and in the evening the Epitaph procession takes place.
On Easter Saturday morning, preparations start for the festive dinner of the night of the Resurrection and housewives cook “maghiritsa” (a tripe and herbs soup). Shortly before midnight, people gather in church holding white candles which they light with the “Holy Light” distributed by the priest. When the latter chants “Christ is risen” (Christos Anesti), people exchange wishes and the so-called “Kiss of Love”. With the “Holy Light” of the candles they thrice make the sign of the cross on the door post over the front door of their houses for good luck. Then they allgather around the festively laid table, they crack red eggs and feast on the traditional “magiritsa”.
On Easter Sunday morning, in many parts of the country lamb is prepared on the spit. In other regions, the meat for the Easter table - lamb or kid - is roasted in the oven. There is a festive atmosphere everywhere and people eat and dance usually until late into the night.
All over Greece Holy Week and Easter are celebrated in great splendour and devoutness. The table below lists some of the places where one can enjoy Easter festivities.

PATMOS

Patmos is known as the island on which St. John wrote the Revelation, and as it has the privilege of the faithful and uninterrupted observance of all the traditions, thanks to the presence of the Monastery of St. John the Divine, it attracts many visitors. At the centre of the ceremonies and services is the "Washing of the Disciples' Feet". Each year, with its decorations of palm branches and a rich variety of spring flowers, it has a powerful visual and emotional effect on all who attend.
On Holy Thursday, a platform is set up in the square of the main town (Chora), which is always crowded for the occasion. During the ceremony, which lasts about an hour and a half, the Bishop, who "plays the part" of Christ, washes the feet of twelve monks -the Disciples- in imitation of the action of Christ before His Crucifixion.
On Easter Sunday at 3 p.m., at the Patmos Monastery, the "Second Resurrection" takes place, at which the Gospel of the Resurrection is read in seven languages, and red eggs are distributed by the Abbot to the faithful.
The Easter ceremonies, which convey with bold brushstrokes the splendour of Easter on Patmos, end on Easter Tuesday with a procession of the Monastery's icons in Chora.
MUNICIPALITY : tel.: 22470 31235.

SYROS

Syros has its own special way of celebrating Easter. The two religious communities, the Orthodox and the Catholic, celebrate together in a spirit of love, devoutness and mutual respect.
The ceremonies begin simultaneously at the Catholic Cathedral of Saint George in Upper Syros (Ano Syra) as well as at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration, each with its own magnificence and splendour.
MUNICIPALITY : tel.: 22810 82400