Endurance Essential for Greek Easter traditions

Editor’s Foreword:

The author describes what ACTUALLY happens in Greek Orthodox Holy Week, not the formal “book” requirements. If any “pure” konvertsy want to sneer at this, take it up with your friendly neighbourhood iaia and papou… I think I know who’s gonna win. I’ll confide that I’m betting the paycheque on the iaias… they ALWAYS win (besides, they get surreptitious help from the Russki babas on the side)!

BMD

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Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,

θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,

καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι

ζωὴν χαρισάμενος.

Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling on death by death,

And upon those in the tombs

Bestowing life!

******

Many Greeks believe that if you haven’t celebrated Easter with them, then, you can’t really claim to know Greece. Easter is a special time when people spend the holidays with their families. Athens is unusually quiet at this time, as many have returned home, as religious ceremonies take place throughout the country in the run-up to Easter Sunday itself. This year Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter on the same day… 24 April… an unusual event as Orthodox Christians continue to follow the Julian Calendar, which celebrates spring 13 days later than the Gregorian Calendar followed in Western Europe. Usually, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later in the year, but not this year, because, on both calendars, 24 April is the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or after the day of spring.

I’d warn Easter season visitors to Greece or Cyprus that their trip is likely to turn into an endurance test. Liturgies, which can go on for hours, are celebrated in every church all week. The objective is to relive the last days of Jesus Christ from his arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday until his crucifixion on Good Friday. The longest service takes place on Holy Thursday, when the service goes on for nearly four hours. During the service, they extinguish all the lights whilst the clergy carry a cross through the congregation in total silence. A procession through the community follows on Good Friday, when the people carry the epitaphios (a symbolic representation of the tomb of Jesus) through the streets. One of the most beautiful processions is on the island of Syros in the Cyclades, where approximately half the population is Catholic. Separate processions from the Orthodox and Catholic communities in the island’s capital of Ermoupolis meet at the harbour, where all Christians remember the death of Jesus together.

Easter is probably the busiest time for traffic on Greece’s motorways as thousands of people make their way home to spend the holidays with their families. Fasting also becomes stricter in the days before Easter. Extremely religious people fast for 40 days before Easter, but the majority of Greeks restrict their fasting to Holy Week itself. They eat no meat on the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of Holy Week, whilst Greeks also stop consuming oil on Maundy Thursday. Most people forego all pleasures on Good Friday, including sex. Redemption comes on Saturday at midnight when the priests announce, Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! (Christós Anésti! Alithós Anésti! : Christ is risen! He is truly risen!). The moment is marked by fireworks and the general atmosphere is akin to New Year celebrations elsewhere. On some islands such as Kalymnos, people set off dynamite, which one can hear through wide areas of the Aegean. Revellers wash down spit-roasted lamb with plenty of red wine, although other dishes wouldn’t be to everybody’s taste. One specialty is Kokoretsi, made from lamb innards and stomach, whilst another standby is Mageiritsa, a soup consisting of innards and eggs. Strangers are welcomed heartily as the traditional Greek view is that no-one should be alone on this day.

11 April 2011

Takis Tsafos

China Post

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2011/04/11/298161/Endurance-essential.htm