HAPPY EASTER

Holy light

HAPPY EASTER

Νάσου Μαρία Γ5

Easter, also called Pascha is a Christian celebration and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent a 40-day period of fasting and prayer. Pascha is one of the most important and unique Christian events. For this reason there are lots of customs and traditions about it.

                1. Dyeing the Red Easter eggs on Holy Thursday

In Greece, Easter eggs are not chocolate eggs. They are real chicken eggs, but not the usual ones – they are first hard boiled, and then dyed red.

eggs

Traditionally, people used to dye the eggs on Holy Thursday, using a colorant produced from onion peel. This gave the eggs a deep red colour, which is symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ.

 Nowadays, we normally buy special red dye to paint the eggs. Ready-made red eggs are also available at supermarkets and

street markets. Some people paint the eggs in different colours, or decorate them using stickers.

On Easter Sunday, people play a traditional game of cracking the red eggs.

                              2. Baking Easter sweets – Tsoureki

On Holy Thursday, Christians traditionally prepare lots of types of Easter sweets. One of these is ΄tsoureki΄

The ΄tsoureki΄ is a type of traditional sweet bread, with a fluffy, chewy texture. It contains flour, butter, eggs, sugar, milk and spices. Making a tsoureki is an important Easter tradition in Greece.

Tsoureki

                               3. The Resurrection on Easter Saturday

On Holy Saturday, there are various church services during the day. Late in the evening, people gather outside the church in expectation of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we call Anastasi in Greek.

The Holy Light, which signifies the Resurrection, arrives from Jerusalem. Exactly at midnight, the flame quickly spreads among the crowd as everyone in the congregation lights their candle.

Holy light

This is a solemn event, but it is now one of joy, and is accompanied by loud chiming bells and plenty of fireworks and firecrackers.

Then everyone returns home, holding their lit candles. It is customary to make a cross out of candle smoke on the ceiling, just above the entrance door.

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