How to Celebrate Greek Easter

By eHow Holidays & Celebrations Editor

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Keep in mind that the date of Greek or Orthodox Easter is still calculated on the Julian calendar, which is some 13 days behind the more modern Gregorian calendar. Greek Orthodox Easter should fall on the Sunday that follows the first full moon after the spring or vernal equinox.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

  • Ouzo
  • Leg Of Lamb
  • Traditional Greek Music

Step1
Find a Greek, Eastern or Orthodox Christian church near you and attend services during Holy Week. Holy Week is the week immediately preceding Easter Sunday, during which special ceremonies are performed to symbolize Christ's journey to the cross, his death and his ultimate resurrection.
Step2
Invite your friends and family to join your Greek Easter celebration and start planning your menu accordingly. Traditionally, lamb is the main dish, eaten to symbolize the Biblical sacrificial lamb.
Step3
Serve appropriate accoutrements. Common side dishes may include Greek salad with feta cheese, roasted peppers and tomatoes with feta cheese, Greek Easter egg bread, margeiritsa soup, and wine, to name a few.
Step4
Toast the gathering as you sit down at the dinner table. Ouzo, a Greek liqueur, usually accompanies this toast, but many people may find Champagne more to their liking.
Step5
Pass a loaf of bread - Easter egg bread, if you prefer - from which everyone pulls off a piece for dinner. This symbolizes the original breaking of the bread that Jesus shared with his disciples.
Step6
Give everyone a colored Easter egg after dinner. Have your guests tap their neighbors' eggs until everyone's egg is cracked; the person whose egg cracks last is said to be destined to receive good fortune for the coming year.
Step7
Play Greek music and teach your relatives and friends a traditional Greek dance such as Tsamikos.
Step8
Pray together. Giving thanks to God is an important part of any Greek Easter celebration.
Step9
Have a good time and "Kalo Pascha!"

Tips & Warnings

  • Take some time to learn the meanings and traditions behind the ceremonies surrounding Greek Orthodox Easter, celebrated on April 30, 2000. This may help to add some new life to your family's celebration.
  • Greet your guests at the door with the words, "Christ is risen."
  • Repeat "Christ is risen" as you tap your neighbor's eggs, and your neighbor may respond with, "Indeed, he is risen." The cracking of the egg is intended to symbolize Christ breaking out of his tomb after he rises from the dead.
  • Like any holiday, celebrations differ among cultures, and even different households have their own traditions and rituals.

Comments

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on 4/19/2008 One of the most important factors in calculating Greek ORthodox Easter is the Jewish Passover. We are always mindful of the fact that Christ was a Jew celebrating Passover when he ventured into Jerusalem, and was apprehended by Roman Jewish authorities and put to death...Our Holy Week observanced honor these historic facts and events. Therefore, we never celebrate Pascha before Passover.

gvasil said

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on 3/31/2008 I think that it might be more appropriate for the headline to read, How to Celebrate Orthodox Pascha/ Easter than just Greek Easter. Greeks or descendants of Greeks make up just 7.5% of the Orthodox Christians around the world.

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eHow Article:  How to Celebrate Greek Easter

eHow Holidays & Celebrations Editor

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