Holy Week in Greece

THE HOLY WEEK " Megali Evdomada" in Greek

The procession of the Epitaph

Lamb on the spit, Greek Easter

During the Holly Week the churches hold services every day. People fast and don't eat meat, fish or dairy products until midnight on Easter Saturday.

On Holy Thursday the faithful go to church to bow before Christ on the Cross. Housewives prepare the Tsourekia (traditional Easter bread resembling brioche), the Koulourakia (cookies) and color eggs with special red dyes, a custom that symbolizes the blood of Christ and also  the rebirth of life and nature. In the evening after the reading of the 12 Gospels, girls and  women start the decoration of the "Epitaph" with garlands of flowers. The Epitaph is a wooden construction like a table and contains a piece of linen embroidered representing the dead Christ.

Holy Friday -or Good 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. The icon of Christ is taken off the cross, wrapped in linen and put  in the Epitaph. The church bells are ringing all day in a slow mournful tone, even flags are hug at half-mast . In the evening is the holy ceremony of the burial of Christ. The procession of the Epitaph takes place at 9 p.m. for all the churches. The Epitaph is carried on the shoulders of the faithful in a procession through the streets of each community. In front of the procession is the wooden cross of Christ , then follow the  altar boys carrying the lanterns and church banners , the cantors, the clergy and women bearing myrrh. Further back four  or more men carrying on their shoulders the Epitaph. People follow the procession holding their dark-colored candles. 

On Holy Saturday at the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarch enters the Holy Sepulcher alone to pray . There he receives the Holy Light in a miraculous way.  The Holy Light is transferred by plane from Jerusalem to the Athens Airport and  from there it is taken all over Greece. Meanwhile preparations start for the festive dinner of the night of the Resurrection and housewives cook the traditional maghiritsa soup, which will be eatten after the midnights service. In the evening takes place the Resurrection mess. People are gathering in  the churches  at 11 p.m. holding white candles. Children carry special candles made for Easter that are called lambades and are  given as gifts to them from their God-parents. The lambades  exist in a big variety  of colors and designs and many times they are sold together with a toy. Shortly before midnight all lights in the church are turned off , then the priest is coming out of the church holding the  candle which is  lighted  with the Holy Light . At midnight he announces the resurrection of Christ . People tell each other Christos Anesti! (Christ is risen!) and Alithos Anesti! (He is truly risen!) and exchange wishes. The church bells ring joyously  and fireworks are let off. People, carefully, take home their lighted candles . Before entering their houses they use the smoke of their candle to make a cross  on top of the door for protection .Then  they light the oil candle before their icon-stand. They gather around the table for a traditional meal which includes the mageiritsa (a soup made of the lamb's internal organs: liver, heart, lungs and intestines with an egg-lemon sauce), tsourekia (sweet bread), koulourakia (cookies). During the dinner  red eggs are cracked. Every member of the family choose an egg and try to crack the eggs of the others . At the end, only one egg remains uncracked and the owner will have good luck. It's a game  that children and adults are enjoying. The breaking of the eggs symbolizes Christ breaking the Tomb and defeating Death. 

Easter Sunday is also called "Lambri" (Brightness) because the day of the Resurrection of Christ is a day full of joy . Everyone is  getting up early  to prepare the Easter Sunday 's table. In most parts of the country lamb is prepared on the spit. On many islands lamb is stuffed with rice and herbs and baked in the oven. The lamb of the Easter Sunday is  symbolizing   the sacrifice of Jesus. There is a festive atmosphere everywhere; people eat lamb, kokoretsi, kontosouvli (pieces of meat on the spit). They drink wine or ouzo (the national aperitif) and dance until late at night.

Easter celebrations are exciting all over Greece. Many places  celebrate Easter in their own way, as apart from the above mentioned rituals they have their local customs.

On the island of Corfu  on Holy Saturday  at 9 a.m. starts the procession of Saint Spiridon's relic, who is the saint protector of the island . This procession , is in memory of the miracle St Spiridon performed to save the town from starvation. At 11 a.m. takes place the  famous "Pot Throwing" custom. Locals throw pots out of their windows, smashing them onto the streets , a metaphor for throwing away the evil! Believers and spectators come from all round the world to take part to the parades and processions of Corfu.

On the island of Patmos ,the Island where the Apocalypse of St John has been written , on Holy Thursday morning takes place the ceremony of the "Washing of the Disciples' Feet". It is a representation of Jesus washing the feet of his twelve Apostles. At the Monastery of St. John on Holy Friday takes place  the ceremony of the Descent  from the Cross  , while  the "Liturgy of Love" is held on Easter Sunday at 3 in the afternoon.

On the island of Chios  the night of the Holy Saturday after the mess starts the famous  rocket war  at the village Vrontados  between  two rival parishes. Thousands of home-made rockets  are thrown and offer a magnificent spectacle. This custom  dates back to the age of the Turkish occupation (15th-19th centuries)

On the island of Crete on Good Friday night the Epitaph processions from four different churches meet at the central square of Heraklion. The Resurrection is quite spectacular at Hersonissos, where big fires are lighted on the beach. At the port of Agios Nikolaos, at midnight hundreds of fireworks explode in the sky and Juda's effigy is burned. 

On the island of Kythnos, on the evening of Holy Saturday, those who have relatives that have recently died, are bringing roast meat, wine and bread to the church to be blessed by the priest and then  they  distribute them. On Easter Sunday the traditional custom of Kounies (swing) takes place. Boys and girls wearing traditional costumes take a swing in the town's main square .

On the island of Mykonos women whitewash the houses and bake "lazarakia" (doll-shaped cookies). On Easter Sunday locals burn Juda's effigy while series of spits are set in order to roast the lamb.

On the island of Paros, during the procession of the Epitaph there ar children dressed as Roman soldiers or disciples of Christ and react scenes from the entry into Jerusalem, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. 

On the island of Santorini locals go around making sound by hitting metallic items in order to cast away the evil.

On the island of Sifnos, on Holy Thursday, the housewives bake the traditional "Easter birds" (sweet bread in the shape of birds). On Easter Sunday at the central square of Apollonia, takes place the burning of Juda's effigy. 

On the island of Syros the communities of Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Easter together. The end destination of all Epitaphs is the central square. On Holy Saturday morning in the orthodox church of Resurrection faithful hit the pews of the church with all their strength.

On the island of Tinos, all the churches in Chora, assemble the Epitaphs at the harbor. The Epitaph of the church of Saint Nikolaos goes into the sea.  On Easter Monday revives the traditional custom "Table of Love", a celebration with traditional food.

At Leonidio in Peloponnese the night of the Resurrection the sky is filled with hot-air balloons released by the faithful of each parish. This spectacular custom of the balloons  is more than one century old.

At Kalamata the famous Saitopolemos takes place on Easter. Men wearing traditional costumes carry the Saitas (a type of handmade firework) and detonate them while they are in their hands. This  custom dates back to the revolution fights of 1821, when the people of Kalamata used the Saitas (that make a lot of noise) to scare the horses of the Turks and win the battle this way.

At the mountain village of Arachova  the icon of the local protector, St. Georges, is  carried the second day after Easter Sunday throughout the village and a three day fest is  organized to honor the saint. Locals  dance  wearing traditional costumes and  participate in an uphill race. The winning prize is a living lamb.

In Thrace and Macedonia young women in traditional clothes, called the" Lazarins", go around the villages singing traditional Easter songs.