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At
least 95 percent of all Greeks claim membership in the Greek
Orthodox church, part of the Eastern Orthodox church.
Until 1054, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches
were one body. Theological, political, and cultural differences
split the church in two, and those differences were never
completely reconciled. Despite the power religion holds over
everyday life, most younger Greeks are not devout churchgoers.
Aside from the special Easter celebrations,
services are attended mainly by old women and young children.
And the Greeks often defy their church's teachings by clinging
to beautiful old symbols, rituals and customs of pagan origine.
Many Easter traditions originated long before
the beginning of the Christian era.
Religious customs are alive and Christmas,
Easter and the Assumption of The Virgin (15th August) are
considered to be the greatest of religious feasts, of which
Easter by far is the most important. To members of the Eastern
Orthodox Church Christmas ranks second to
Easter in the roster of important holidays.
The Greek Orthodox Church does not always celebrate Easter
on the same date as the Catholic and Protestant countries.
The reason is that the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar
when calculating Easter. This is case even in the churches
that otherwise use the Gregorian calendar. When the Greek
Orthodox Church in 1923 decided to change to the Gregorian
calendar (or rather: a Revised Julian Calendar), they chose
to use the astronomical full moon as seen along the meridian
of Jerusalem as the basis for calculating Easter, rather than
to use the "official" full moon.
For a method of calculating Greek Easter yourself, click here!
(very intrigueing puzzle!)Upcoming
Greek Orthodox
Easter Sunday Dates: (*= same) |
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Many
Easter traditions originated long before
the beginning of the Christian era. Like Christmas, which
is related to pre-Christian winter festivals, Easter is connected
in many ways with pagan rituals that accompanied the arrival
of spring. It is possible that the name "Easter"
stemmed from that of Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of springtime.
Easter is also associated with the Jewish festival of Passover,
or Pesach. The term "paschal", meaning "of
Easter", is derived from the name of the Jewish festival,
as are the names of Easter in some foreign languages. In Greek,
Easter is called Pascha, meaning
passover: It is the eternal Passover from death to life and
from earth to heaven. |
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One
of the most common Christian symbols, especially associated
with Easter, is the lamb. It is often depicted
with a banner that bears a cross, and it is known as the Agnus
Dei, meaning "Lamb of God" in Latin.
The origin of the symbol is related directly to the Jewish
Passover. In ancient times the Jews sacrificed a lamb in the
course of the festival. The early Christians, most of whom
were Hebrews, associated the sacrifice of the lamb with Christ's
sacrifice on the cross. They connected the joyous Passover
festival, which commemmorates the liberation of the Hebrews
from their years of bondage in Egypt, with the liberation
from death represented by the Resurrection.
The popularity of lamb as an Easter food
is undoubtedly related to its importance as a symbol. During
the middle ages roast lamb became the traditional main course
of the Pope's Easter dinner, and it is still customarily served
on Easter Sunday in many European countries.
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The
Easter Egg is associated with beliefs of
particularly ancient origin. The egg was an important symbol
in the mythologies of many early civilizations, including
those of India and Egypt. It was commonly believed that the
universe developed from a great egg and that the halves of
its shell corresponded to Heaven and earth. The egg was also
connected with the springtime fertility rituals of many pre-Christian
and Indo-European peoples, like the old Cretans, and both
the Egyptians and the Persians made a practice of coloring
eggs in the spring.
Greeks mainly color eggs red (scarlet) to
signify the blood of Christ. They use hard-boiled eggs (painted
red on Holy Thursday) which are baked into twisted sweet-bread
loaves or distributed on Easter Sunday; people rap
their eggs against their friends' eggs and the owner of the
last uncracked egg is considered lucky.
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In
Christianity, the egg is a symbol of Resurrection, representing
the emergence of Christ from His tomb to everlasting life.
Over the centuries the symbolic associations of the egg have
been more or less forgotten, and modern Easter eggs are valued
primarily for their colorful appearance. Eggs of chocolate
or other kinds of candy are favorites of the season.
At this time Greeks also eat a lot of koulouria and flaounes
(Easter cakes).
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Greek
Easter wishes |
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The
solemnity of Holy Week, the week before Easter,
in the Greek Orthodox Church ends with the commencement of
Easter celebrations, where it glorifies the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ. In Greek religion, every Sunday is dedicated
to the Resurrection of the Lord, but one hundred days also
are dedicated to Easter, 50 before its actual preparation,
and another 50 after it in commemorating the glorification
of the Lord. Easter is therefore considered, the "Feast
of Feasts".
The 50 days before Easter, known as a part of the period of
Triodion, are the period for strengthening
faith in the Lord, and starts with Clean Monday
(Kathara Deftera), the first day of Megali Sarakosti, the
season of Great Lent, the seventh Monday before Easter. For
the Greek Orthodox Church it marks the beginning of the great
fast.
The 50 days which follow Easter are signified by the Pentecostarion,
which are dedicated to the spiritual enjoyment of the participants
in the deep belief that God is with all men in everyday life
and thoughts.
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Easter
begins on the Saturday of Lazarus (the Saturday before Palm
Sunday, 1 week before Easter Sunday) with children going from
door to door singing the hymn of "Lazaros" and collecting
money and eggs.
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On
the morning of Palm Sunday people gather in church and are
given a cross made from palm fronds, which they put on their
icon-stands at home and keep it for the whole of the coming
year. |
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evening throughout Holy Week, people gather in church to follow
with devoutness the Passion of Christ. |
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On
Holy Tuesday, housewives make sweet rolls,
the koulourakia, and the following day they do the housework,
while in the evening they follow the blessing of Holy Oil
that takes place in church. |
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Holy
Thursday is the day for dyeing eggs. In the evening,
after the reading of the 12 Gospel, the girls undertake the
decoration of the bier of Christ (epitaphios) with garlands
of white and purple flowers, so that in the morning of Good
Friday it is ready to receive the image of the body of Christ
when He is taken down from the cross. |
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Good
Friday is a day of mourning. The drama of the death
of Christ is followed with great devoutness. Sweet things
are not eaten-for the love of Christ, who was given vinegar
to drink. Soup made with sesame-paste, lettuce or lentils
with vinegar is the food eaten on this day. It is considered
a great sin to work with a hammer or nails or sew on Good
Friday. |
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| Vesper
evening on Good Friday is followed by the procession of the
bier (representing Christ's funeral). A band or choir playing
or singing solemn music precedes the procession; they are
followed by the cantors, the clergy, women bearing myrrh,
the altar boys carrying the liturgical fans, scouts and guides,
and the people of the region, who sing the hymns throughout
the procession. All along its route, people scatter flowers
and perfumes on the epitaphios (bier), holding lighted candles
in their hands. |
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On
Holy Saturday evening, the Resurrection mass
(Anastasi =resurrection, the Resurrection of Jesus) takes
place. At midnight the ceremony of lighting of candles is
the most significant moment of the year. People, carefully,
take home their lighted candles with the holy light of the
Resurrection. Before entering their houses they make a cross
with the smoke of the candle on top of the door, they light
the oil candle before their icon-stand, and try to keep this
light burning throughout the year. |
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Midnight service is without a doubt the most
important day on the calendar. At midnight all the lights
are extinguished in the church and the priest comes from behind
the doors on the altar carrying a candle. He walks to someone
in the front row and lights their candle and these people
who receive the light of the resurrection, the light is a
symbol of the resurrection, pass the light from candle to
candle and the light fills the church. Everybody leaves the
church just before midnight, singing a song the words of which
mean, Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Through death
conquering death. At midnight at the moment of the resurrection
all the families have gone to church together, all standing
sort of huddled in these little insular units and everybody
kisses everybody and say, 'Christos anesti, Christos anesti,
Christ has risen, indeed He has risen. And it's a very touching
moment. In the moment of conquering death, it has a certain
meaning to kiss your grandparents at that point, who you know
you'll be burying soon. And to be kissing the children who
are coming up, who will be replacing you in the next generation.
And there's a feeling of the weight of centuries. People have
been saying these prayers unchanged for hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of years.
In Crete it's a custom to carry this candle back home, taking
care the flame is not extinguished. At the house 3 crosses
are made with the flame above the entrance door: the black
soot 'paints' the crosses, in order to bless the house and
its inhabitants by the light of Christ's resurrection.
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| FLAOUNES
(Easter Cheese Cakes) |
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| Makes
about 12. |
| Ingredients |
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Yeast
dough |
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1
½ lbs (750gr) strong plain flour |
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1 sachet
easy bake yeast |
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1 teaspoon
salt |
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2 teaspoons
sugar |
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2 tablespoons
olive or vegetable oil, water to mix |
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Cheese
filling |
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8oz
(250gr) cheddar cheese ot 12oz flaouna cheese if available |
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4oz (100gr)
halloumi |
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1 tablespoon
flour |
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1 teaspoon
baking powder |
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1 tablespoon
crushed dried Mint |
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4 eggs,
lightly beaten |
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To
finish |
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1
egg, beaten |
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sesame
seeds |
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| Method |
1.
Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast,
salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make
a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes until smooth
and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave
in a warm place for an hour to rise. |
2.
For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the
flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten
egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste (
keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes
too runny). |
3.
Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these
into 4'' (10cm) discs. |
4.
Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre
of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough
up at 3 points to make a triangle, or 4 points to make
a square. You should stilll be able to see the filling
in the middle. |
5.
Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just
before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some
sesame seeds over the finished flaounes. |
6.
Bake in a hot oven gas 8, 450'C, 230'C for 12-15 minutes
until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden. |
7.
Serve warm or cold. |
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