The Easter Festivities in Crete
Easter is surely and by far the most important festival of the Greek year and is celebrated with many local customs and traditions, and is perhaps once of the greatest times of the year to be in Crete!
Greek Orthodox Easter usually falls one to five weeks after the western (Protestant, Catholic) Easter, while approximately once every four years it falls on the same date. It is an excellent time to be in Crete, both for the beautiful and moving religious ceremonies and for the days of feasting and celebrating which follow.
Clean Monday Apokries (Kathara Deftera) is a bank holiday and marks the start of Lent and 40 days of fasting. Easter fasting excludes meat, fish (but not seafood), eggs, oil, and dairy products from the diet. The week leading up to Easter is known as Holy Week (Megali Evdomada) and church services are held throughout Holy Week.
The women color eggs red (symbolizing the blood of Christ) and bake Easter biscuits tsourekakia and kalitsounia (cheese pies), to be eaten after Easter Saturday when the fast ends.
The first great ceremony takes place on Good Friday. This is a day of mourning and churches usually ring out the death toll throughout the morning - a steady toll of one ring of the bell. At dusk the "Epitafios", Christ's funeral bed, is decorated with flowers by the women and the children of the village. The evening church service starts and there is a subdued procession through the streets carrying the epitaph, or coffin, with the congregation following behind.
Late Saturday or Easter Saturday (Megalo Sabbato) in all Cretan villages children spend their day preparing a bonfire and an image of Judas outside the church to burn after the midnight service.
The Anastasi, the Resurrection, takes place at midnight and is the culmination of Holy Week. Churches across Crete, Greece are packed from 23.00 PM onwards for the service and the lighting of the Holy Flame at midnight.
At the stroke of midnight, all lights in each crowded church are extinguished and the congregation plunged into the darkness which envelopes Christ as he passes through the underworld. Then there is a faint glimmer of light behind the altar screen before the priest appears holding a lighted taper and chanting. Stepping down to the level of the parishioners he touches his flame to the candle of the nearest worshiper and intoning (Come take the light) to be greeted by the response "Hristos Anesti" (Christ is risen). And so it goes around, this affirmation of the miracle until the entire church is alight with burning candles. Later as the church bells ring, the celebrations begin with fireworks and the burning of Judas. In the week leading up to Easter Sunday, you should wish "Kalo Pasxa" (Happy Easter) or Xronia Polla (Many Happy Returns).
The 40-day fast ends at midnight and meat is back on the menu with a meal of mayiritsa (a soup based on lamb tripe, rice, and lemon). Easter Sunday the tradition is lamb roasting with good friends, and family getting together for a big party with plenty of food, wine, music and dancing.
Join us in Crete this April to enjoy the Cretan Easter festivities!
