Easter is the most celebrated holiday among Greeks. Visits to churches and monasteries is a beloved annual tradition.
Tsoureki is a sweet bread with puffy layers that is braided, featuring an egg symbolizing the Holy Trinity and including ingredients prohibited during Lent.
Candles
At Holy Week services and particularly during Saturday night services preceding Easter Sunday, Greeks light decorated candles known as Lambathes to symbolize that Christ has risen and that humanity may now begin again. This tradition holds multiple meanings; most importantly dispersing darkness while opening our minds up to understanding – due to Jesus’ resurrection, death, illness and attrition of body issues are given new insight.
Children love holding personalized Easter candles that have their names or faces printed on them; this keeps them engaged during church services and adds another level of engagement for them to hold during services. Kids especially like choosing from among all of these unique Easter candles! You could even attach small toys for added entertainment during church services.
Tradition in many Greek families dictates that godparents give each child in their family an Easter candle decorated specially. This gesture shows kindness and can make finding one for each family member much more exciting!
These lambathas, typically constructed of beeswax and decorated with jewels or small toys attached by ribbon, have become increasingly popular over the past several years due to the pandemic. People now seem more drawn towards choosing themed decorated lambathas that resemble COVID-19 test kits, vaccination syringes or red representations of its ball-and-spike shape virus.
At home, they take their lambathes with them to bless the house. A priest then lights them, filling the home with beautiful lights that symbolize that Christ has returned and brought new life into this world. After their blessing, Greeks typically enjoy magiritsa soup made with offal and green vegetables boiled together – an excellent dish to mark the end of Lent and welcome Easter celebration. Easter Sunday brings yet more festivities!
Lampads
At Easter time, their godparents give children lambadas as an Easter present and light them during Epitaph parade and Anastasi Day to symbolise Christ’s Resurrection which brought light into our world and overcame death and darkness.
Greek mythology describes lampads, torch-bearing nymphs that accompany Hecate on her nighttime journeys, as handmaidens of various gods and goddesses they serve.
Lampads, also known as Menthe or Mentha were rare nymphs who assisted Athreos with leading the dead along The Tartyx River and recovering wayward souls that tried to return into mortal life. Therefore they are most frequently found in graveyards and Crypts which once served as portals into The Underworld. Although lampads appear fiery-headed with their ability to emit flames out their foreheads and flickering flames emanating from their heads like actual fire they cannot actually burn themselves like real flames could because these flickering flames emit from within themselves rather than actually emanate from within themselves like actual flames emanating out onto actual bodies – also they cannot burn themselves or die like real fire can! Minthe or Mentha was an underworld river Cocytus where Minthe or Mentha resided as an underworld river Cocytus.
Food
Like any Greek holiday, food plays an integral role in Easter festivities. Easter marks the end of Lent and represents a break from any strict eating practices observed during that period. Traditional Easter Sunday dinner may feature traditional foods like tsoureki – three-strand plaited bread symbolizing Holy Trinity – or magiritsa soup made from lamb offal (including head feet heart liver and lungs).
Greek Orthodox Christians also engage in another annual tradition known as Kokkina-pasxalina avga, or the practice of cracking eggs, during Easter season. This activity represents Christ rising from his tomb; each participant takes an egg and uses their strength against another to crack it against one another until one finally breaks completely – this brings good fortune for the coming year!
Greek Easter is different from other Christian holiday dates as its determination is determined by the Orthodox church’s Julian calendar, rather than Gregorian one. Catholic and Protestant Easter celebrations use the latter, so its dates vary accordingly.
Easter, like Passover and Jewish Sabbath, is observed annually by Orthodox churches to mark Jesus Christ’s resurrection and provide promise of eternal life to his disciples. Therefore, Easter marks a significant time of reflection for Greeks; aside from religious aspects it also provides family fun-time with festivities taking place simultaneously on several dates across Greece.
Easter Baskets
Easter baskets have long been an important symbol of spring and fertility, often used as part of ancient pagan rituals to worship spring and fertility gods such as Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre who is often depicted cradling a basket filled with eggs as symbols of new life and rebirth. Over time, Christians have adopted some of these pagan practices in celebration of Christ’s resurrection holiday.
Easter gift baskets come in all shapes and sizes to satisfy every recipient or occasion. Kids will love a cheerful gingham bunny tote filled with lollipops, candy-coated eggs, sour gummies and plush rabbits; for gardeners in your life a basket filled with gardening tools and supplies will surely bring smiles.
Adults can join in the Easter fun by creating their own Easter baskets or selecting one with all sorts of goodies already inside it, like this decadent one that includes Peeps, Gummy Bears and Marshmallow Chicks as well as Caramel Corn Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Bites Kettle Corn and more – not forgetting an additional Squishy Toy and Stun Glider just for kids in your life!
Another fantastic Easter basket option is this Easter gift set, featuring delicious treats such as tsoureki bread. Greek Orthodox families prepare this traditional Greek Easter dish each Holy Thursday morning to mark Jesus Christ’s Passion and its Resurrection. Tsoureki bread consists of braided dough shaped into circles before being topped off with hard-boiled egg for decoration.
Spiritually-inclined kids may benefit from reading three children’s books that will explain the true meaning of Easter and Orthodox faith. With thick die-cut pages and tactile appeal, these colorful books make great Easter basket fillers as gifts or additions for nieces, nephews, godchildren or Sunday school classes – providing children with an introduction to its importance through reading and coloring!