It starts with the date. Often, Greek Easter falls on a different Sunday than the traditional Western Easter. There are three conditions to the Greek calendar when it comes to the celebration of Easter.
First, the Greek Orthodox Church follows the Gregorian calendar, not the Julian. Second, Easter must occur on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the official start of spring. Still following along? Yeah, I know. I'm dizzy, too. But hang on. The third condition is the easiest to explain and, therefore, my standard reply when asked. Easter must fall after Passover.
There are some benefits to the different date. When our Easter is celebrated after Western Easter, we get all our goodies for half-price. The downfall? Since my husband was born in April, there have been years when his birthday fell on Greek Easter. (During those years, he hijacks my birthday in August.)
What are the traditions of Greek Easter? Glad you asked. Most are similar to Western traditions. In the days before, we color eggs, though ours are dyed red. We bake a sweet egg bread called "tsoureki" (tsoo-RECK-ee).
Like celebrants of Western Easter, our kids find baskets full of goodies in the morning, we gather together with family, and share a good meal. We drink ouzo (a strong licorice-flavored liqueur).
After dinner is the highlight of the celebration for my family. The dyed eggs are brought to the table, and each person chooses one for the "tsougrisma" (tsoo-GREES-ma). One by one, family members challenge each other to an egg-tapping contest. One person chooses an opponent. The challenger proclaims, "Christos Anesti" (CREE-stose Ah-NES-tee). The opponent replies, "Alithos Anesti" (Ah-lee-THOSE Ah-NES-tee). The two then tap their eggs against each other--pointed end to rounded end--in the hope of cracking the other's egg while leaving his/her egg unblemished. The game continues around the table until only one person has an uncracked side of their egg. That person is declared the winner and is said to have good luck all year.
This year, our Easter will fall on April 12, the week after Western Easter (and two weeks before my husband's birthday. Whew!)
Whatever spring holiday you celebrate in April, may you be surrounded by love, joy, and good fortune.
"Kaló Páscha!"
OPA! my dad is Greek and our family celebrated Easter and Christmas twice, which is probably where I got my hips - LOL. We also did the egg cracking game. I miss those days since my grandparents and parents are now celebrating in Heaven. Good memories though
ReplyDeleteYou should resurrect some of those traditions, Kathye. Everyone in our family loves the egg-cracking game and the best times are when we have a "newbie" in the midst. You don't have to be Greek to play. :-)
DeleteNice post, Gina. I love it when families keep alive the traditions of their unique culture. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy. I came into the traditions late, but I can't imagine the holidays without them now.
DeleteHow fun! And there's another shared tradition, (based solely on your lovely photo). The Easter bonnet! Very cute!
ReplyDeleteHa! That Easter bonnet is my daughter's. (You can see her profile in the lower right of the photo). We each took a turn wearing it that year (including the men!)
DeleteHi Gina--
ReplyDeleteYou look cute, cute, cute in your photo! I loved learning about the Greek holiday and the complicated way the date is decided every year. Thanks for sharing your family tradition. Happy Easter to you.
Victoria--
Thanks, Victoria! I admit that photo's at least fifteen years old, but I don't often appear in pics; I'm usually behind the camera.
DeleteHappy Easter!
Great entry. How fun to be able to celebrate holidays twice. I don't know that I'd ever be able to figure out the date, but that's what calendars are for, right? Thanks for sharing the information.
ReplyDeleteLOL! We usually start panicking the first of March: When's Greek Easter this year? And then we flip through the calendar. Even if we don't have it listed on the calendar, we can usually find Passover and work from there.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post and learning about the two cultural Easters. Such a meaningful tradition for your family! In our church it's been a tradition to get together with other parishioners to celebrate the Seder sometime during Lent. I love all these traditional observances whether they be Greek, Western, or Hebrew.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Sydell. I think we can always find common traditions and incorporate new ones by sharing the details of each holiday. Happy Passover!
DeleteWhat a fun post, Gina! Love your hat and will try the Easter cracking tradition!
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Beate! If your family is the slightest bit competitive, it could become a new obsession.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you too, Gina, and thank you for sharing your traditions.
ReplyDelete