briannawessling

It’s safe to say that many Marian girls spent their Easter Sunday on March 27 this year, with baskets full of candy, Mass, and family time. A few girls, however, are still waiting for their day to celebrate. Easter celebrated in the Greek Orthodox Church, also known as Greek Easter or “Greaster” for short, isn’t celebrated until the first of May, according the the Julian calendar. Greaster celebrates the same thing that Easter does, but has its own unique traditions.

The differences between Greek Easter and Western Easter start with Lent. Freshman Maria Piperis and her family, along with many other members of the Greek Church, fast from meat and dairy for all of Lent, not just on Fridays. Holy Week in the Greek Orthodox church is celebrated by attending nightly mass. On the Wednesday of Holy Week they receive Holy Unction, a celebration of the forgiveness of sins. The next day, Holy Thursday, the crucifixion of Jesus is reenacted, and on Good Friday, candles and the Epitaphio (a representation of the tomb of Jesus) are presented in a funeral procession.  All of Holy Week leads up to the midnight Resurrection Liturgy on Saturday. At this mass candles are lit to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Differences in Greek traditions continue into Easter Sunday. While it’s a tradition in Western Churches to dye eggs a multitude of colors, in the Greek Church eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ.

Piperis said that her favorite Easter tradition is a game where her and her family members crack eggs against each other. The person whose egg cracks first loses. The game continues until one egg is left, and the person with that egg is the winner.

Sophomore Athena Patsalis said that her favorite Greek Easter tradition is attending the midnight service on Easter. After the mass, Patsalis and her family always celebrate the resurrection by eating lamb (her favorite Greek food) and cracking red Easter eggs saying “Cristos anesti” or “Christ is risen.” Patsalis also said that she thinks the most unique Easter tradition in the Greek Church is when the entire parish processes around the Church carrying candles for Jesus’ funeral on Good Friday.

Piperis stated that one of the most unique Easter traditions takes place on the Greek island of Corfu. There the streets are cleared and pots are dropped off of the top of buildings. Though Piperis has never had the opportunity to take part in this tradition, she hopes she will be able to someday.

Despite the fact that Greek Easter may be celebrated differently from Western Easter, the message of the holiday is still the same. “Lent is a period of redemption for all Christians, and at the end of the day, we are all celebrating the same thing,” Piperis said.