Easter is the most important festival of the Greek Orthodox Church.
It starts 7 weeks before Easter’s Sunday and comes to its peak the Holy Week. This is when Services are held every evening in the churches.
On Good Friday, a special celebration takes place when all the flowered tombs of the Christ (named Epitaphios) are gathered at the squares and make the tour of the villages & towns.
The peak of the Easter is on Good Saturday at midnight when pilgrims go to the church and get the Holy Light. At midnight exactly, the priest appears holding a lighted torch and shares the Holy Flame on the candles of near worshippers.
Then, the worshippers share at their turn the Holy Light with their close neighbors until the entire church and the courtyard get it. It is a beautiful spectacle.
Then, fireworks explode in the streets around the Church. At the end of the ceremony, worshippers bring the burning candles home and make with the black smoke of the candle the sign of a cross above their door. This custom is supposed to bring good fortune upon the house. After midnight, families and friends eat “magiritsa”, a soup made from lamb tripe, rice, dill, and lemon.
