πάσχα Ανάσταση Easter 7 april 2018 Agios Nikolaos Crete Greece

Easter is surely and by far the most important festival of the Greek year and is celebrated with many local customs and traditions.
Easter (Paska or Pasxa or πάσχα ) is the most important holiday in Greece, and in the Greek Orthodox Church.
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.
From Wednesday of Holy Week, the radio and television networks are given over solely to religious programs until the following Monday. 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.
Especially if you make for a smallish Cretan village, you may well find yourself an honorary member for this period.Greek Easter is usually celebrated after Catholic Easter, being that it follows the Julian calendar. Easter is considered to be the biggest holiday in Greece.
On the small island of Corfu, it is tradition on Easter Saturday to throw clay pots off of balconies which marks the first resurrection. Followed by midnight mass and then Easter dinner to break lent...
On Easter Sunday, lamb is cooked on a skewer and can be smelled throughout the streets in Greece. Easter eggs are coloured red only, representing the blood of Christ. Children play a game where they try to crack each other’s eggs without cracking their own....Easter week in Greece..Easter is the greatest Christian celebration in Greece. Across the country it is the most important religious holiday of the Orthodox Church accompanied with traditions and customs that date back to time. While there are many unique local customs, there are of course some that are observed by all Greeks.
Holy Thursday...
Preparations start to take place such as “tsoureki” (traditional sweet bread) baking and housewives dye red eggs that symbolize Christ’s blood and the rebirth of life. In the evening all churches include a symbolic representation of the crucifixion and the reading of the twelve gospels. After the service women gather to decorate the Epitaph with fresh spring flowers and the mourning time begins..
Good Friday..
Church bells ring mournfully all day and food is very simple as this is the most important fast day of the Holy Week. In the evening a funeral service is held and the Epitaph is carried on the shoulders of the faithful in a procession through the community followed by all people holding candles..
Holy Saturday...
The Eternal Flame arrives to Greece by military jet and priests carry it to their churches. The service starts at 23:00 and people start to gather at their local churches holding the “labatha” (a big candle) that is only used for that Easter midnight service. A few minutes before midnight people and priests gather outside the church and exactly on midnight priests call out “Christos Anesti” (Christ is risen) and passes the holy flame to those nearest him and one passes to another. Fireworks begin to light up the sky and people exchange traditional Easter wishes (“Christos Anesti - Christ is risen and in response, “Alithos Anesti” - truly, He is risen). It is custom to carry the Holy flame back home and smoke the doorframe to bless the house. Once home, family and friends gather to eat the traditional soup “maghiritsa” and crack red eggs that symbolize the opening of the tomb...
Easter Sunday..
Earlier on Easter Sunday, the spits are set to work, and grills are fired up. Easter tables are prepared and family and friends celebrate with a meal that includes a whole roasted lamb or goat (kid) prepared on the spit or baked in the oven. Usually in villages covered in spring colors. Great Greek wines, tsipouro, and other drinks flow freely, and preparations for the meal turn into festive celebrations even before the eating begins.