Greek Easter
Easter is by far the most important of the religious feasts.
The Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar when calculating Easter, that is why the Greeks don't celebrate Easter on the same date as Catholic and Protestant countries.
Before Easter there is a fasting period of 50 days which begins on "Kathara Deftera", the day the carnival ends.
Holy week, the week before Easter ends with church services and the procession of the "Holy sepulchral" on Good Friday.
The highlight of the celebrations is on Saturday night. The midnight service is called the Resurrection service and it's without a doubt the most important and glorious service of all.
One of the most common symbols associated with Easter is the lamb. The sacrifice of the lamb is connected to Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Roast lamb is the traditional Easter Sunday dinner. The Easter egg is another Easter symbol, and Greeks colour the hard boiled eggs red to signify the blood of Christ. These eggs accompany Easter dinner and decorate the sweet Easter bread called Tsoureki.
Greek Easter nowadays is less traditional especially in urban areas.
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