Easter

[last-resort]

and this is what left from the pagan era

the flower's celebration on the dead's day
Epitaph

For those curious, this is from early Friday afternoon - Friday before Pascha/Easter, as the icon of Christ is still on the cross - see through the bier - and is not yet in the bier/tomb, and the Epitaphios (bier/tomb - the flowered structure) has been put in place. At a service sometime later than pictured here - still Friday afternoon, the icon of Christ will be removed from the cross, and an embroidered icon (usually cloth, but could be otherwise) of Christ will be laid in the tomb. On Friday evening, there will be hymns sung as lamentations, and the tomb (perhaps a smaller version) with the cloth icon will be carried in procession. At the close of the Friday evening service, the congregants will receive flowers from the tomb from the priest.

Here is an example of the hymn sung. It is only a sample, as there are typically three stasis sung, so many verses each. I do not know music, but I would say the melody stays the same but the tone changes at least once as the stasis change.

https://youtu.be/9o3K9yegLVM?list=RDgKTGFsVNu7Q
(A translation is available in the comments. Look for Edison Gumapac)

Here is the bier procession in Greece. Note the music at 01:07
https://youtu.be/0Ci0STFmB3E

Here is the Friday service (in part) NOTE IT IS TITLED INCORRECTLY - THIS IS A FRIDAY EVENING SERVICE (Lamentations) Note the hymn at 01:22
https://youtu.be/WvWdoJfwq0o

At Saturday morning service, the Christ icon is not seen. Late Saturday evening, after suitable preliminaries the resurrection is proclaimed (Sunday morning). Red eggs are typically given by the priests - Greek tradition, little 't' - as people file out.

 

[Minty]

Italian Easter Part 2.

Commercial hollow chocolate eggs are ubiquitous in Italy, along with chocolate chickens, lambs etc. However, you can still buy artisanal ones, and you can bring your own treats and they'll make the chocolate egg around them. Sometimes men put an engagement ring in them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR0EmFBf9yw

It's all become a bit of an excuse for ingenuity and craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, imo:

I like our old food traditions better. I still make Easter bread the way my mother did it.

In a nod to my husband's southern Italian ancestry I also learned to make pastiera or Italian wheat grain pie with ricotta. It's really delicious. His grandmother was an excellent cook and I learned everything I could from her. Her recipes have never let me down yet.

I never stray from our traditional meat, either. Roasted lamb and potatoes, stuffed artichokes, peas, sauteed greens, salad, good bread. They won't let me get rid of the antipasto either.

I have never seen these eaten at Easter. Are those coloured oval things real eggs being coloured? Or are those sweets shaped in like eggs?

 

[Minty]

David Sedaris (US comedic writer) wrote that while in a French class in France, his teacher berated him for not knowing that the French use the bell as a symbol of Easter, not a bunny. He gave the French mythology of the bell, which is as silly as the Easter bunny.

As to lamb, I suggest you try it cooked (roasted on a spit, if possible), Greek style. This should take away most 'off' odor/taste. The process is to cut small slits in the lamb and place in each cut a slice of garlic (from a 'button' of garlic so that a typical button would yield 2 or 3 slices). The cuts should be ~ 3 cm apart (~1 inch or less). Slather lamb with olive oil. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on it. Then season with oregano. Some add salt and black pepper here as well, and perhaps other herbs, like basil or thyme. If roasted over a spit, that is the prep work.* If cooked in an oven, I would start the process by trimming as much fat off the lamb as possible (without taking it to an extreme). The fat has the 'off' odor/taste. Over a spit it gets melted off.

*/If roasting a whole lamb over a spit, some fat in the abdominal cavity should be trimmed off, as it will make a mess as it melts off. It will be obvious what should be removed - large pieces of white fat. Then cut for the garlic, oil it, etc. Happy Easter. Christ is Risen!

Thanks. I'll give this recipe a try.

 

[last-resort]

I have never seen these eaten at Easter. Are those coloured oval things real eggs being coloured? Or are those sweets shaped in like eggs?

Those are real eggs. Greeks have the same thing, except the eggs are usually all red in color.

 

[last-resort]

Italian Easter Part 2.

It's all become a bit of an excuse for ingenuity and craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, imo:

I never stray from our traditional meat, either. Roasted lamb and potatoes, stuffed artichokes, peas, sauteed greens, salad, good bread. They won't let me get rid of the antipasto either.

Angela, what is the artichoke stuffed with? Thanks

 

[Yetos]

This is the year of coronavirus,
so no rocket war,
no smoking grenades,
no noise grenades,
NO etc,

But still the anciet rituals of Spring, Persephone, etc etc
as passed in Christianity are in the blood of Greeks

Larissa,
they used a projector, turning a house to a giant screen, so to celebrate all together from their balconies,
[video=youtube;CWhh9asiIW8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=107&v=CWhh9asiIW8&feature=emb_ logo[/video]

Thessaloniki,
Since the 'followers' are not allowed to go to temples, the priest walked the streets to bless the 'balkony religious'

Corfu, at this island ressurection is celebrated one day earlier,
every year the melody 'do not fear Greeks' was played by at least 2-3 philarmonicas (Corfu reached 36 once)
this year since no gathering is allowed ...

Easter in Greece is higly connected with Liberty and ressuction of nation

 

[Axion]

Easter, really Easter week, including Holy Thursday and Good Friday and the Monday after Easter is still a really big deal in Italy even though Italians are less and less observant Catholics. I think a lot of it has to do with tradition and community life for those who participate but don't really believe any more.

is this recent trend or it became post ww2 tendency, is this result coz the imposed secularism in the italian society or the corruption scandals in vatican have loosen the public trend!?