Easter Customs in Greece

1. Easter customs in
Greece
Ioanna Mavropoulou
A2

2. Easter for Christian church
o Easter (Pasha) is one of the biggest
celebrations
o In 325 AD the First Ecumenical Council
established the celebration of Easter
o From the Byzantine years until today
Christians prepare for the Easter holidays
and preserve their Easter customs

3. Mrs. Lent (H Kyra Sarakosti)
o The fasting lasted 40 days before Easter.
o Mrs. Lent constituted a fasting diary.
o Each Saturday Greek people cut off a leg till the Holy
Saturday
o She was represented having 7
legs which symbolized the 7
weeks and had no mouth since
she was fasting.

4. Lazarus
o In many parts of Greece in order to depict the
Resurrection of Lazarus as well as to symbolize the
victory of Christ over death, they make a small
statue of Lazarus out of dough.

5. The palm trees
o Palm Sunday, honoring Christ’s triumphal entry at
Jerusalem
o The temples are decorated with branches of palm
trees

6. The Greek Easter breads
(tsoureki)
o The Easter rolls are made on Holy Thursday
o The Greeks decorate them with stripes of dough
and nuts

7. Red Easter eggs
o On Holy Thursday the Greeks dye red eggs
o The red color symbolizes the new life
coming out of the eggshell in the same way
Jesus rose from the tomb.

8. Epitaph
o Holy Friday constitutes a day of mourning.
o At noon girls decorate the Epitaph with flowers
o In some parts of the country the Epitaph is decorated on
the evening of Holy Thursday after the Twelve Gospels.
o The procession of the Epitaph around the church takes
place the same day.

9. The night of the Resurrection
o On the evening of Holy Saturday believers light their
white candles with the Holy Light
o They attend the liturgy of Resurrection.
o At homes they cross the upper part of the front door
with the Holy Light.

10. Easter Sunday
o All families gather together, eating and celebrating.
o The most common dish is the Easter lamb cooked either
on the spit or in the oven.
o The Easter lamb symbolizes the appellation that is used
for Jesus in Scripture
o Greek people, use to scramble the red eggs with each.

11.  Celebrating the Easter holidays in Europe creates a
big canvas of traditions
 More than anything, Easter is a calendar holiday
when people are traveling to see their beloved ones
and reconnecting with their family.
Greece, Pasha
England, Easter Sweden, Påskdagen
Czech, Velikonoce
France, Paques

12. Thank you for your
attention!