{"id":1383,"date":"2014-04-15T14:42:57","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T14:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/?p=1383"},"modified":"2014-04-15T14:42:57","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T14:42:57","slug":"a-touch-of-greek-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/a-touch-of-greek-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"A touch of Greek Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1385\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/9VWyK9\" aria-label=\"5861274630 7708a2b84c Z 300x200\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1385\" class=\" wp-image-1385\" alt=\"5861274630_7708a2b84c_z\"  width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/04\/5861274630_7708a2b84c_z-300x200.jpg\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1385\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">epicnom@flickr<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\n<p>The\u00a0 countdown to Easter (<strong>\u03a0\u03ac\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1<\/strong>, <em>Pasha<\/em>) , the most important Greek holiday, has already started.\u00a0 The Easter traditions have been preserved\u00a0 and are still followed by most Greeks, religious or not.\u00a0 Some people, relate Easter to a big open air celebration with music, dance, and of course a meal that is composed of lamb and wine.\u00a0 It is an opportunity to meet friends and relatives, to be joyful and careless and to enjoy the spring. Some others, relate it to the church service during the Holly Week and the devout Byzantine hymns of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. It is a period of love and forgiveness and the right moment to connect spiritually and emotionally with the others.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong> Some Easter Customs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every Greek region has its own way and customs of celebrating Easter but some traditions are common.<br \/>\n<strong>\u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7 \u03a0\u03ad\u03bc\u03c0\u03c4\u03b7<\/strong> (<em>megali Pempti<\/em> Holy Thursday) is a day full of colors and smells. People prepare\u00a0 <strong>\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03bf\u03cd\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1<\/strong> (<em>koulouri\u03b1, Greek cookies<\/em>) and <strong>\u03c4\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03ad\u03ba\u03b9<\/strong> (<em>tsoureki<\/em>, Easter bread) and they dye and decorate\u00a0 eggs, in a festive ambiance.\u00a0 The tradition of decorated eggs is common in the Balkan countries.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to go Greek this Easter, watch these recipes and make your own tsoureki and koulouria!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tsoureki Recipe (Greek Easter Bread) in The Bread Kitchen\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eKGdNHG8hUQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GREEK EASTER BISCUITS ( KOULOURAKIA )\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JmEjRdOMACE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>\u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7 \u03a0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03c5\u03ae<\/strong> (<em>Megali Paraskevi<\/em>, Good Friday) is a day of mourning. The Bier of Christ (<strong>\u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03c4\u03ac\u03c6\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2<\/strong>, <em>Epitafios<\/em>)\u00a0 which has been decorated with flowers, is transported in the streets and is followed by the believers.<br \/>\n<strong>\u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03bf \u03a3\u03ac\u03b2\u03b2\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf<\/strong> (<em>Megalo Savato<\/em>, Holy Saturday) people celebrate the Resurrection.\u00a0 They go to church and at midnight they get\u00a0 the Holy Light (<strong>\u0386\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf \u03a6\u03c9\u03c2<\/strong>, <em>agio fos<\/em>) by the priest, and they exchange greetings. They have decorated candles (<strong>\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03c0\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1<\/strong>,<em> lambada<\/em>) and carry the light home.\u00a0 It is the end of the forty days Lent.<br \/>\n<strong>\u039a\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u03ae \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a0\u03ac\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1<\/strong> (<em>Kiriaki tou Pasha<\/em>, Easter Sunday) is a day of joy and happiness. Traditionally, people spend Easter with their family, they eat lamb, crack boiled red eggs,\u00a0 and take a break from their everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Easter greetings and expressions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong> \u039a\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc \u03a0\u03ac\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1<\/strong> (Kalo Pasha, have a nice Easter)<br \/>\n<strong>\u039a\u03b1\u03bb\u03ae \u0391\u03bd\u03ac\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03b7<\/strong> (Kali Anastasi, Anastasi= Resurrection)<br \/>\n<strong>\u03a7\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03a0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac<\/strong> (Hronia polla)<br \/>\n<strong>\u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2 A\u03bd\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7, \u0391\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03ce\u03c2<\/strong> (<em>Hristos Anesti, Alithos Anesti<\/em>): When the priest announces the resurrection of Christ, people spread the word by saying\u00a0 \u201c<strong>\u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2 \u0391\u03bd\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7<\/strong>\u201d (<em>Hristos Anesti<\/em>) which means \u201cChrist has risen\u201d. The other person must respond by \u201c<strong>\u0391\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03ce\u03c2<\/strong>\u201d (<em>Alithos<\/em>) which could be translated as \u201cindeed\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"234\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/04\/5861274630_7708a2b84c_z-350x234.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image tmp-hide-img\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/04\/5861274630_7708a2b84c_z-350x234.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/04\/5861274630_7708a2b84c_z.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>The\u00a0 countdown to Easter (\u03a0\u03ac\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1, Pasha) , the most important Greek holiday, has already started.\u00a0 The Easter traditions have been preserved\u00a0 and are still followed by most Greeks, religious or not.\u00a0 Some people, relate Easter to a big open air celebration with music, dance, and of course a meal that is composed of lamb and&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/a-touch-of-greek-easter\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,274452],"tags":[293066,293067,293068,292990,293069],"class_list":["post-1383","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-vocablary","tag-greek-easter","tag-greek-easter-customs","tag-greek-easter-traditions","tag-greek-expressions","tag-greek-holidays"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1383"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1386,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1383\/revisions\/1386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/greek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}