Easter in Athens

As most of you know, Greece is strongly identified with the Greek Orthodox Church. This means that religious holidays are national events. Easter is no exception. Easter in Athens was quite a spectacle for days. Although I did not experience it myself, on Good Friday there is a large procession at night throughout the streets of the city center in which they carry around a beflowered tomb of Christ. Saturday is another large event. During the day a small procession comes through the city of Athens with a flame leading the way. That flame is a flame that is the “light of Jerusalem” and is used at the evening service. At 11pm on Saturday a very large church service is held at most churches. I went to the service held at the biggest cathedral in Athens. It was so densely populated, that unless you were some dignitary or high religious leader, there was no way to get into the actual sanctuary. While speakers send the melodious sound of the priests’ chanting into the square, local Greeks were using the time more as a social gathering than a religious experience. The most intriguing display of the evening was the blatant combination of church and state. Upon the arrival of the President of Greece, about a half an hour late for the service, he received a military salute and a band struck up to announce his entrance. The cacophony of the precision of a military band with the fluidity of celebratory chanting was unexpected and unique. All I could think was that such a thing would never happen in the United States, a country that perpetually tries to avoid and argues over the combination of politics and religion.

Halfway through the service the light of Jerusalem is brought out into the middle of the square so that everyone may light their candle from the flame. Apparently the tradition is to light a candle and take it all the way home with you and make the sign of the cross in front of your house in order to bless it for the year. Most people left after receiving the light, but the service continued on for an hour or so following.

The next morning my parents, roommates Sara and Katie, and Katie’s mother and grandmother, and I all went to the morning service. It was a beautiful service with the priests dressed in their best vestments and flowers covering the church. The smell of lilies and incense filled the air and the sound of chanting was soothing. Although the service was entirely in Greek and I only understood bits and pieces of it, it still possessed a certain power and joy that only the Easter holiday can create.

After the service our group went to a local taverna for some traditional lamb roasted on a spit. It was delicious and the spirit of the holiday was evident among everyone in the restaurant. Overall, Easter in Greece was an amazing experience and awe-inspiring as one can see an entire nation (more accurately, the majority of a nation) joined by one strong belief. This type of unity does not exist in the United States, and from my experience that is both a positive and a negative thing about each country. I was very glad to get to experience such a big event in the course of Greek life as it has become a part of my life.