 Easter is the greatest holiday
in the Orthodox Church. It is
fixed according to the moon
- that is to say, it is always
celebrated on the first
Sunday following the full
moon of the spring equinox.
 To celebrate Easter
everything should look clean
and new, so houses are
cleaned, painted or white-
washed, and new clothes
are a "must", especially new
shoes.
 Holy Week is dedicated to
church-going and to baking,
etc.

 The period of fasting before Easter
is called 'Apokria' and starts during
the month of February at Carnival-
time which is the traditional period
of fasting before Pascha (Easter).
 The first week of 'Apokria' is called
Meat Week (Kreatini) and this is the
last week you can eat meat.
 The second week is cheese week
(Tyrini) and also the last week to
eat cheese and other dairy
products before Easter.
 This is the time of Lent and on
Green Monday the fasting officially
begins and lasts for 40 days. This
day is a public holiday in Cyprus
and people traditionally go on
picnics and fly kites.
 All this period called “Sarakosti”

 The preparations for Palm
Sunday can be seen from the
previous Friday. The people at
villages plait intricate
"vaynes" ~ palm-leaf flower
holders ~ which when
finished, resemble little
swallows' nests perched on
sticks.
 The young children fill them
with flowers and take them to
church on Palm Sunday when
they follow the icon of Christ
around the church in a
procession commemorating
Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
The older boys hold large
palm leaves.

 Olive leaves are put
into pillow-case-like
sacks which are taken
to church; there they
are kept for forty days
after which they can
be used for incense
burning.
 From now on there are
church services
morning, afternoon
and evening.

 Holy Week is the peak of
these activities. On
Thursday most women do
their Easter baking of
"flaounes", a kind of cheese
cake found in
Cyprus, made of shortcrust
with a cheese, egg and
mint filling, formed into
triangular and square
shapes.
 "Koulouria" are baked with
milk, spices and a little
sugar and "Tyropittes" ~
loaves with small pieces of
cheese added and rolled
in sesame seeds.

 Eggs are dyed as well.
Traditionally they are dyed
red with a special root
called "rizari", that is sold in
bundles at the market
during these days. They are
also dyed yellow; for this
purpose the yellow
marguerites that cover the
waysides and fields during
April are used.
 However, in the towns you
can buy small packets of
different colored dyes from
your grocer. Some dye
their eggs in a more artistic
way by tying the
marguerites onto the eggs
with a piece of
muslin before boiling them
in a color. The end product
is most effective.

 Holly Thursday
commemorates
the Last Supper
of Jesus Christ with
the Apostles.
It is the fifth day of
Holy Week, and is
followed by
Good Friday

 Good Friday begins with
everyone taking flowers to
church so that the young girls
can decorate the "Epitafios" ~
Holy Sepulchre. This, in our
church, is a four-postured litter
with a canopy in which the
icon of Christ is laid in state. The
whole structure is completely
decorated with flowers, a job
that takes the greater part of
Good Friday morning.
 At lunchtime the traditional
"Faki Xidati" - vinegar and lentil
soup - is eaten, containing
vinegar because it is said that
when Christ asked for water on
his way to Calgary He was
given vinegar instead.

 From early afternoon you will
see streams of cars and
pedestrians going from church
to church to pay their last
respects to Christ - and to
compare the decoration of
their own parish "Epitafios" with
that of the others.
 In the meantime, all the streets
along which the "Epitafios" will
pass in the solemn procession
later that night are being
decorated with colored lights.
The procession starts after the
evening service with the
priests preceding, then the
Scouts or young men carrying
the litter of Christ and then the
choir, singing hymns. The
whole congregation
follows, and children light
sparklers on the way. Fireworks
are lit from the balconies while
the procession moves around
its parish boundaries and
ends up at the church again.

 Saturday is a quiet day, although
there is a sermon towards
lunchtime during which the
church doors are banged and
candleholders shaken, when the
news is brought that Christ is no
longer in His grave.
 The real sermon of resurrection is
at about midnight. Everybody
goes to church with a candle
and the sermon is held to the
accompaniment of fire-crackers.
 A big bonfire is lit in the church
yard. When the priest proclaims
that "Christ has risen", all candles
are lit and everyone greets
everyone else with "Christos
anesti" ~Christ has risen, to which
the other answers "Alithos
anesti" ~ Indeed He has risen.

 On Sunday morning most
people who have not taken
Holy Communion during the
Holy Week take it now and
afterwards they go home,
where red eggs are
cracked, flaounes eaten and
the fast broken.
 The children go around
cracking and winning colored
eggs, for if your egg cracks
then you lose it and the child
with the unbroken
egg gets it.
 At lunchtime picnics and family
gatherings are held
everywhere; lamps are roasted
on the spit and wine flows
freely.

 In the villages, Easter is an
all-village affair apart from
being a big holiday. On
such days after Mass, the
priest stands at the church
door with the Cross and
everyone leaving kisses the
Cross, then shakes-and
takes - the hand of the
person in front, thus forming
a large circle in the church
yard which symbolizes the
renewal of friendship with
one another.
 After this, all friends and
relations, but especially
people from other towns or
villages, are invited to the
villagers' homes where they
sit down together, eating
and drinking until late in the
afternoon.

 In many villages it is also the
custom on Easter Sunday and
Monday for everyone to have
lunch in the church yard and
each family brings its food and
wine and everybody eats at
long tables made out of stands
and long wooden planks.
 After lunch there are various
games, dances and jokes. So
all old quarrels are forgotten.
The young people celebrate by
hanging up "souses" - swings.
For this purpose young men
and girls hang ropes from trees
and while the girls swing, they
all sing love songs, or teasing
songs called "Tchatismata" -
rhymes –