Monday 22 April 2019

Great Monday

Great Week or Holy Week
Easter is the most important celebration of the year.  Second I would put 15th August (marking the 'falling asleep' of the Virgin Mary) and Christmas a lowly third, or even fourth.  New Years is celebrated more than Christmas and St Basil brings the children their presents on 1st January not St Nick on 25th December.

Great Monday

So begins 'Great week' leading up to Easter Sunday in the greek orthodox church.
There is a church service every evening relating to the last week in Christ's life

Most housewives are spring cleaning this week.  Me too, a little.  All this in preparation for the Sunday easter feasting and the visit of my nephew and neice coming over for 'The Greek Easter Experience'

In our old house, when we were younger and more eager we would whitewash the walls and the edges of the road around the house.  I don't think many people whitewash any more though municipal workers usually whitewash all the flights of steps in the town.





Dyed easter eggs from years gone by
2011 and 2013

The yolks go hard after a few years and resemble a yellow globe of some precious stone







8 comments:

  1. I love to hear about different traditions. They always seem so much more interesting than our own commercially driven ones. Not too keen on spring cleaning though!

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    1. My cleaning isnt exactly a deep clean. Better things to do than cleaning, or ironing

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  2. Those eggs are beautiful. How do you get them looking shiny and metallic? -Jenn

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    1. The dye is that colour and then they are polished with olive oil. Used to be only red dye but now you can buy loads, even sparkly

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  3. More delightful tales, of life, on a Greek Isle.

    Ahhh spring cleaning. Never really got into that. lol. All that *wild-and-wooly* cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

    And, actually, Easter _is_ the most important Date in Christianity. Only if you believe in Easter, would any of the other celebrations, be of any consequence.

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    1. So true on all accounts. My cleaning is usually just the absolute necessary but there is a bit of winter grime which should be removed

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  4. I should be doing an autumn clean and bedding down for the winter. But I’m still not well and the heat just won’t go
    I used to dye eggs. But by the time we all do. Everyone is sick of them and then the dogs get them. So I’m not bothering this year

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    1. I can imagine all those darn eggs. We always dye far too many and end up throwing them away. This year we've been given 65 fresh ones. Thank goodness children and friends will take some

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