Easter Saturday-Night Light

This is our Holy Light which has come all the way from Jerusalem

Or it 'was' our light.  The flame went out a few days ago.

The Holy Light is a miracle which is supposed to take place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on the eve of the Orthodox  easter celebration.  

The church says that ' a beam of blue light radiates from the tomb of Jesus creating a fiery pillar.'  A lone priest, actually the Patriarch of Jerusalem, enters the tomb (having been searched to make sure he hasn't got a lighter hidden anywhere) lights a bundle of 33 candles from the 'fiery blue pillar' and emerges to light the candles of the thousands of faithful waiting outside.  The light is then transported to Greece and to every church in the country in time for the midnight mass of ressurection. 

Whether the lighting of the candles in the tomb is miraculous or not doesn't matter.  It's an important part of the Easter tradition here.

The light is brought to Greece on a special flight and is given the honours of a Head of State.  It is also transported to other Orthodox countries in the Balkans.  In Greece it is flown from Athens to major cities and islands and from there to every church in every corner of Greece.

  The Light is brought to Poros by fast motor launch.  At the harbour it is handed over to the Mayor and several small boys, including my grandson, and the light is transported to the 4 big churches which hold a midnight mass and over to the nearby mainland villages and their churches.

Just before midnight the priest of each church emerges with candles lit from the Holy Light. The light goes from candle to candle through the crowd, a white candle tonight or a decorated candle for the children, till the churchyard and beyond is lit up with the flames of these small 'torches'.

At midnight the priest  announces 'Christ is Risen' and all hell breaks loose.

Heaven and hell. 

Church bells ring out from the four churches, ships horns toot, and firecrackers send many scattering to safety. The sky is lit up with dazzling fireworks and the celebrations begin.

The Light is taken home to make a sign of the cross above the door and then is left to burn, as long as it burns.

We didn't go down to the midnight service this year so one daughter brought us  the light in a lantern  the next day.

The light is a wick in a small bowl of oil, which unfortunately tipped over on a corner, and has stained her car seat.  The car has been anointed permanently in  holy oil. She should be safe driving it but beware any passenger wearing white trew 😁

You'd think it would have kept us safe from spirits and misfortune at least while it was still burning. But our ghost returned.

Exactly four years ago, after the Easter feast, he startled our house guests by turning on the outside radio in the wee hours and scared the living daylights out of my nephew who had to go out in the dark, black night and turn it off. Two  grapefruit fell unexpectedly and loudly from the tree as he passed it by, sending him racing back inside as fast as a road runner.

This year, after the Easter feast, our ghost turned that same radio on at 4am, just as it started to rain.  K had to go out this time  with cold, wet, bare feet and turn it off. 

I've tried to appease him, the ghost that is, by offering him a glass of wine.

K needed more than one glass to appease him.