Greek Easter 2021 – How is Greek Easter Celebrated

Greek Easter 2021 is all about the time or period that the Greek celebrates their Easter. Easter is here! Or is it? The answer to that depends on where you’re from and the kind of Christianity (if any) that you follow. It will interest you to know that while most countries celebrate Easter between the period of April countries such as Greece celebrate later in the month.

Greek Easter 2021

So the real question is when is Greek Easter, why is it on a different date and how do people celebrate it? First off it is important to know that there is more than one Easter on the calendar. That’s because of the differences between Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity.

Around 2 billion of the world’s 2.3 billion Christians follow Western traditions. The remainder follows Eastern traditions.

Greek Easter 2021

The Greek Easter 2021 celebration as usual is expected to be different from the Christians that follow western traditions. Whereas the Western Christian Church uses the Gregorian calendar and will celebrate Easter on this set of dates, the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the earlier Julian calendar to work out what’s called Greek Easter or Orthodox Easter.

When Is Greek Easter In 2021?

In some years as happened in 2017, the Western and Eastern dates for Easter are the same. But in other years, they are different. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Greek Easter was a week later than Western Easter. In 2021, however, there will be a huge difference between the two sets of celebrations.

How is Greek Easter celebrated?

The main date is Easter Sunday, or Easter Day, which is when Christ’s Resurrection took place. The fasting of Lent continues throughout Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday. In Greece, preparations begin on Holy Thursday. Easter bread (tsoureki) is baked and eggs are colored with red dye.

Red is the color of life and also symbolic of the blood of Christ. Good Friday is a day of mourning. The most devout do not eat or cook at all, but if any cooking must be done, it’s only simple foods such as tahini soup.

Flowers are taken to church to decorate a representation of the body of Christ, which is carried in a procession during a Service of Lamentation. You can get more details by simply clicking here.

How the Date of Greek Easter Is Been Determined

Like in America, Greek Easter takes place on a Sunday, but the date is governed by a rather complex system that is determined by three primary conditions listed below;

  • First off, it must be based on the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian calendar that Roman Catholics and Protestants follow
  • Secondly, it must be after the Jewish holiday of Passover
  • Thirdly, it must be on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox in late March. You can get more details about this here.

That being said, the Great and Holy Pascha, as the Greeks call it, can sometimes fall on the same day as Western Easter, but only by pure and unlikely coincidence.

Differences in Traditions

Below are the differences in the celebration of Easter between the Greek and American Easter;

  • Whereas American Easter is often celebrated with candy, pastels, and bunnies, Greek Easter traditions include lamb (the meat, not the cartoon-shaped chocolates), braided butter cookies called koulourakia, and only the color red.
  • While Holy Week doesn’t necessarily grant time off work, it is widely celebrated in Greece (shops have different hours, restaurants serve special menus, and the church is attended every night of the week).

Easter is a festive time in Greece, so join in on the local traditions. Be on the lookout for post-Mass fireworks in the cities. Sample the customary cuisine. And if you decide to attend a service, note that some churches require women to wear scarves over their hair.

You can get more details on Greek Easter 2012 here.

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