My Big Fat Greek Easter...

Easter in Greece is a big event. In fact, it is probably bigger than Christmas, something that was evident last night outside one of the Greek Orthodox churches. A group of friends and I got together and went to the square of an Orthodox church, very quickly it filled up with people holding their Easter candles (Lambades). These are the candles they use to receive the 'holy light', a flame that traditionally originates in Jerusalem before being transported to Greece. There is much tradition and ritualistic thinking behind this event which sadly means that for the majority who attend, this is most likely where the thought begins and ends.

I was amazed however at the number of people who gathered outside the church, perhaps some were there because they believe something, others maybe simply out of habit. It reminded me of the sad reality that so many people in Greece are lost in religion. Thinking that by doing these traditions, attending these events, carrying the 'holy light', they are made more acceptable before God. When you think about it, we (in England) are no different. 

I often wander how many people think that God will overlook their sin because they read the Bible, attended church and said their prayers. If this is true, then why did Jesus have to die? I'm not saying it is all bad to use tangible symbols as a way of communicating and expressing our faith, I do however think that when we begin to rely on these symbols, something has gone terribly wrong.

And so I left the church thankful for the experience but saddened at the thought of so many who are missing the true meaning of the gospel of grace. That we bring absolutely nothing to the table when it comes to our salvation and acceptance before God. Christ paid for ALL our sin, Christ said "it is finished!", Christ is ALL we need. O how we should grasp and hold tightly to the goodness and wonder of this news! 

My apologies to the vegetarians who may be reading this blog post, however I couldn't resist posting the picture of the lamb. One thought that might ease your mind is that nothing was wasted!

As well as this lamb, we were treated to a number of traditional Greek Easter dishes. Including a soup made our of the 'other parts' of the lamb, which actually tasty very nice. Not forgetting (how could I) the desserts.  

Another interesting Greek tradition involves red eggs. The game is called tsougrisma (means "clinking together" or "clashing.") In Greek: τσούγκρισμα, pronounced TSOO-grees-mah.

Each player holds a red egg, and one taps the end of his/her egg lightly against the end of the other player's egg. The goal is to crack the opponents egg. When one end is cracked, the winner uses the same end of his/her egg to try to crack the other end of  the opponent's egg. The player who successfully cracks the eggs of the other players is declared the winner and, it is said will have good luck during the year. 

My egg was victorious in battle, until 'someone' decided to crack it against my head! You can see the action below (not great quality + sadly my head cracking moment is not in the video).

I will leave you with a few more pictures from my Greek Easter experience. Another video from the candle lighting event last night will be posted soon. Hoping you all had a blessed Easter time as we remember all God has done in sending Jesus Christ.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                                                                      1 Corinthians 15:55-57