The
“Sweet” Life goes Greek... Orthodox, that is...
Ah, Easter - such a magical time for
young children. When I think of my childhood Easters, I recall plenty of
chocolate Easter eggs and white candy-coated Easter eggs, waiting for the
famous Easter Bunny to deliver more delicious Easter treats and then spending
most of Easter Sunday in bed with my family, munching on hot-crossed buns and
chocolates. I was brought up as a Methodist Christian, so some of our Easter
Sundays were spent at church but mostly, we just made sure that we were
together as a family on this day.
However, as I grew up and stopped
believing in the Easter Bunny, I found that this time of year became a great
deal less whimsical. Instead of being excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival,
we were excited about all of the public holidays around Easter. Instead of
chocolate treats, my dear Mother would buy me Easter panties – my Mom loves
underwear, she’s one of those moms who always told us to make sure we were
wearing pretty underwear in case we were in an accident so that if we were stripped
of all our clothes we would be covered on the pretty underwear front! Little
things like Easter panties and lying in bed together eating hot-crossed buns
are what formed the bulk of our Easter traditions.
Greek Easter, on the other hand, is an
entirely different story! I would come to learn this quite quickly as I embarked
on the little adventure that was to be my First Greek Easter. The Greek had
told me a little bit about Greek traditions when we started seeing each other
but he got really serious when he explained Greek Easter to me around the middle
of February. I think I ought to mention that the Greek Orthodox religion isn’t
just a religion – it’s a lifestyle. This seemed a bit odd to me when I first
started dating the Greek because I lost touch with my faith during my high
school years and never really found a place of worship or a place in my own
heart that made me feel close to God. To be with someone who is so passionate
and devoted and dedicated to his religion is a truly refreshing feeling for me
and it is one of the many reasons why I love the Greek so very much. But I
digress. Let’s get back to Greek Easter...
The Greek told me that Greek Easter was
basically the most important time of year for the Greek Orthodox community.
This time of year reminds us of how God sacrificed His Son for the forgiveness
of our sins and how Christ was resurrected from the dead and will come again.
In order to commemorate this very important time of year, Greek Orthodox
Christians fast for a period of seven weeks.
Fasting is not for the faint-hearted! Fasting includes giving up all meat,
fish, dairy products and oil. Those who are particularly strict on themselves during
fasting (like the Greek) will avoid alternatives to these products such as soy
milk and soy protein products as well. Seven weeks of vegetables, soups, lentils
and baked beans is hardly an appetising menu. Not to mention the amount of
carbs in the form of bread, rice, potatoes and pasta that these people consume.
Keep in mind though, that not all Greeks
take this time seriously, and a very rare few will actually fast for the whole
seven weeks. Most Greeks will fast for the first week and the last two or three
weeks of Easter, but not my Greek.
No, he was serious! Now, you may be wondering how fasting would affect me since
I’m not Greek Orthodox (yet). The answer is simple; I spend two or three weekends
a month at the Greek’s place which means I would be fasting (more or less) for
three weekends a month for about two and a half months. I also had to stock my
cupboards with Greek Orthodox approved foods for the weekends that the Greek would
be spending at my place. The fasting part was really hard on the Greek and his
family, everyone got a little grumpier with each passing week because, let’s
face it – there’s only so many bowls of lentil soup one can eat before they
stop being tasty. The Greek and his family got thinner as the weeks passed
which irritated the living daylights out of me because there is only so much
that three days of gym a week can do with so many carbs! I had never had to
change my diet like this before and I could feel my waistline expanding week
after week.
This change to my diet wasn’t the most
drastic change I made though. I started going to Greek church every Sunday. I became so devoted that I
found a Greek church in Pretoria so that the Greek and I could go to church
even when we weren’t in Johannesburg to visit his church. I had never been the
sort of person to go to church regularly, much less every Sunday! Some people
said that I was only going for the Greek, and it may have started out that way,
but by the middle of Greek Easter, I was excited to go to church on a Sunday. I
was starting to find that I felt closer to God when I was at Greek church. It’s
certainly very different from any other church I’ve ever been to. It is a very
structured type of worship; every Sunday we pray for the same things and we are
reminded of the basics and fundamentals of the religion, I think that maybe
this is what’s been missing for me. I like to be reminded regularly about why I’m
at church, what the fundamentals are and what I should aim for spiritually.
English Easter Sunday was a week before
Greek Easter Sunday this year and I didn’t have my traditional family Easter,
just a visit with my parents that afternoon. The next day marked the start of
Holy Week. This is a very special week for the Greek Orthodox community because
every night at church, part of the story of the crucifixion is told.
My
First Holy Week
The Monday service was about two hours
long which was short in comparison with the Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
services. The Wednesday service took place around midday and focussed on the
power of confession. I felt so honoured to be part of this very special week. I
only missed two of the services that week – the Tuesday and Wednesday services –
because I had to attend classes in Pretoria but the rest of the services were
incredible. The Thursday night service was four hours long, the little church
was full and everyone glowed in the light of the candles lighting the place.
Friday’s service was also very long but it was such a different experience for
me that I barely even realised how long it was.
Friday night commemorated Christ’s
crucifixion and His being placed in the tomb. Each Greek Orthodox church has an
altar that stands in the church and can be carried around the church later on. The
altar at the little church was decorated with hundreds of white and purple
flowers and symbolised the tomb in which Christ was buried. At about eleven o’clock
the whole congregation, led by people carrying the “tomb”, walked around the
church holding candles to light the way. This was one of the most beautiful
things I’ve ever been part of, the candles looked like hundreds of fairy lights
and everyone had a beautiful golden glow to them. When the congregation reached
the entrance to the church again, the “tomb” was lifted up and each person had
to re-enter the church by walking under the “tomb”. After the service was
finished, each person walked to the “tomb” and kissed the icon of Christ and
was allowed to take some of the flowers from the “tomb” home with them.
On Saturday morning the very brave members
of the congregation went out into the crisp Autumn air and headed off to church
where the service focussed on “awakening” Christ. The congregation stamped
their feet and banged on the pews in order to make a loud noise that would
signal that Christ will rise. It was a very lively service that marked the end
of the “mourning” period. I have never attended a service that filled me with
so much energy before! After the service most of us went for tea at the local
Greek restaurant, Meze. After that we went home to prepare for the festivities
that would take place that evening. We baked traditional Greek biscuits, made
chicken soup and boiled some famous Greek red eggs – all of which would be
enjoyed once the fast was over.
On Saturday night we made our way to
church a little before ten o’clock. The little church was so full that we had
to join several other people outside to watch the priest give a short service. We
then lit our candles and made our way to the entrance of the church where the
whole congregation sang the traditional Greek hymn, Xristos Anesti, which means
“Christ has risen”, and celebrated the resurrection of Christ. All but about
thirty of us, including the choir, altar boys and the priest, went home after
that. Those of us who stayed attended a short service and sang Xristos Anesti a
few more times before going home to celebrate Christ’s resurrection with red
eggs, lamb and chicken soup, tea with milk and biscuits and good company.
It was such a special time for me. I
never thought that my first real taste of the Greek culture and traditions
would become such a spiritual journey for me. It was such an honour to be part
of so many incredible, new traditions. I dare say that the Greek is ultimately
the one I ought to thank for including me in the traditions and also for
awakening my faith which is what encouraged me to try to strengthen my
relationship with God. It has made The “Sweet” Life so much sweeter!
