Easter Table in Greece

The celebration of Orthodox Easter (Pascha) is considered the most important holiday on the Greek calendar. Special traditions mark not only the mourning of Christ’s Crucifixion and the celebration of Resurrection, but also the passage from winter to spring.

The word "Pascha" derives from the Jewish "Pasah" which means "Passover". Jewish people celebrated "Pasah" to commemorate their liberation from the Egyptians and the passage of the Red sea.

The traditional services and customs of Orthodox Easter are inevitably linked with both fasting and festive foods. When the Christians began to celebrate Easter, they retained some of the features of the Jewish Passover, such as eating lamb. In Byzantine times, it was the custom to bake ring-bread with a dyed red egg in the middle. The egg is a symbol of life, while red is the color of life.

During Holy Week complete fasting is to take place. Palm Sunday, which is the first day of the Holy Week, is a day when only fish and fish courses are served. On Good Friday, sweet things are not eaten - for the love of Christ, who was given vinegar to drink. Soup made with sesame-paste, lettuce or lentils with vinegar is the food eaten on this day.

On Easter Sunday celebration begins early in the morning with the cracking of red eggs ("tsougrisma") and an outdoor feast of roast lamb followed by dancing. Before the eggs are eaten, people rap their eggs against their friends' eggs and the owner of the last uncracked egg is considered lucky. It's a game enjoyed by children and adults alike. Eggs are often made in very large quantities since the game continues on the next day with more friends and family.

Following 40 days of fasting, the traditional Pascha meal is a banquet of meat, eggs and other long - forbidden animal products. Cheese, eggs, and richly scented breads play an important part on the table, but the meal is always centered around meat. The Easter table reflects the culinary differences around Greece.

The main attraction of the day is whole roasted lamb or goat (kid) to represent the Lamb of God, however many prefer oven and stovetop lamb or kid dishes. Spit-roast lamb is the prevalent tradition, but many areas preserve their distinctive way of preparing the Easter dish. On many islands (Andros, Samos, Naxos, Rhodes) lamb is stuffed with rice and herbs, then baked in the oven.

Magiritsa, a Greek soup made from lamb offal, is eaten to break the fast of the Greek Orthodox Great Lent. In its traditional form, magiritsa simply consists of all the offal removed from the lamb before roasting, and subsequently flavored with seasonings and sauces. Prepared by Greeks on Holy Saturday along with the next day's lamb, magiritsa is consumed immediately after the Pascha midnight Divine Liturgy. The dish is particularly thick and filling, making it a satisfying meal for breaking the fast.

There are many other delicacies included in the Paschal feast: cheese pittes, regional fresh cheeses and yogurt served with honey.

The sweets include special tsoureki and the koulouria tis Lambris (biscotti di Creta).

Great Greek wines, ouzo, and other drinks flow freely, and preparations for the meal turn into festive celebrations even before the eating begins.

These high-spirited gatherings often last long into the night.