Easter is in the air

HAPPY EASTER

Easter Symbols

Easter Bunny

The Bible makes no mention of a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers decorated eggs to well-behaved children on Easter Sunday; nevertheless, the Easter bunny has become a prominent symbol of Christianity's most important holiday. The exact origins of this mythical mammal are unclear, but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called "Osterhase" or "Oschter Haws." Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the U.S. and the fabled rabbit's Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Additionally, children often left out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping.

Easter Eggs

Easter is a religious holiday, but some of its customs, such as Easter eggs, are likely linked to pagan traditions. The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus' emergence from the tomb and resurrection. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.
Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular egg-related traditions. In the U.S., the White House Easter Egg Roll, a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn, is an annual event held the Monday after Easter. The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. The event has no religious significance, although some people have considered egg rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus' tomb being rolled away, leading to his resurrection.

Faberge Eggs
Watch video about the most famous Easter eggs in history: Faberge Eggs.

History of Easter
Watch video about the history of Easter.

Easter Candy

Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, after Halloween. Among the most popular sweet treats associated with this day are chocolate eggs, which date back to early 19th century Europe. Eggs have long been associated with Easter as a symbol of new life and Jesus' resurrection. Another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became associated with Easter in the 1930s (although the jelly bean's origins reportedly date all the way back to a Biblical-era concoction called a Turkish Delight). According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year for Easter, enough to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide. For the past decade, the top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy has been the marshmallow Peep, a sugary, pastel-colored confection. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer Just Born (founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born in 1923) began selling Peeps in the 1950s. The original Peeps were handmade, marshmallow-flavored yellow chicks, but other shapes and flavors were later introduced, including chocolate mousse bunnies.
Easter Parade

In New York City, the Easter Parade tradition dates back to the mid-1800s, when the upper crust of society would attend Easter services at various Fifth Avenue churches then stroll outside afterward, showing off their new spring outfits and hats. Average citizens started showing up along Fifth Avenue to check out the action. The tradition reached its peak by the mid-20th century, and in 1948, the popular film Easter Parade was released, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland and featuring the music of Irving Berlin. The title song includes the lyrics: "In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it/You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade."
The Easter Parade tradition lives on in Manhattan, with Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street being shut down during the day to traffic. Participants often sport elaborately decorated bonnets and hats. The event has no religious significance, but sources note that Easter processions have been a part of Christianity since its earliest days. Today, other cities across America also have their own parades.

The History of Easter

Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, is Christianity's most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn't fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.
The exact origins of this religious feast day's name are unknown. Some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.
Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry, a time in which Christians believe he survived various temptations by the devil. The day before Lent, known as Fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples; Good Friday, which honors the day of his crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. The 50-day period following Easter Sunday is called Eastertide and includes a celebration of Jesus' ascension into heaven.
In addition to Easter's religious significance, it also has a commercial side, as evidenced by the mounds of jelly beans and marshmallow chicks that appear in stores each spring. As with Christmas, over the centuries various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter eggs, bunnies, baskets and candy, have become a standard part of this holy holiday.

What is Easter?

Easter is the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter) and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.
Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday; Holy Week, commencing on Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating with Holy Saturday; and the Octave of Easter, extending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday. During the Octave of Easter in early Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company

Happy Easter

Easter

Easter (Greek: Πάσχα, Pascha) is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Many Christian denominations celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday. The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously estimated between the years 26 and 36 A.D.

Holy Week

The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.
For the 1958 novel of the same name by Louis Aragon, see La Semaine Sainte.
Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, "Greater Week") in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday (or in the Eastern, Lazarus Saturday) until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days. It commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Holy Week in the Western Church
Monday to Wednesday
The days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday are known as Holy Monday (or Fig Monday), Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday (sometimes called Spy Wednesday). The Gospels of these days recount events not all of which occurred on the corresponding days between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his Last Supper. For instance, the Monday Gospel tells of the Anointing of Bethany which occurred before the Palm Sunday event described in John 12:12-19.
The Chrism Mass, whose texts the Roman Missal now gives under Holy Thursday, may be brought forward to one of these days, to facilitate participation by as many as possible of the clergy of the diocese together with the bishop. This Mass was not included in editions of the Roman Missal before the time of Pope Pius XII. In this Mass the bishop blesses separate oils for the sick (used in Anointing of the Sick) for catechumens (used in Baptism) and chrism (used in Baptism, but especially in Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as in rites such as the blessing of an altar and a church).
Holy Week in Eastern Christianity
In Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, Holy Week is referred to as "Great and Holy Week". Orthros (Matins) services for each day are held on the preceding evening. Thus, the Matins service of Great Monday is sung on Palm Sunday evening, and so on. This permits more of the faithful to attend, and shows that during Holy Week the times are out of joint—Matins ends up being served in the evening, and in some places Vespers is served in the morning.
Fasting during Great and Holy Week is very strict. Dairy products and meat products are strictly forbidden. On most days, no alcoholic beverages are permitted and no oil is used in the cooking. Friday and Saturday are observed as strict fast days, meaning that nothing should be eaten on those days. However, fasting is always adjusted to the needs of the individual, and those who are very young, ill or elderly are not expected to fast as strictly. Those who are able to, may receive the blessing of their spiritual father to observe an even stricter fast, whereby they eat only two meals that week: one on Wednesday night and one after Divine Liturgy on Thursday.
The services of Sunday through Tuesday evenings are often called "Bridegroom Prayer", because of their theme of Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church, a theme expressed in the troparion that is solemnly chanted during them. On these days, an icon of the "Bridegroom" is placed on an analogion in the center of the temple, portraying Jesus wearing the purple robe of mockery and crowned with a crown of thorns (see Instruments of the Passion).

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbours, or sending them on fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day.

#1Hoaxe : The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

Retrieved April 1, from www.wikipedia.org

The Woman Of Rho

Despina Achladioti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Despina Achladioti was a Greek patriot born on the island of Kastellórizo in 1890. Before the start of World War II, in which her home island was ravaged repeatedly, Achladioti sailed with her husband and mother to the nearby deserted island of Rho where they lived off of a few goats, chickens, and a vegetable garden. Her two companions died only years after the arrival, and Achladioti personally rowed her mother's remains back to Kastellórizo for burial.

Achladioti's most renowned deed is that every day she would fly a Greek flag over the island even though the island was not formally part of greece (as with the rest of the Dodecanese) till 1948. This made her a Greek hero, especially when Greece nearly went to war with Turkey in the 1970s, because the flag would be easily visible from Turkish soil. She raised the flag every day, regardless of the weather, from the time she arrived on the island until her death on May 13, 1982 at the age of 92.[1]. Despite not having veteran status, she was buried on the island with full military honors.
A Greek military unit is now based on the island, with the main duty of keeping the tradition of raising the flag

The Greek National Anthem: Hymn to Liberty (Imnos stin Eleftheria)

In Greek













Latin Transliteration

Se gnorizo apo tin kopsi,
Tou spathiou tin tromeri,
Se gnorizo apo tin opsi,
pou me via metra tin yi.
Ap' ta kokala vgalmeni, Ton Ellinon ta iera,
Ke san prota andriomeni, Haire, o haire, Eleftheria! (repeat previous two lines three times)

English Translation

We knew thee of old,
Oh, divinely restored,
By the lights of thine eyes,
And the light of thy Sword,
from the graves of our slain,
Shall thy valour prevail,
As we greet thee again- Hail, Liberty! Hail! (repeat previous two lines three times



Lyrics: Dionysios Solomos, 1824 - Music: Nikolaos Mantzaros, 1828 - Translation: Rudyard Kipling in 1918



Italian translation of the Greek National Anthem by Cesare Sofianopulo (Trieste 1951)


Ti conosco dal tremendo
taglio vivo dell'acciar,
ti conosco: va scorrendo
l'occhio tuo la terra e il mar.
Sorta fuor dalle ossa sante
degli Elleni e come già
in passato fosti aitante,
salve, salve, o Libertà!

25th Of March

March 25 is both a national (revolution against the Turks) and religious holiday (Annunciation). March 25 is the nameday for Vangelis or Evangelos and Vangelio or Evangelia or Eva.

There is a school flag parade in every town and village and a big armed forces parade in Athens , the capital of Greece .

The Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453 and the Greeks remained under the Ottoman rule for nearly 400 years. During this time their language, their religion and their sense of identity remained strong.

On March 25, 1821 the bishop Germanos of Patras raised the Greek flag at the Monastery of Agia Lavra in Peloponnese and one more revolution started against the Turks. The people of Greece shouted "Freedom or Death" and they fought the War of Independence for 9 years (1821-1829) until a small part of modern Greece was finally liberated and it was declared an independent nation.

The struggle for the liberation of all the lands inhabited by Greeks continued. In 1864, the Ionian islands were added to Greece; in 1881 parts of Epirus and Thessaly. Crete, the islands of the Eastern Aegean and Macedonia were added in 1913 and Western Thrace in 1919. After World War II the Dodecanese islands were also returned to Greece.

- Epidauros, January 15, 1822. First National Assembly of Independence: Why we started the war against the Turks.

- At the end of April 1825, Ibrahim Pascha began the siege of Messolongi, a town in central Greece. Finally, in the night of the 10th to 11th of April 1826 the defenders of the town, which were worn out by the twelve-month siege and the lack of food, attempted a desperate and at the same time heroic exodus. Read about the last days before the exodus

- The Treaty of London for Greek Independence, the first official international act which acknowledged Greece as an independent state

- Lord Byron, the most famous of the philellenes (friends of Greece)

- Important persons of the Greek Independence War: Theodoros Kolokotronis, Georgios Karaiskakis, Constantinos Kanaris, Makriyannis, Manto Mavrogenous, Laskarina Boumboulina, Andreas Miaoulis, Nikitaras, Papaflesas or Gregorios Dikaios.

- Memoirs (Excerpts) of General Makriyannis

- History of the Greek Constitution from the revolution until today (1821 - 2001)


The case of Crete:

The powerful administrative and military presence of the Ottoman Empire, the populous Muslim community which constituted almost the half of the population and the absence of preparations by the Philiki Etaireia were not in favour of a successful outbreak of the Greek Revolution. Nonetheless, from the end of Spring the revolutionary climate started being formed, especially in inapproachable areas of Chania (Sfakia) and Rethymnon (Anogeia). The Ottoman authorities soon learnt about these movements and proceeded with atrocities against the Christians obviously to intimidate and prevent the outbreak of a revolt. These actions had the contrary result and soon armed conflicts took place in different parts of the island. Sfakia, Anogeia and other mountainous areas constituted the main revolutionary centres and despite the fact that the Ottoman forces continued to control all the forts and strong strategic points of Crete, there was still tension until the first months of 1824. However, from the summer of the previous year (1823) Egyptian troops had landed on Crete and within the next months managed to resist by all means, confronting with great violence the Christian population. Since, the ports of Crete were used by Ibrahim Pasha as naval bases for the operations in the Peloponnese.

After more than three years, immediately after the destruction of the Egyptian fleet at Navarino (October 1827), the Greek Revolutionary Administration first and then the governor Ioannis Kapodistrias favoured the creation of revolutionary centres in different regions so that these could be included in the boundaries of the Greek state which were under negotiation. Thus, the uprising in Crete was boosted and upto the end of 1828 successful operations legalized the Greek claims on the island although they could not achieve military prevalence. Two years later the Egyptian powers repressed once again the revolt in Crete.

In the following decades more revolts followed: 1833, 1841, 1858, 1866, 1878, 1895.

Crete was liberated in 1897 and it remained an Autonomous Principality under prince George of Greece.

On December 1, 1913 the Union of Crete with Greece was finally achieved.



- About the Greek flag: "Freedom or Death" ( Eleftheria i Thanatos) was the motto during the Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that the nine lines of the flag reflects the number of syllables in the greek phrase "Eleftheria i Thanatos" = Freedom or Death.

The line pattern was chosen because of their similarity with the wavy sea that surounds the shores of Greece.The interchange of blue and white colors makes the Hellenic Flag on a windy day to look like the Aegean Sea. The Greek Square Cross that rests on the upper left-side ofthe flag demonstrates the respect and the devotion that Greek people have for the Greek Orthodox Church and signifies the important role of Christianity in the formation of the modern Hellenic Nation. During the dark years of the Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church helped the enslaved Greeks to retain their cultural characteristics: the Greek language, the Byzantine religion and generally the Greek ethnic identity. Today, Christianity is still the dominant religion among Greeks.

Retrieved March 22 from: http://www.explorecrete.com/history/march25.html

Clean Monday

In Greek Orthodox traditions

Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρή Δευτέρα), also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or (in Cyprus only) Green Monday (actually translated as such), is the first day of the Eastern Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Great Lent. It is a movable feast that occurs at the beginning of the 7th week before Orthodox Easter Sunday.

Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, and the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe etc). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, a notion which was used symbolically in Ivan Bunin's critically acclaimed story, Pure Monday.

retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Monday

Carnival In Greece

Carnival

By the word Carnival – Latin in origin, the corresponding Greek word being apókreo or apokria) – we mean the three-week period before Ash Monday when it is the custom to masquerade. Literally “Apokria” means to say goodbye to the period of meat-eating, or abstinence from meat (Apo-kreo = away from meat). In the same way the word “Carnival” is made up from the words carne = meat and vale = take leave of. Carnival is essentially the period leading up to Lent and the preparation for the biggest holiday of Christianity, Easter. It allows people to have some fun before Lent starts on Ash Monday. During Lent Christians fast to mentally and physically prepare themselves to participate in the Passion of Christ during Holy Week.The roots of the Carnival customs can be traced back to antiquity. They are related to the celebrations in honour of the god Dionysus, where enthusiasm, gaiety and banter prevailed. When Christianity became the dominant religion, elements of ancient Greek worship were incorporated into the customs and traditions pertaining to the period before Lent.

Carnival Time in Greece

Now the Carnival Time in Greece is at its peak. It ends on Monday 2nd of March
Patras, Xanthi, and other cities in Greece go all out for the pre-Lent festival known elsewhere as Mardi Gras. Join in the fun!

We will tell you more about it, shortly!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year

We wish you all a:

Christmas Carols

A very old custom which remains today practically unchanged is the Greek Christmas carols, which is called calanda in Greek. Children, in groups of two or more, still make the rounds of houses singing carols, usually accompanied by the triangle or guitars, accordions or harmonicas.
The children go from house to house, knock on doors and ask: "shall we say them?" If the homeowner's answer is yes, the kids sing the Christmas carols for several minutes before finishing up with the wish, "And for the next year, many happy returns." Years ago the homeowners offered the children holiday sweets and pastries, but today they usually give them some money.
The carols are sung on the eves of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, and they are different for each holiday.

History of Christmas Carols in Greece

The word calanda stems from the Latin calenda, which translates as "the beginning of the month." It is believed that the history of caroling goes deep into the past and connects with ancient Greece. In fact, they have even found carols written in those distant past days which are similar to the ones sung today. In ancient times the word for carols was Eiresioni, and children of that era held an effigy of a ship which depicted the arrival of the god Dionysos. Other times they held an olive or laurel branch decorated with red and white threads, on which they would tie the offerings of the homeowners.

Retrived from http://www.explorecrete.com/traditions/christmas-carols.htm

Christmas in Greece

In Greece when we talk about the "holidays" we are referring to the holiday period of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany.

Traditionally the Christmas holiday period lasts 12 days in Greece. There are many customs associated with the "twelve day of Christmas," some very old and others relatively recent, like the decorated tree and the turkey on the Christmas-day table.

Historically, in 354 A.D. it was arranged for the birth of Christ to be celebrated on December 25, the same day that they celebrated the birth of the ancient god Mithra, known as the "invincible sun god" and god of all solar deities in idolatry. With the change, and the turning of people towards other gods, the popularity of the "invincible sun god" dropped and Christ took his place.

Fasting at Christmas
In Greece, a fasting period would start almost 40 days before Christmas. While the fasting was predominately for religious reasons, many considered the period to be a healthful practice as well. The faithful would not eat any animal or its related products, i.e. meat, dairy or eggs.

Christmas Preperations
As Christmas drew near, preparations began so all would be ready for the big holiday. Houses would be cleaned with extra care, and a few days before Christmas housewives would prepare the Christmas cookies, which would be eaten on Christmas Day when the fasting ended.

In the past the honey cookies (melomakarona) were made exclusively for Christmas, while sugar cookies, or kourabiedes (kourabiethes, th as in this), were prepared for the New Year. Today, though, that distinction is not observed and both melomakarona and kourabiedes are prepared and consumed during the Christmas and New Year holidays period.

Greek Christmas Carols
The singing of Christmas carols is a custom which is preserved in its entirety to this day.
Children still go from house to house in twos or more singing the carols, while accompanied by the sounds of the triangle, even guitars, accordions, lyres or harmonicas.

The Greek Christmas Tree
Today almost everyone buys and decorates a Christmas tree in Greece, whether it be real or artificial. Usually they are decorated a few days before Christmas and remain in the homes until Epiphany.
The Christmas tree, assumed to be foreign, may even have some Greek roots. Use of decorated greenery and branches around New Year is recorded as far back as in Greek antiquity.
In older times, this custom did not exist in Crete and in some other parts of Greece they would decorate little boats instead.
In this photo you can see a Christmas tree and a Christmas boat displayed in a central square of Thessaloniki, northern Greece.

Our etwinning team....

Our etwinning team wishes everybody

A Merry Christmas and a Happy and Successful New Year.

We have some presents for you!!!!

Look under the label presents!!!!!!!!!!

Everyday you will see a new present!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year