Orthodox Easter lockdown celebrations

As some of you may know the Greek people celebrate Easter on a different day than when most countries celebrate. This is due to the different branch of religion they follow; they follow the orthodox Christian calendar. This means that Easter fell on the 19th April 2020.
Unfortunately, this is also during the lockdown in place due to the corona virus. But Easter is so big for the Greeks, that normally they would go all out, just as we may do for Christmas.
Because of how big Easter is as soon as the clock struck midnight on the 18th (Holy Saturday) leading into the 19th we began to hear chanting, bells and booming noises. Not knowing what this could be we made our way up to the roof to get a proper look at what was happening. When we got up there, we soon became aware of the fireworks going off from multiple different positions within the city. The sky was full of flares and fireworks coming off Lycabettus hill and the chapel on top of that. Mixing in with the fireworks was the sound of “he is risen”, the passage regarding Jesus resurrection from his crucifixion. With everyone out on their roof’s and balcony’s it was truly a mesmerising sight.

​After the firework show and a goodnights sleep, the next day seemed to bring quiet streets and shut down shops … not that that’s much different to everyday life at the moment. However, on our daily exercise we could smell the BBQ smoke and different smells coming from everyone’s houses. One thing we did find strange was the sound of bangs from around the city. After some investigating (online) we were told that this could in fact be firecrackers, so the festivities we clearly still in full swing just at a safe  distance, being celebrated from rooftops and balconies. 

​All in all, it seemed the Greek people were still trying to celebrate the best that they could given the situation right now and I hope that they managed to make the most of the day!

​KALO PASKA !!!
(happy easter)

​Written & published by: Elly Babe (elly_babexxx)