Orthodox Easter - Macedonia-style

Happy Easter! Now, were you thinking that Easter already happened a month ago?? Well, you'd be right! But then so am I. :) You see, just like Christmas in Macedonia, Easter is celebrated according to the Julian calendar (along with some very complicated calculations having to do with the moons cycle and Passover). Some years it's only 1 week apart or even happens on the same day, but this year there was a one month difference between "Catholic" Easter and "Praveno Slavena" or Orthodox Easter. This blog is simply to share with you the traditions associated with celebrating Orthodox Easter here in Macedonia.

Easter is a really big can't-miss holiday here. The bigger services start on Good Friday. There's a huge ornamental table set up in the center of the large church. It's considered Jesus' grave. There's even a full-length icon of Jesus. Worshippers come and place their offerings of money, eggs and other items on the table and then kiss the icon. Then they crawl under the "grave" and out the other side as a symbol of coming under or being one with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Over the two days of Friday and Saturday a large amount of money and eggs are collected. The stewards gather the offerings for the church and my old language teacher says that the eggs are then distributed not just to the priests but to the poor and orphanages as well.

Just before midnight on Saturday the priests move the icon from the "grave" to the front of the church to the holy place. Then the lights are turned off and the main candle lit by the Arch Bishop who then passes on that flame to all those around. It's really a very striking ceremony. The priestly procession then moves outside the church to begin the walk around the church (three times, I believe) while singing, the church bells ringing and the sent of myrrh filling the night air. Then they gather at the far end of the courtyard for the midnight service, which begins with a reading out of the Gospel of Mark telling the story of the women coming to the tomb and finding it empty. Then at the stroke of midnight the priest calls out "Christ is risen!" three times. The worshippers then respond with "He's risen indeed." The bishop then expounded on what Easter means to the Christian, the foundation for all other religious holidays.

That call from the priest is also the peoples cue to crack their eggs against each other... representing Jesus rising from the grave. As you can see from the photo the eggs are very brightly colored and ornately decorated. Although I miss the pastels from the US, I do enjoy the brightness of the colors here. Oh, did you know that you boil the color with the eggs?? Next year when I'm on HA over Easter I'll have to show you. :) The most popular color here is red, however. This comes from the idea of the eggs, representing new life, that were believed to have been placed at the foot of the cross and Jesus' blood covered them red.

At the end of the night, my language teacher told me that single women will try to keep their candles lit until they got home. If successful they would blow it out and then place it under their pillow. It's believed that they will dream of who will be their husband that night.

What's interesting about all this is the vivid imagery that's built into all aspects of this celebration: from faith to fancy. Yet just as striking are the shattered eggs, beer cans and wine bottles littering the streets afterwards. Just 100 yards from the church, across the street, hundreds of young people gather, holding their candles, and partying. Of the thousands who attend this ceremony, some are deeply devoted to the faith, some are there for tradition, some are there to hang with friends, family and neighbors, some are there to party, some are foreigners like me just taking it all in and some are a combination or so of all of the above. In the thousands gathered, I noticed that there was a sense of organization, or community, small groupings within the larger group. Groupings of families, neighbors and friends. What's clear is that like the Kolede bonfires, this is a deeply social time for the community to gather together and to fellowship with one another.