Greek Easter

Joining the rest of the village, who were whitewashing the streets outside their houses, I finally got around to painting my front step! I love all the asvesti-ing that goes on prior to Easter in the villages. Maybe next year I will be brave and paint some more elaborate designs in our street.

We joined the epitaphion procession on Good Friday, from the main church in Harakopio, up to the graveyard and on to Aghios Theodoros and finally to the small church in the valley, before completing the loop back down the main road. The whole route was lit with lanterns and candles on balconies and the light from the brown candles carried by the procession. Strong incense wafted from every doorway and balcony.

On Easter Saturday we joined the throngs of visitors in Koroni, where we hung-out over ouzo-meze by the harbour, as scores of Athenian 4×4’s and large cars poured into the town bringing yet more visitors for the weekend. It was strange to see the place suddenly so packed, but the vibrancy was fabulous.

On Easter Sunday morning the village was extremely quiet as families congregated at home to prepare the spit-roast lamb. By midday, the smell of roasting meat hung in the air in the backstreets. We took our BBQ to the beach for our version and enjoyed the sunshine.

Sadly, due to a camera mishap I have no usable Easter photos this year, apart from these empty taverna chairs, snapped at the end of the day.