Have you ever wondered how people in other countries celebrate their local or religious festivals? We often read about Christmas in other countries, but it is just one of many festivals that are celebrated around the world. From the Chinese New Year to Thanksgiving in US to the Muslim festival of Eid … we will be taking you on a journey around the world to discover the traditions and religions of our neighbours and friends.
We’d love to have a contribution from YOU, telling us about your favourite festival, and why you enjoy it so much.
12 year old Theodora tells us how they celebrate Easter in Greece.
Lent, is a forty-day period, in which Christian people prepare themselves for Christ’s resurrection. In these days we fast- do not eat foods like: meat, dairy and eggs-and we go more often to the church’s masses. Every Friday there is a mass for the Virgin.
On Mandy Thursday, we dye eggs red, which symbolize Christ’s blood. On Good Friday’s morning, in the church a representation takes place of Christ’s crucifiction. At night, we process the epitaph-which is decorated with many flowers- round in the city.
On Easter’s vigil mass, we light candles to take the holy light. At midnight, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and then we knock the red eggs. Some people, stay at the mass, until 3:00 a.m., to receive Holy Communion. When we return to our houses, we usually eat offal soup, a traditional Greek food.
On Easter Sunday, the families come together and they roast or spit a lamb.
Schools close for two weeks. One before and one after Easter Sunday. These are the Easter holidays.
