Greek Easter and Easter in Crete

Easter in Crete and Greece as a whole is celebrated in a different manner to what we have become accustomed to at home. The date of Greek Easter changes every year and this year its on the April 4th 2010.

Rather than spending Easter at home why not take your family on a holiday to Crete and enjoy a side of Easter you never knew existed. Crete in April has better weather than here in the UK and any family run hotel will make you feel part of the celebrations and probably even invite you over to share in the mid afternoon roast.

Many of the traditions that bond the generations together occur during the Easter feast. Easter is the most sacred and celebrated of all of the Greek holidays. The Cretan and Greek people are much more family orientated than most other cultures but at Easter it really shows.

For the tourist its a marvel to watch, the massive bonfires in the town centres, firework displays, lamb roasting on open spits. Spending Easter in Crete is amazing, get along with the locals and join them in the celebrations, get your red Easter egg and some Easter bread and dine on traditional lamb dishes fresh from the BBQ.

Greek Easter Eggs and Easter Bread

One of the most popular and well known areas of Greek Easter has to be the Easter Egg which is associated with beliefs dating back to ancient times. The egg was an important symbol in the mythologies of many early civilizations, including those of India and Egypt. It was commonly believed that the universe developed from a great egg and that the halves of its shell corresponded to Heaven and earth ring.

Greeks mainly colour eggs red (scarlet) to signify the blood of Christ. They use hard-boiled eggs (painted red on Holy Thursday) which are baked into twisted sweet-bread loaves or distributed on Easter Sunday; people rap their eggs against their friend’s eggs and the owner of the last un cracked egg is considered lucky.

Greek Easter and the Celebrations

April is normally a quiet time for the locals, but you will still find them as friendly as ever and in our opinion its the best time to visit the island and get an in sight into the real culture of Crete.

If you get a chance to celebrate Easter in Crete, do not pass it up; it will mean song, dance and "Kefl" around the fire pit as the spit slowly revolves cooking the lamb.

There is a video that shows you how to cook lamb on the spit at Easter, including the best way to carve the lamb and present it as a lovely meal to your guests. The most important thing to take away from Greek Easter is the family orientated celebrations. This year make sure you spend more time getting your family together, even go as far as making the Greek Easter eggs or bread that we offer recipes on.

Greek Easter Egg Recipe
Greek Easter Bread Recipe