Greek Orthodox Easter

The 5th of May was Easter! As far as I know not all Orthodox celebrate it that day, but at least it was Easter for us. As a celebration, it is considered to be very important. In the old days, I would definitely go to church at least on Good Friday to follow the epitaphios and for a short period of time late at night on Good Saturday to hear the celebratory announcement of the resurrection. I would do that more as a family tradition and not out of religious beliefs. Like decorating a Christmas tree, getting dressed on my good church clothes, picking up my special big decorated candle and going to the church to hear the priest announce the resurrection of Christ before the loud bells ringing and the fireworks exploding, was part of my childhood. Although, the most important part of Easter is the Sunday lunch massive feast where the whole family would gather around the whole lamb roasting for hours over a pit.

This is probably what would happen, if I was in Greece or if more of my Greek friends were in London to organise something properly Easter-y. The only thing that resembles the time of the year was the fact that I dyed some eggs with my housemate! They even look half decent! Traditionally we should have just plain red eggs, but we decided of using two colours instead! I know, we can be quite the party animals!

Easter Eggs

So, the long weekend was generally really nice. The weather was beautiful and yesterday bank holiday meant an extra day to relax and enjoy. In the past few days we had a bbq in the back garden, we watched ‘Iron Man 3’, went for a hike in Hampstead Heath, for a walk alongside Regent’s canal and for a picnic in Clapham Common! I even managed to bake a lovely chocolate marble cake on Saturday! Yes, it was as yummy as it seems. I was impressed with myself.

Not bad at all

Among the highlights of the weekend, I have to add what happened on Sunday morning. On Easter Sunday morning I went for a run. The weather was nice and I was running in only a t-shirt and shorts for the first time this year. It was really nice. On the way home, in the middle of a park I found a £5 bank note! I did look around for any other people walking around and I even checked if someone was pulling me a prank. There was no one. So, I just put the fiver in my pocket and left. I plan on spending it on a lottery ticket this week! No, I’m not that cheap, but the event put a smile on my face. It’s always nice to go exercise and even make money over it.

Enjoy the weather in Hampstead Heath

The view from Parliament Hill 

Next to Regent's is the Zoo. The keeper was feeding the hyenas when the river boat passed 

The canal