Greek Easter Food | Menu, Candle and Celebration

Greek Easter Food |Greek Easter Cookies from Smyrna


INGREDIENTS

    2 cups butter
    1 1/2 cups white sugar
    4 egg yolks
    1/2 cup milk or orange juice
    8 cups sifted all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 tablespoon grated orange rind
    1 egg

METHOD

Preparations for Easter come to a climax toward the end of Holy Week, between Palm Sunday and Easter. While there are many local customs associated with Easter, there are several observed by all.

Holy (or Great) Thursday

Greek Easter Candle

Various rituals are associated with the observance of Greek Easter celebration and one of the most prominent traditions of this festival is the custom of presenting Greek Easter candles to friends or little ones of the family The traditional Greek Easter candles are

known as paschal candle, symbolizing the rise of Jesus. It is commonly used in liturgical communities during the Great Fifty Days of Easter. Special Greek Easter candles are very large, always inscribed with a cross and the date of the current year, in Greek signifying that the Lord is present and will be so forever till eternity.

Also five grains of aroma, symbolizing the five wounds of Christ, are compressed into the arms and center of the cross in the candle with pins or nails.