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This really does interest me

I'm thinking of easter Bunnies , eggs etc

Just look at all this

Bunnies et al [godiva.com]

Now how can we actually put it all together - there is certainly a big division here - but at the same time it does link - in a sort of chocolatey way

Any takers ?

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I think that we do it the same way that we do it at Christmas....

In the U.S., atleast two generations of cradle Greek Orthodox have been linking the two:

This is the usual practice of those with young children:

Before Holy Week, sometimes the very young children take a photo with the Easter Bunny at a local shopping mall.

At Holy Week, we observe the evening services and we fast. On Holy Thursday we boil and dye the Easter eggs, and although the Greek Orthodox tradition is to die them red, we American born also buy the pretty pastel colors too so that we have lots of Easter eggs in red and other colors to eat during Bright Week.

On Saturday evening, we all go (even young children) to the Service of the Resurrection. Sometimes, in the more ethnically Greek families, a grandmother or mother may stay home to prepare the traditional breaking of the fast soup which is eaten after Church. The parishes in my area have made it easy for everyone to attend in that they now host the meal at 2 A.M. for the breaking of the fast after Divine Liturgy. After Divine Liturgy, every parishioner is handed out a red Easter egg wrapped in tulle and a ribbon. The traditional meal offered for us there for us at the Church Hall is the 'mayiritsa' soup, sweet Easter bread called 'tsoureki', Easter eggs, and plates of feta cheese and olives. Our priests usually go the extra male mile and send an older altar boy out to get them a hamburger! LOL!

If the children are very young, many parishioners might leave after the 'Come receive the Light' and before the Divine Liturgy to get them to bed. No matter the time one leaves, the holy light candle is brought home (I can just imagine what people think seeing cars driving after midnight with candles in them! eek )... and the sign of the cross is made with the fire over the door mantles.

On Easter Sunday, the kiddies wake up to either find their baskets full of yummy chocolates (yes, and peeps too!) left to them by the Easter Bunny, and/or they have an Easter egg hunt. The kiddies dress up in their Easter finery and some of our parishes will have a service (it is called 'Vespers of the Agape'--it is not a DL, as the DL for the day was already done) which families will take the children to, if they were not able to stay up for the Resurrection service.
Some parishes hand out chocolate Easter bunnies to the children after the service. smile

Then we eat, and eat, and eat (feasting being a BIG secular custom associated with Pascha day!)... Then we adults eat the chocolates sent by Mr. Easter Bunny that the kiddies haven't already eaten in the morning!!! cool

Now that my children are young adults, unfortunately, I have no rationale to buy chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs anymore. frown
So gone are those particular secular customs for the time being....

Alice

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Gracious eek eek

Once more - it's not like that over here frown - Can't actually answer for the Eastern Churches of course .

Do you have the custom of rolling hard boiled eggs ?

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I think that I have heard of that in the larger Easter egg hunts.

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Originally posted by Alice:
I think that I have heard of that in the larger Easter egg hunts.
Hmm - don't think that's done as much as it used to be frown

The kiddies are supposed to get their eggs on easter Sunday - but in fact they are in the shops straight after Christmas - so what chance do you have to get them to keep them

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I have decided to forego the secular part next year. Instead we will truly celebrate the fast as a time for fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. I love the fast and the challenges it presents for me. I plan that next year we will fast from meat, as always, but add another item each week for the rest of the fast. By Holy week we should be at no TV or music, no sweets, lots of prayer. That way the easter basket goodies will truly be anticipated and savored. We will decorate eggs and do pysanky, still will have the feast for dinner on Easter, still have candy in our baskets.

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oops

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Just think how much fun it would be to commercialize Pentecost! Imagine - chocolate Doves, Men in the street dressed up like Chronos raising money for what one trustingly hopes are worthy causes . . . the possibilities are endless.

Incognitus

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Yes, getting your picture taken with the "Ghost"... smile Or the "Great Dove"?

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Originally posted by incognitus:
Just think how much fun it would be to commercialize Pentecost! Imagine - chocolate Doves, Men in the street dressed up like Chronos raising money for what one trustingly hopes are worthy causes . . . the possibilities are endless.

Incognitus
oops I'm pleading awful ignorance here - I do have an excuse since I have been working hard for the last very near 2 hours and I'm beginning to have brain blanks frown

Who was Chronos - the bells are ringing - but not sort of connecting at the moment

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Chocolate Doves - and they wouldn't necessarily have to be made of dark Chocolate either - but I do love it so biggrin

hmm - I'm tempted - very tempted


Let's start a new tradition biggrin

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When I was growing up, my Russian grandmother used to make Paska and Kulich and we would have the red-dyed boiled eggs. And we had two Easters, one on the Julian and one on the Gregorian date. Now for a variety of reasons, my Grandother goes to a Greek Orthodox church where Easter coincides with the Gregorian date, and as we now have one Easter the celebration has lost much of its character. We have an advantage over the Gregorian claendar Christains; we can actually more easily separate our CHristian tradition from the secualr junk that surrounds the Gregorian date. I guess that's my take on it, we don't try and link two very different types of fish in kettles.

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One thing I may miss is pysanky. Granted I could be doing it at home, nothing beats meeting with a group of people and working together, giving hints on how to dye it correctly and have more experienced artisians help you tweak your methods. Maybe next year I'll ask if I can hold a class at my new parish, just an informal thing, a good way to fellowship during the Great Fast.

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Yes I agree with Ned. I also like the old Calendar feast being free of the commercial stuff. I certainly would not be keen to take any children to see the Easter Bunny in a shopping mall. I like the concept to be sort of vague and mysterious with children, so bringing the child face to face with the bunny would spoil it for me as well (the inner child and all that). One of the advantages of living in multicultural societies is that you can mix some of the festal extras like foods and customs observed at home. I recall some of the dishes the Russians from China would bring on feast days to Kew (Aust.)and they clearly showed a people who had been through China on the way to Australia.

ICXC
NIKA

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Chronos is a mythological personification of time - rather like the English expression "Father Time". Chronos appears in some versions of the icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

Incognitus

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