In conjunction with Easter, a movable church feast called Clean Monday ("Kathara Devtera") precedes the beginning of the pre-Easter fast 40 days before Easter. This is followed by the feast of the "Holy Spirit", 40 days after Easter. The Julian calendar is used to calculate Orthodox Easter, so it is usually held at a different time than in countries with a Catholic tradition. There are two weeks of Easter holidays (the week before Easter and the week after), which, like Easter, do not have a fixed date.

For the Greeks, Easter week begins on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, when tradition holds that Jesus Christ resurrected his friend Saint Lazarus. On this occasion, the so-called lazari is baked, carols are sung and the resurrection of Lazarus is performed.

From Palm Sunday, when Christ's entry into Jerusalem is commemorated (on this one day it is permitted to eat fish), until White Saturday, a symbolic mourning is held for the last week of Christ's life on earth.

For Orthodox Christians, an important day of Holy Week is Red Thursday (as opposed to our own Maundy Thursday), when eggs are painted red. These eggs have various uses: they are brought to church for blessing, one is placed in front of a household icon, and another is placed in the equivalent of our mazan, which has a hole in the middle.

On Good Friday is the most severe fasting, because according to legend, the crucifixion and taking down of Christ from the cross took place. From morning until night, masses are held in churches and preparations are made for the imaginary tomb of Christ, where he will be placed after his removal.

On White Saturday, churches are decorated with greenery to mark the arrival of new life, with young girls decorating themselves with spring flowers, weaving them into wreaths and garlands.

Outside houses or churches, the Easter lamb is prepared and noise is made to drive away evil spirits. At midnight the lights are turned off and people bring home the blessed light from church. It is said that for 40 days after his resurrection, Christ walks among the people and gives out joy. It is a time when people begin to rejoice and dance again.

At Easter, Greeks eat roast lamb and Majiritsu soup made from lamb entrails. They only dye eggs red as a symbol of the blood of Christ. On Saturday night, they swap them and tap the tops of the eggs against each other. Whoever does not break the egg can make a wish and will have good luck all year round.

In a country where more than 90 percent of the population is religious, Easter is much more spiritual than here. There are masses every day for a week. On Friday, everything comes to a head. The body of Christ is symbolically carried out of the church, the lights around the church are draped in black cloth, the bells ring mournfully. There are also people in mourning in the procession. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is commemorated by thousands of people each year with crosses festooned with flowers.

Like here in Greece, the tradition is that everyone should wear something new at Easter. For children, this usually means new shoes and the obligatory Easter candles. But in Greece, too, Easter celebrations are becoming increasingly commercial, and it is now common to give lavish gifts, just like at Christmas. Fortunately, the main feature of Greek Easter, feasting and rejoicing with the extended family, has not yet disappeared.

And there is one more peculiarity of Greek Easter. It inherently includes lantern parades.

The Greeks know how to enjoy and rejoice without excessive alcohol. They simply forget their worries, forgive themselves for any wrongs, dance and sing, celebrate reunions with loved ones and friends, boast about their children and are happy. It is these moments that create and strengthen traditional Greek family cohesion.

Different Easter customs are maintained in different parts of Greece:

- In Cyprus, families gather for lunch outside near the church on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

- In Santorini, they traditionally celebrate Lazarus Saturday. In the main square, a huge cross resembling a ship's main mast is erected and covered with rosemary (the local name for rosemary is "alisari").

- On Zakynthos, they throw jugs of water out of the windows, and a similar tradition exists in Corfu. There, at noon on White Saturday, everyone waits for the signal of the beautiful sounding church bells and then starts throwing clay amphorae or jugs full of water into the streets. The breaking of jars is an ancient tradition in the Eastern Mediterranean that relates to death and rebirth, the revival of the power of nature.

- On the islands of Folegandros and Paros, a large procession with an icon of the Virgin Mary is held in the capital. Members of the procession are, of course, offered sweets and a cup of raki and when the procession reaches the old part of Kastro, the icon is greeted with thunderous fireworks.

- On the island of Chios, specifically in the town of Vrondados, there is a "Ruketopolemos" or rocket war. They celebrate the resurrection with a great battle in the style of the war with the Ottoman invaders. The two churches of Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani are like rivals on this day. A sort of artillery battery gathers at the building of each church and tries to hit the roof of the rival church. The ammunition is homemade rockets made of gunpowder. The absolute hell lasts for twenty minutes. This tradition is so dangerous that many people have been injured in the years it has been observed. Well, the poor owners of the houses standing within firing range cover the roofs and balconies of their dwellings with wire mesh to prevent their complete destruction.

- On the island of Syros, in the capital Ermoupolis, Catholic and Orthodox believers can celebrate Easter together, as they have special permission from the Vatican to do so. This incredibly impressive town is spread over two steep hills, one dominated by an Orthodox church and inhabited by Orthodox believers, the other hill is occupied by a Catholic church and Catholics live on these slopes. A wonderful coexistence without any problems. On Good Friday everyone meets in the main square and there is a joyful Easter celebration together.

- On the island of Corfu, traditions are really very strong in all respects. On White Saturday, at noon, everyone waits for the signal of the beautiful sounding church bells and starts throwing clay amphorae or jugs full of water into the streets. They don't even look out for pedestrians who carelessly find themselves under the windows, everyone has to be careful. This throwing of water containers lasts a full twenty minutes. Then, at the expense of the town hall, the mess is quickly cleaned up, the brass bands, whose fame extends beyond the borders of Greece, get on and a festive procession marches out.

- On Tinos, the Easter parade wades in sea water, but in complete safety.

- On the island of Samos, in the village of Marathokambos, the Resurrection is celebrated with great vigour. There are literally explosions and the traditional long-lasting fireworks, called "olotrina". Pyrotechnicians work to prepare the fireworks for weeks or months before the celebrations begin. The origin of this tradition dates back to the beginning of the War of Independence in 1821. The village of Marathokambos played an important role in the uprising against the Turks. According to legend, Captain Stamatis Georgiades stuffed a bee comb into the barrel of a cannon. This caused such a terrible wound that the Turks fled in terror. In the hills of Marathokambos, around the five parishes, banners flutter among the flowering bushes. Each parish has its own colour flag, its own territory, its own team of pyrotechnicians and its own distinctive style of fireworks show.