Many of the Greek customs and traditions have their roots in the Greek Christian Orthodox religion. The church plays an important role in the daily lives of the Greeks, and religion and tradition are intrinsically interwoven. According to tradition, children are named after their grandparents, but until a baby is baptised, its name is not used. Children get their birthday parties, but the religious name days are considered much more important and celebrated intensely. Civil weddings do take place, but they are rare: the large majority of Greek weddings take place in church (even if the bride and groom are not practicing religion). Easter is the most important religious holiday in Greece, and is preceded by 40 days of fasting during which, with a few exceptions, no animal products are eaten. People don’t stick to the 40-days rule so much any more (young people who do so are often motivated by health reasons!), but on ‘Clean Monday’, that marks the end of the Carnaval period and the beginning of Lent, everybody goes out to fly kites and eat a traditional Lent meal of pickled vegetables, dips and a few types of seafood allowed during Lent (octopus, squid, mussels, shrimps).

The Easter celebrations last a week (‘big week’). In the evening of Good Friday throughout the country beautiful and touching Epitaph processions are held. The following day, the Resurrection celebrations start. Hundreds of people, carrying unlit candles, will gather around the church starting from Saturday evening in anticipation of the Easter service, which begins late at night. At midnight the priest announces that Christ has risen and appears with a candle lit by the Holy Light which he passes on.  Candles are lit one from the other, wishes are said, and then the people make go home for the traditional feast of red Easter eggs and Magaritsa soup made of lamb innards. Easter Sunday is a holiday for visiting friends and relatives and eating and drinking together. Lambs are roasted on the fire (a ritual that involves hours of manually turning the spit), houses are open to every guest and the atmosphere is friendly.

You don’t speak or understand the language, you don’t have Greek friends to take you around, yet you do want to experience some of these Greece customs and traditions. What to do? The answer is simple: go against the tourist flow. Visit an island in the winter and you will meet the islanders, who are not much used to seeing new faces in the winter. They will welcome you into their little communities and share with you the soothing rhythm of their daily lives. Or in the summer, when everybody else goes to the sea, travel to the mountains and the little villages on the mainland, and there too you will discover the 'real' and profound Greece. Spend Greek Easter in a little village anywhere in the country. At any time of the year, try and catch a panagiri – a traditional feast to celebrate the name day of saint a particular church is devoted to.