When is Greek Easter 2022 and why is it different for the Orthodox church?

Do you know when Greek Easter is celebrated? (Picture: Getty)

If you thought everyone celebrated Easter at the same time each year, think again.

The date for Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday really depend on where you are in the world, and the denomination of Christianity (if any) you follow.

While most Christian countries celebrated Easter Sunday on April 17 in 2022, many nations that primarily observe Orthodox Christianity, such as Greece, celebrate at a slightly later date.

So when is ‘Greek Easter’ or ‘Orthodox Easter’, and why is it on a different date?

We break it down below.

When is Greek Easter 2022?

Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece (Picture: Getty)

Greek Easter 2022 – sometimes called Orthodox Easter 2022 – takes place on Sunday, April 24.

The key dates for Greek Orthodox Easter in 2022 are:

• Good Friday – April 22
• Holy Saturday – April 23
• Easter Sunday or Easter Day – April 24
• Easter Monday – April 25.

Greek Easter can sometimes occur on the same day as Western Easter, as it did back in 2017. Last year, the Greek Orthodox Church marked Easter in early May, rather than in March or April.

Interestingly, Eastern Orthodox Christianity also celebrates Christmas at a later date. Next up: Saturday, January 7 2023.

Why is Greek Orthodox Easter on a different date?

These are traditional Greek easter bread and cakes often enjoyed over the long weekend (Picture: Getty)

Eastern Christianity recognises a different date for Easter because it typically follows the Julian calendar.

This is instead of the Gregorian calendar, which is widely used by most countries today – and that Great Britain, for example, changed to hundreds of years ago in 1752.

The Julian Calendar was first proposed by Julius Caesar in 46BC. The year in this calendar consisted of 365 days, with every fourth year having 366 days. Sound familiar?

This was later revised by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, and that edition eventually became the Gregorian calendar.

Many Balkan, Middle Eastern and former Soviet countries – including Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, North Macedonia and Montenegro – also observe the Julian calendar and celebrate a later Easter.

How do people celebrate Orthodox Easter?

Fireworks are often used to celebrate Greek Easter(PicturE: Getty)

Roasted lamb on a spit (or ‘souvla’) is often on the menu for Greeks at Easter.

According to the Apostle John, Jesus is the Lamb of God so eating lamb on this day honours his sacrificial death.

In addition, many Greeks dye their eggs red to represent the blood from Christ’s tomb. Sometimes these are baked into a sweet bread known as ‘Tsoureki.’

Church is obviously an important part of the celebrations and many Greeks attend services, starting from Good Friday.

The services on Friday are more sombre as church bells ring and flags fly at half-mast to represent Christ’s passing.

Easter Saturday is traditionally the most important day in the Greek easter calendar (Picture: Getty)

Unlike Western Christianity, the ‘Holy Saturday’ service is questionably the most important.

This takes place around midnight and is followed by joyous church bells, fireworks and crackers to mark Christ’s resurrection. Many buy candles which they take home.

The festivities begin here and many Greeks break their 40-day fast with a traditional soup, Magiritsa, which is made of lamb, rice and dill before the main feasting begins on Sunday.

MORE : This is the story of Easter Monday

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