May 5, 2008
Dear everybody,
Xronia Pola! (Many years for/to you) Christ has risen and it's back to the grind. Last time I wrote I was off to Laryssa to meet family to celebrate the Greek Easter weekend. It was a very interesting time and nothing happened as I expected it to.
Easter is a huge event in Greece--most people celebrate it for the whole week leading up to do the day by going to church everyday, fasting if they hadn't already been for the last 33 days of Lent, dying eggs red, and taking at least half the week off to travel back to their hometowns and spend time with family. On Friday I went with (for simplicities sake) my aunt around Laryssa (the third largets city in Greece which is roughly the size of Stamford, CT, for reference. Not that big, but not too small either) to see the epitaph processions. This is when all the churches in town hold mass then carry their church's epithaph and giant crosses around town followed by people with candels commemorating Christ's walk with the cross. In a big place like Laryssa, all the churches congregate in the main square and all the priests hold one giant mass together at the end of the procession. In smaller villages, there's usually only one church, and they'll make a circle around town and go back to the church to finish. It was pretty cool, especially to see so many people out. In a way it reminded me of caroling on God's Acre in New Canaan for Chrsitmas. I took a lot of pictures which it think turned out pretty well.
Then Saturday, we went to my uncle's sister's house on the island of Evia for the rest of the Easter weekend. This is about the time when things started happening differently than how I had anticipated. First of all, although I was warned before it happened, I thought I'd be going to the village where my family is from which is about 30 minutes from Laryssa, but instead we drove/took the ferry for 4 1/2 hours to get to Evia. Evia is a really beautiful island and we stopped at a natural hotspring and some church for some healing saint and brushed holy oil on our foreheads. It's a giant island, but I got to see a fair amount of it driving around. I'd like to go camping there sometime if I get the chance.
When we got to the sister's house we ate lunch and they told me I could go take a nap. Instead though, I wanted to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The house is on a little farm, just on the edge of a little village, and they keep sheep and have pretty fields in the back. Really I wanted some alone time, I was a little overwhelmed by this point of being asked every 30 seconds if I was alright and if I needed anything else, but once I said I wanted to go for a walk the sister's 17 years old daughter jumped up and said she'd go with me. Now, first off, I don't want to be rude, she was very sweet and smiley, but the daughter is really shy and a rather awkward. I would try to speak to her and ask her questions, but she would only respond if she knew the word in English, and she didnt' know many words. I was a little disappointed to not be alone, but whatever, I thought maybe she would open up a little if she was out of the house. Once we left I asked her where we should go (thinking into this field or that field) but her response was, to the platia! (The square in town). I sighed, realizing Greeks probably think it's weird to go for a walk in...nature. So we went to town. She showed me around the whole 10 meters of it, then we walked back towards the house. (Mostly in silence). Once we were there I suggested we go into the fields a bit and she sort of shrugged and said, whatever you want, so we took a little stroll around. It was nice, but I could tell she wasn't very comfortable just standing around taking in the sceenery, so we headed back in.
That night, then, was the big midnight mass that marks Christ's rising and the end of Lent. I was all geared up to last through the whole 3 1/2 hour service which I had been told was sooo long and kind of boring. The first hour was really neat. There were men singing/chanting in deep voices and there was incense and people crossing themselves a lot. There were fireworks being set off all over the place too which was kind of weird, but a popular part of the tradition, apparently. Then at midnight all the lights went off and the priest came from behind the wall thing (i don't knwo what it's called, all I know is women aren't allowed behind it) with a lit candle and started singing "Xristos anesti" (Christ has risen). Everyone reached for the light with their own candles and then spread it to all the people around them. Within in a few minutes the whole church was lit up and people were singing and crossing themselves. It was really pretty, and seeing the place lit up like that gave me a new appreciation for all the gold paint in those churches. But then, after about 20 more minutes, everyone just got up and left! It was so funny! Everyone greated each other saying Xronia Pola and chatting people who they hadn't seen in a while, but for the most part everyone just booked it out of there. I thought maybe it was just because it was rainy that everyone left so early, but my anthropology teacher today confirmed that people don't really stick out the whole liturgy these days.
After we left, we went home to break the fast and eat, eat eat! Traditionally people eat a stew made of lamb-innards to break the fast, and even though everyone says it's gross I was excited to try it--it is tradition after all. But when we got home our hostess said that she didn't like it so she had made chicken soup instead. I was a little bummed about that. It also didn't help that I couldn't eat a whole lot more either because it all had cheese and cream and milk in it, so I had a sad feast of chicken soup and leftovers.
Lastly, my biggest surprise, was the next morning when I got up early to help with the lamb. They had told me I could sleep in, but I wanted to take my turn spinning the lamb over the fire and helping to prepare the meal (that's what we do in the states, after all!). But, when I walked outside, to my dismay the spit was electric! I'm not sure why the men were even bothering to hang out around it drinking their coffee and eating their breakfast, but they were. So I sat with them for a little bit, not sure what to do with myself, then I went inside and watched TV with everybody else until the lamb was ready. I asked my aunt if the village had a party (maybe we weren't going because it was still rainy out), but she said no, they used to, but now they do it house by house. I asked if people danced, but she aside, no, they used to but not any more. The most exciting thing that happened all day was that a few people stopped by to say Xronia Pola and have a little bit of lamb, but they didn't stay too long saying (i;m pretty sure) that they had to go eat more lamb somewhere else. Then, after we ate, we all took naps and drove back to Laryssa. It was so ant-climactic!! I'll just put it out there that I prefer the CT celebration and our diasporic-quaintness. Now I've experienced Greek Easter the "modern" way. But, these modern Greeks, man, I don't know. Modernization works in mysterious ways.
Since then, after my Easter adventure, I spent the rest of the week in Athens. I was supposed to go to the Peloponnese, but that got postponed to next weekend. So I hung out here. The city was SO quiet for a few days since everyone was gone on vacation--it was amazing. But by mid-week the traffic had come back and the tourists have FLOODED in. It happened so dramatically, it's crazy. One really great thing I did though was go to the beach--it finally is warm enough to justify donning bathing suits and laying out in the sun (and not have people stare at you like you're the crazy American that you are--don't you know it's still "winter"?!?). The beach was lovely, especially for a city beach, a 30 minute tram ride away. And I was so hot laying out that I actually went for a swim! It was cold, but refreshing. I hope I can make it back again before I head out. If not though, I'll be back soon enough.
Now, I'm finishing up finals. Yay for the program almost being over! It's been good for some things, but I'm really ready to do my own thing.
That's it for now.
Hope you all are doing well!
Happy spring!!
A.
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