Holy Saturday

The Easter holiday is seen as the most important holiday in Greece and is celebrated from Maundy Thursday and continues through Easter Monday.

On Holy Saturday, preparations for the festive dinner continue, often including the making of mayiritsa. Mayiritsa is a traditional Greek Easter soup that is used to break the fasting of Lent. The soup is usually prepared on Saturday night, and eaten after the midnight mass. Everyone gathers in the church with candles and waits to celebrate Christ’s resurrection at 12 AM.

There are typically fireworks and church bells ringing when midnight finally rolls around. After mass, families head home for a festive feast where they enjoy the mayiritsa and take part in a game where they crack the red dyed eggs. One person is supposed to hit their egg against another person’s egg. The person whose egg does not break is the winner and is said to have good luck for a whole year.