Easter Holy-days in Rethymnon

Holy Monday

At the beginning of the Holy Week, decks of playing cards would be hung from the ceiling of village kafeneia, so as to declare abstinence from entertainment. This might be one of Eastern traditions that is hard to find in modern Crete, but a number of others remain alive –as I was to discover during my week-long journey.

Holy Tuesday

Spring endows Crete’s meadows with a huge variety of edible wild greens which locals use smartly for their traditional fasting dishes. Nikos and Lola Frantzeskakis from Vamos taught me how to tell my lapatha from my kafkalithres and how to spot asparagus stems by the roots of olive trees. Moving from the fields to the seaside, we used a knife to gently remove petalides (sea shell), from the rocks and to collect kritama (Crithmum maritimum), an edible green. The catch of the day was then cooked in a portable traditional clay oven on the beach.

Holy Wednesday

I attended mass at Saint Irene’s monastery where people participated solemnly, holding a candle in their hands. Equally impressive with this beautiful monastery whose history dates back to the days of Venetian rule, were the elaborate wreaths that nuns weave with palms to adorn their church during Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday

Easter baking typically starts on Holy Thursday. Eggs, milk and butter –ingredients that people abstain from during Lent- are used to make Easter biscuits and Easter bread. Mrs. Katina and two of her friends, aged 90 and 84, were kind enough to share their expertise with me. They prepared biscuits of different shapes, and kneaded tsoureki, a sweet yeast dough that needs to rise several times before it is ready to bake. Mrs. Katina then summoned her grandsons to take one pan full of biscuits and another full of tsourekia to a wood-oven bakery for baking and the old city of Rethymnon smelled of Easter.

Good Friday

I joined a group of senior ladies at Kiria ton Aggelon, Lady of Angels, church at seven in the morning, to participate in the decoration of the Epitaphios, the symbolic bier of Christ, with fresh flowers. I felt mesmerized watching Mrs. Aristea’s gentle and dexterous movements as she patiently fixed white carnations, laurel and purple orchids onto the bier.

That same night, I was very happy to see that the Epitaphios of Kiria ton Aggelon was the most beautiful of all four Epitaphios that meandered through the city’s Venetian alleys to meet in Four Martyrs square.

Holy Saturday

The first thing Katerina Xekalou, Cretan cuisine expert, told me about local gastronomy is that it is smart and simple. It also is rich in symbolism. On Holy Saturday some people will only eat snails dipped in vinegar, in memory of the vinegar that Christ was given to clench his thirst while on the cross.

On Saturday night, I drove to Argiroupoli to watch the burning of Judas. The boys in charge of the event said that they did not manage to find enough branches this year. Yet a pile almost five meters tall rose outside the church, with Judas dressed in Barcelona’s FC gear on top. A little before midnight, the whole thing burned up in a spectacular flame, overshadowing the celebration of the Resurrection.

Easter Sunday

Morning mass started at Kiria ton Aggelon and then the priests, accompanied by Rethymnon’s philharmonic band, walked the alleys towards Megali Panagia church, where mass was completed. City people opened their doors and windows to greet this walking procession with a candle in their hands.

Later on, lamb was spit roasted either above the fire or opposite to it, in a style that is unique to Crete. Celebrations, accompanied with singing and lyra playing, lasted all day long.