Early April Easter Makes for Packed Greek Calendar
April 9, 2007
Orthodox Easter in early April has a way of throwing things out of whack.
While it’s convenient to have it on the same day as everyone else for a
change, there’s something to be said about having some time between Greek
Independence Day, Palm Sunday and Easter, which this year fell on three
successive Sundays. Finding a balance between our everyday routines as
Greek-Americans in DC and these special occasions seemed especially difficult
this year making us miss a later Easter.
Two weeks ago we were celebrating Greek Independence Day at the Parade in
Greektown in Baltimore. This was the first time in recent memory that the Parade
was actually held on March 25th or even on the same weekend, and the best
weather that the parade had probably ever enjoyed – 70 degrees and sunny.
There was a great turnout of spectators spanning over five blocks in Greektown
to watch a collection of churches, AHEPA Chapters, Greek regional societies
(Baltimore has some societies from parts of Greece that don’t regularly come
to mind) and other Greek groups from across the Mid-Atlantic region, with some
other parade-seasoned non-Greek groups adding much needed spectacle and volume
to the festivities. (There was a Chinese group using the parade as a tune up to
the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival.)
Those who didn’t make it up to the Parade had the traditional Greek
Independence Day options in DC to choose from that day, the annual reception at
the Greek Embassy and the Prometheas sponsored event at St. George in Bethesda.
Later in the week, there was the Congressional Salute to Greek Independence Day
on Capitol Hill. Two of the three newest Greek-American members of Congress, Gus
Bilirakis of Florida, and Zack Space of Ohio made brief appearances before Greek
Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis arrived and said a few words on
the occasion of Greek Independence Day. It was surprising to see just how many
Greeks young adults work on the Hill in various positions for both Greek and
non-Greeks alike.
Fast forwarding to Holy Week, we always wonder if Eastern and Western Easter
coinciding has an effect in increasing attendance amongst Greek-American young
adults because Palm Sunday and the services from Wednesday through Saturday
night were packed. Those of us in the DC area are used to bad weather on Good
Friday even when Easter is in May with rain and wind and sometimes cold weather,
but anyone who went outside for the Epitaphio this year was met with almost
freezing temperatures. (There was snow on the ground on Saturday morning.) The
temperatures were even worse on Saturday night, changing the typical social hour
that occurs outside most churches around 12:15, as most everyone rushed to their
cars hoping the wind didn’t blow out their candles, instead of hanging out and
catching up with those they only see twice a year.
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