Because the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church rely on the Julian calendar, the holiday known to most westerners as "Greek Easter" generally falls one or two weeks after the holiday celebrated by Roman Catholics and Protestants. This year, Known in Greek as "Pascha", the holiday, which marks the Resurrection of Christ is the most holy day in the year. Even though the day is celebrated with gusto throughout Greece and in whatever country members of the Orthodox Church find themselves, in no place is it oobserved with more joy than in Jerusalem.

Unlike most of the people who live on the Greek mainland or islands, nearly all of the 15,000 members of the Greek Orthodox Church in Israel are aware that the name of their holiday is taken directly from the Jewish holiday of Passover. Not all that many realize, however, that the traditions of the holiday stem from springtime pagan festivals that were observed as early as the 7th century BC. During those days, members of the cult of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, tried to guarantee the richness of the forthcoming grain harvest by undergoing a fast, sitting through an all-night vigil and taking a communion of barley water from a sacred goblet.

Today, in similar fashion, devout Greeks abstain from eating meat during the forty days preceding Pascha. During Holy Week, the seven days before the holiday, they even eliminate eggs, milk and fish from their diet. Communion is taken on the day before Pascha, which always falls on a Sunday and, on Saturday night church services begin at ten in the evening. The major center for these services in Israel is at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ is said to have been laid in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Services also take place in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity and in smaller churches that are found in the area of The Sea of Galilee.

By eleven thirty the services have been completed and the congregations have made their way out-of-doors. In Jerusalem, because not everybody believes that the Holy Sepulchre marks the grave of Jesus, some of the celebrants make their way to the Garden Tomb, set in a quiet enclosure just outside the Damascus Gate. Wherever they find themselves, each member of the congregation holds a lit candle and, precisely at midnight the bishop or other presiding priest declares "Christ has risen from the dead".

As if this was a signal for general merrymaking, fireworks are exploded, nearly everyone in the crowd kisses everyone else, and as one 19th century visitor to Jerusalem aptly put it "the people become as ardent and eager in the pursuit of pleasure as they were but an hour previously in the search of salvation".

After dancing, partying and drinking until dawn, the people return turn to their homes to breakfast on treats like lamb soup, fresh bread, feta cheese and honey. Hard boiled eggs, dyed in colorful patterns are served and the people crack their eggs against each others, declaring "Christ has been resurrected".

Following are several traditional country-style Greek Pascha recipes. Most can easily be made at home. The recipe for lamb on the spit requires a bit more effort but those who enjoy cooking out-of-doors will find it especially rewarding.


Fish Roe Salad
Taramasalata

125 gr. tarama (dried, salted, pressed cod roe)
3 slices white bread, with crusts removed
2 Tbsp. onion, grated finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. white pepper (or more to taste)
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
black olives and lemon wedges for garnish

In a mortar combine the tarama, bread, onion and garlic and
pound these together to form a paste. Add the egg yolk and pepper
and mix well. Add, alternatively, small amounts of olive oil and
lemon juice, mixing thoroughly at each addition, until the salad
is at the consistency of a thick, smooth puree. Refrigerate. Serve
well chilled with fresh bread and garnished with black olives and
lemon wedges. (Serves 4).

Yoghurt and Cucumber Salad
Tzadziki

2 small cucumbers, peeled and in small dice
1 - 1" cups yoghurt
1 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dill, chopped finely
juice of 1 large lemon
salt to taste

Salt the diced cucumbers lightly and let stand, covered, for "
hour. Drain the excess liquids that accumulate. Combine the cu-
cumbers with 1 cup of the yoghurt and the remaining ingredients.
Mix gently but well. If the mixture is overly stiff, add yoghurt.
Correct the seasoning, refrigerate and serve well chilled with
bread slices. (Serves 3 - 4).

Marinated Onions
A recipe from Nico's Restaurant, Corfu

450 gr. baby onions
1/2 cup each dry white wine and olive oil
juice of 1 large lemon
1 tsp. salt
12 - 16 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf, crumbled

With a sharp knife make a cross on the top and bottom of each
onion.

In a saucepan combine the oil, wine, lemon juice, salt, pepper-
corns, bay leaf and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce the flame
and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Add the onions, cover
loosely and cook over a low flame until tender (about 30 minutes).
Remove from the flame and let cool about 1/2 hour or longer before
serving with 1/2 cup of the pan fluids. (Serves 6 - 8).

Leg of Lamb with Rosemary


1 leg of lamb, about 3 1/2 kilos, with excess
fat trimmed off
6 - 8 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken fat
4 teaspoons rosemary

With a very sharp knife make small incisions in the lamb. Into
each slit insert a small slice of garlic. Sprinkle the lamb with
salt and pepper.

In a heavy skillet melt the chicken fat. In a large, lightly
greased baking dish sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the rosemary. On this
place the lamb. Sprinkle over the remaining rosemary and pour
over the melted chicken fat. Roast in a medium oven for 1" hours
and then turn the meat to the second side, basting with the
liquids in the pan. Continue cooking until the meat is almost
falling off the bone (about 3 hours of cooking in all). Care-
fully transfer the meat to a serving plate. Skim off the ex-
cess fat from the liquids in the pan and serve the remaining
liquids as a gravy. Serve hot. (Serves 4 - 6).


Lamb on the Spit

1 whole lamb, 14 - 22 kilos
6 lemons
salt and pepper as required
8 sprigs each fresh thyme, oregano and rosemary
2 cups olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced

With a damp cloth wipe the lamb inside and out. Rub the cavity
well with a cut lemon and then rub well with salt and pepper. Into
the cavity place the all of the rosemary and 6 sprigs each of the
thyme and oregano. Close the cavity with metal clips or skewers.
Rub the outer surface with lemon, salt and pepper and then brush
with olive oil.

To place the lamb on the spit place the carcass on the stomach
and starting from the back legs, push the spit through the center,
towards and through the neck. Pull the forelegs forward and tie to
the spit with wire. Pull the back legs along the spit, cross them
above it and secure with wire.

In a large jar combine the juice from 4 lemons with the olive
oil, garlic and 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper. To this add the
remaining oregano and thyme. Into this mixture drop a muslin
cloth and allow it to soak.

Place the spitted lamb in position over a bed of hot charcoals.
Turn the lamb over the fire slowly, wiping occasionally with the
cloth that has been soaked in the oil mixture. As cooking
progresses the lamb may be moved closer to the fire. Roast until the
meat is cooked through (about 6 - 7 hours), adding more charcoals
if necessary. The meat should be carved with a very sharp knife.
Although it may be eaten with knife and fork, many will find that
the Greeks are correct in assuming that the meat always tastes
best when eaten only with the fingers. (Serves 20 - 40).

© Daniel Rogov