DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9841#0183
164
ceremonies of easter-sunday.
[chap.
May 4.
This is the Easter-Sunday6 of the Greeks: I arise,
as usual, with the dawn, but find that Manias and
his gossip have been absent from the house near two
hours: the ceremonies of the Greek church begin at
as early an hour, especially on her great festivals, as
did those of our own Roman Catholic ancestors in Old
England.
At midnight then, with carefull mind, they up to mattens ries,
The clarke doth come, and, after him, the priest with staring eies7.
The pious Greeks did not return till some time after
sunrise, since they remained to assist at the ceremony of
the resurrection", and at the burning of Judas. Each
house of the village contributes a portion of the wood,
of which a huge fire is made, and then, while the priest
reads or chants the liturgy, a rude painting of Judas
is thrown into the flames.
The modern Greek delights in representations of
the suffering, burial and resurrection of Christ9. It
was easier to transfer the ceremonies of paganism to
a new object than wholly to abandon them. We have
already seen, that the ancient Cretan used annually to
commemorate the marriage of the two Supreme Deities
7 Barnabe Googe, The Popish Kingdom, fol. 52. quoted in Brand's
Popular Antiquities, Vol. i. p. 138.
8 'h 'AvaffTCCfTtS.
3 Chandler, Travels in Asia Minor, c. xlvii. "The Greeks now
celebrated Easter. A small bier, prettily decked with orange and citron
buds, jasmine, flowers, and boughs, was placed in the church, with a Christ
crucified, rudely painted on the board, for the body. We saw it in the
evening; and before day-break were suddenly awakened by the blaze and
crackling of a large bonfire, with singing and shouting in honour of the
resurrection." Hughes, Travels in Greece and Albania, Vol. i. p. 405-
" It was Easter Sunday—a solemn piece of mummery is this day peformed;
when a wooden image, representing Christ's body, which had been buried
in a kind of sepulchre, on the preceding Good Friday, with mournful lamenta-
tions, is now raised up and shewn by the papas to the people, who view it with
every demonstration of joy, and salute it with long-continued exclamations of
ceremonies of easter-sunday.
[chap.
May 4.
This is the Easter-Sunday6 of the Greeks: I arise,
as usual, with the dawn, but find that Manias and
his gossip have been absent from the house near two
hours: the ceremonies of the Greek church begin at
as early an hour, especially on her great festivals, as
did those of our own Roman Catholic ancestors in Old
England.
At midnight then, with carefull mind, they up to mattens ries,
The clarke doth come, and, after him, the priest with staring eies7.
The pious Greeks did not return till some time after
sunrise, since they remained to assist at the ceremony of
the resurrection", and at the burning of Judas. Each
house of the village contributes a portion of the wood,
of which a huge fire is made, and then, while the priest
reads or chants the liturgy, a rude painting of Judas
is thrown into the flames.
The modern Greek delights in representations of
the suffering, burial and resurrection of Christ9. It
was easier to transfer the ceremonies of paganism to
a new object than wholly to abandon them. We have
already seen, that the ancient Cretan used annually to
commemorate the marriage of the two Supreme Deities
7 Barnabe Googe, The Popish Kingdom, fol. 52. quoted in Brand's
Popular Antiquities, Vol. i. p. 138.
8 'h 'AvaffTCCfTtS.
3 Chandler, Travels in Asia Minor, c. xlvii. "The Greeks now
celebrated Easter. A small bier, prettily decked with orange and citron
buds, jasmine, flowers, and boughs, was placed in the church, with a Christ
crucified, rudely painted on the board, for the body. We saw it in the
evening; and before day-break were suddenly awakened by the blaze and
crackling of a large bonfire, with singing and shouting in honour of the
resurrection." Hughes, Travels in Greece and Albania, Vol. i. p. 405-
" It was Easter Sunday—a solemn piece of mummery is this day peformed;
when a wooden image, representing Christ's body, which had been buried
in a kind of sepulchre, on the preceding Good Friday, with mournful lamenta-
tions, is now raised up and shewn by the papas to the people, who view it with
every demonstration of joy, and salute it with long-continued exclamations of