Next Sunday will be a holly Sunday... the orthodox Easter and Greece will celebrate it with the unique Greek way. This year christians all around the world will celebrate Easter the same date.

After a week that drove us to clean our body mind and spirit we are ready for the resurrection. The time came and together with the Holy Light at our candles the "CHRISTOS ANESTI" (Christ is ressurected) phrase which as a greeting will travel from mouth to mouth to take as a reply the "ALITHOS ANESTI" (Was trully ressurrected), the sound and the light of the thousand firewalls, we will celebrate the HOLY PASCHA (Easter).

I am going to celebrate this Easter traveling at the west Greece. In my country every place has its tradittion and as a person with a curious mind, as a seeker for the unknown I like to learn something new in every age of my life. I am going to live this Easter close to the nature in some of the most beautiful places of my country and I am going to pass all this new information to you.

What I am going to present you today is the way I lived Easter last year and I am going to bring you closer to a miracle. A miracle that happens every year during the orthodox Easter in Jerusalem and it is spreaded all around the world in a few hours.

Last year I celebrated Easter accomplishing a wish that my mother did before she died. She told about her wish to my aunt Yiota who was all the time close to her at the short time of her disease. She wanted to be present at the ceremony of the welcome of the Holy Light in Greece. Her wish was never fulfilled.. She left from this life but it was my turn now. I was free from any other obligation and ready to accomplish my mother's wish.

I went with my aunt at the small Monastery in Plaka to welcome the Holy Light when this came from the Holy Land, from Jerusalem.

The Holy Light is a mystery... a miracle.
Every Holy Saturday noon, in the Sacrosanct Temple of Resurrection in Jerusalem, the GREAT WONDER OF THE HOLY LIGHT is repeated, which shocks, touches, delights, gives joy and faith to those honored and blessed to be present to the ceremony of the Holy Light.

The Holy Light's ceremony is performed at midday, 12 o'clock, of the Holy Saturday and is consisted by three stages:

a. The Procession,
b. The Patriarch's entrance in the Holy Tomb and,
c. The Patriarch's prayers in order for the Holy Light to appear.

In accordance to tradition, at midday of the Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Patriarch with his escort – archpriests, priests and deans - and also with the Armenian Patriarch, enter the Sacrosanct Temple of Resurrection, while the bells ring dolefully. Before the Patriarch's entrance, the Sacristan of the Sacrosanct Temple brings the unsleeping candle, extinguished for this day, in order to be lighted by the Holy Light.

From the internal entrance of the Temple of Apostle Jacob, the Patriarch enters the Holy Podium of the Catholic and seats in the patriarchic throne. There the representatives of the Armenians, the Arabs, the Copts and the rest go and kiss the Patriarch's hand in order to receive the Holy Light. In accordance to the privileges, if they do not kiss the Orthodox Patriarch's hand they do not have the right to receive the Holy Light from his hands. After that, the Holy Procession commences, which revolves three times around the Holy Sepulchre and then the Patriarch stops in front of the Holy Sepulchre, where the officials are located as well.

After the Procession, the Holy Sepulchre is unsealed and the Patriarch removes the archpriest uniform he is wearing and stays only in the white rochet. Following that, the commander of Jerusalem and the chief of police examine carefully the Blessed Patriarch in front of everybody, in order to verify that he is not carrying on him anything that could transmit light.

After the examination, the Blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem receives the extinguished torches and enters with the Armenian Dragoman the Holy Cabin. All the candles are extinguished and nothing is lit in the Holy Temple and in the Holy Sepulchre.

Inside the Holy Sepulchre, the Patriarch on his knees performs an archdiocesan's pray by reading special benedictions and by imploring Jesus Christ to send His Holy Light as a blessing gift to the people. In the absolute quiet, during the Patriarch's pray, a hiss is sounded and almost at the same time, white-blue flashes of the Holy Light appear everywhere, like millions of photo flashes, and the candles are lit on their own. Within the Holy Sepulchre, the torches held by the praying Patriarch are also lit on their own by the Holy Light. Simultaneously the crowd starts cheering while tears of joy and faith appear on its faces.

For a few moments, the Holy Light does not have the properties of fire. This occurs during the first moments, when the Patriarch exits the Holy Sepulchre and gives the Holy Light to the believers. Anyone may touch the flame of 33 candles and not get burnt! After the passing of almost 33 minutes, the flame is normal.

Only the Greek Orthodox Patriarch has the privilege and the power to come out with the Holy Light. In the past attempts have been made by other doctrines to come out with the Holy Light but they failed.

Sometime later another flash appears in another part of the church - at the side of Kuvuklia. Take into account that blue light has direction from top to bottom.

The Holy Light symbolizes but also reminds with a miraculous way the Resurrection of Jesus. It is a God-given miracle, which lasts through the ages from the Light of the world, which for Christians is Jesus for the world.

The Holy Light arrive from Jerusalem on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and after the ceremony will travel all over Greece. At every big or small church at midnight of Saturday to Sunday the Holy Light will be spread to all Orthodox Christians believers. The lights of the church at the Liturgy of the Ressurection will switch off and the Priest will come out from the church's sunctuary with a candle with the Holy Light. The Holy Light that traveled after the miracle from Jerusalem.

When this liturgy finish the happy crowd will be spread out everywhere with all these candles trying to bring the Holy Light and the message of the Ressurection at each home. That is the best part of the "Greek Easter"... "Elliniko Pascha".

The Holy Light for me symbolizes the message that God gives us every time. The message of Love.

I am not a religious person but I have the God inside my heart. God exists in every heart of every live being. Each one of us can have a different image of God inside him/her. Some of us can see Him (not necessary Him... it can be also Her) behind the prism of Christianity some other under the Budism or Muslim or any other religious prism but the reality is that we feel the presence of God.

Last year I understood something more. When you have Love inside you, Love that God spreads generous to all of us (but we have to clean our heart to see and feel it) is easy to forgive. Forgiveness was the message of last Easter for me. I will open my heart this year, this Pascha, this Easter to feel the message which will bring to me.