Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday!
It is noon here on Easter Sunday. We just came back from a late morning brunch at the Orthodox Academy, where we joined a group of French botanists staying here and studying the plants of Crete.
We haven't been in church since morning broke. Our church began last night at 11:00 PM and lasted (for me) until 2:30 AM, as I stayed for the whole service. The Easter Festival began with prayers at 11:00 last night. Then all the lights in the church were turned off and the priest came out from the altar area with one lit candle, announcing that Christ is truly risen. The light spreads from that candle to all the candles we were holding, and out into the packed courtyard where Loretta, Joanne, and Kaitlyn were also waiting. There are some hymns and prayers in the courtyard as the church is completely emptied of people. When the Easter hymn announcing Christ's resurrection is sung, the bells of the church peal into the night air in a cacophony of sound and light!! Then it is time for the Easter liturgy itself to begin. The priest goes to the door of the church, and reading from Psalm 24 asks who is worthy to enter the gates of the sanctuary. Then the priest and people reenter the church and the service proceeds. Most people leave at this time, wishing one another a "Kalo Pascha" (Good Easter) and "Chronia polla", (many years), and greeting one another with the words, "Christos anesti," "alythos anesti", (Christ is risen! Truly risen). Perhaps 20 to 30 people stayed in the church for the completion of the liturgy sometiime after 2:00 AM. Of course, this is repeated in every Orthodox parish church, as well as monastery churches like the one we attended last night. With some 98% of the population being Greek Orthodox, literally everyone turns out for some of the Holy Week and Easter observances, and this makes for packed churches at these times.
This is our last full day here on Crete, and it dawned rainy and cool. While it isn't as "nice", I am always thankful for rain, and it rained most of the morning here. At 1:00 PM, we will join everyone here at the Academy for a traditional lamb Easter dinner.
This also happens to be our daughter Joanne's birthday, so we are thinking of her birth some years ago when we lived on Crete as a young married couple. We are pleased to be able to celebrate her birthday with her and Kaitlyn here on Crete this year. Actually, we had a family birthday dinner for both Joanne and Susanna (born April 29) while we were still altogether here a week or so ago, Friday, April 18.
The sun is just breaking through the clouds.
We are looking forward to being home and worshipping with our own church next Sunday! This will probably not be my last blog entry, but it may be my last entry till we get home early Tuesday evening! Wish us safe travels! We are traveling with Joanne and Kaitlyn as far as Chicago on Tuesday afternoon.
Roy