Happy Easter, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ meaning Christ is risen, an event celebrated for 40 days, after 40 days of fasting, with the finale to the celebration period coinciding perfectly up to the beginning of June and the weekend of 37th CyWineFest!
“Hristos Anesti!” is what we all declared gone midnight of the 28th April, the biggest event in the Orthodox Christian calendar. Many of us packed ourselves into church on Saturday night and celebrated with the entire congregation, family, friends and strangers alike. Who else’s phone was then inundated with messages from loved ones with happy Easter wishes?! With so many people sending celebratory texts or uploading pictures of the Epitaphio, Holy Light and candlelight, or just the most incredible looking meat feat food photos across the social media platforms, the mobile phone signals almost jammed!
Easter is not only a religious festival, but it is also gateway into showcasing springtime, and the food bounty that comes with it. Many of our traditions centre around a good meal shared with family and friends, and Easter is no different. While the religious teachings of Easter are constant across the world, each region and ethnicity has over thousands of years developed its own food traditions, and the beauty is in our culture’s character to share our customs with our nearest and dearest, neighbours, relatives and friends, with the odd friendly competition here and there.
A very Cypriot Easter tradition is the making of flaounes, but who makes the best ones is often a subject of debate and intense analysis, with each household competing to make the best ones yet! Cypriots are very passionate about how what combination and ratio of ingredients make the best flaouna. Some prefer lots of raisins, some without raisins at all, whilst others debate the ratio of cheese mix to pastry or even the balance between using the special flaouna cheese versus halloumi or cheddar cheese that may be lying around in the fridge! This debate will go on forever, as will the unofficial, and unspoken friendly competition between households, but what is encouraging, is that the love of the flaouna is continuing on to each generation, and the art of making flaounes is being passed on by grandmothers to grandchildren, and thus, the annual pursuit of the perfect flaouna will live on!
The dyed egg game or Tsakrisma/Tsounkrisma is another tradition that always sparks a bit of excitement and rivalry at the feast table at Easter. Whilst to many outside our culture, the idea of hitting eggs together seems strange, we have all grown up with it, and everyone wants to be the victor of the eggs and have good luck for the rest of the year. Every year eggs are dyed in preparation for the Easter feast. Typically, eggs are dyed red to symbolise the blood Christ shed for our sins on the cross, though often many families dye eggs in different colours to represent the colourfulness of spring. The competitive amongst us will sit and carefully analyses each egg to maximize their chances of success, other just pick randomly, and then the challenge starts! Much like crackers, you turn to the person next to you and declare Christ is Risen with the other responding Indeed he is risen, before cracking their egg on top of the others, and much like a knock out competition with measured rounds (to avoid someone hiding and getting straight through to the final!), whoever’s egg hasn’t cracked progresses through until there is one overall champion. The lucky winner is crowned and the reward, good blessings for the year!
Cypriots across the world tend not to have a particular ‘Easter meal’ but instead opt for their beloved souvla. Traditionally lamb is served, again, as lambs represent spring time, but there is usually a huge spread and variety on offer. Basically meat, meat and meat! For many, Easter is the opportunity to eat, especially if you have fasted for lent, but is also seen as the last big indulgent celebration before the summer season, and before those holiday diets start. So, we hope you all made the most of it!
Easter for us in the CyWineFest team is always a milestone in our event preparations, and we know that once Easter is over, we are on final countdown mode. There are now only 4 weeks to go until the 37th CyWineFest opens its doors at Enfield’s Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, London N9 0AR.
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL
Credit: CyWineFest team
Photo credit:
(1) Sidebar – Design by Louis Loizou
(2) Icon of the Resurrection of Christ
(3) Red Easter Eggs-ready for battle CyWineFest team
(4) Flaounes- CyWineFest team
(5) Cypriot souvla of Chicken, Lamb and Pork – CyWineFest team