Easter holidays. How Georgians celebrate Easter

Georgians are Orthodox Christians, which is why their Easter date is different from many western countries.  Georgians pertain to religion. Therefore, locals celebrate this joyous day with much love and appreciation. The commemoration of Jesus Christ's resurrection consists of the special liturgy in churches, traditional dishes, red-painted eggs, and cakes special to Easter.

All the religious Georgians take fasting for forty days by not eating dairy, meat, fish, eggs, practically anything that is of animals or produced by them, for about two months before Easter.

Preparations for The Easter day

About two weeks before Easter, locals prepare plates with grass grown from wheat. To have the grass ready on Easter day, locals wet the wheat in water and put them on a tray to sprout and grow. The grown grass symbolizes the life that was given to people around the world after Christ was resurrected.

Georgians have a public holiday that is Red Friday when all the locals color eggs in red and get ready for the Easter feast later that day. Just like their neighboring country Armenia, Georgians color the eggs naturally with onion peels. The red eggs resemble the blood and immortal life of Jesus Christ.

During Easter Eve, all Georgians attend the special service at churches, for prayers, getting blessings from the Patriarch, and taking holy fire to their homes.

Celebration of Easter

On Sunday morning, Georgians wake up already in a festive mood. The first words they say that day should be "Christ has risen," and the answer to that is "Indeed, he has risen." It is how the Easter celebration starts in Georgia.

Georgians have many traditions connected with Easter that they preserve to this day. The first one is shattering the colored eggs on Easter Sunday. Each family member takes a red egg and "fights" it with their relatives. When hitting the points together, one of the eggs cracks. And whichever egg stays intact wins the "battle."

There are other special meals made for Easter as well. One of which is the dish with lamb and dried plums, called Chakapuli.
As a dessert, Georgian make a cake called Paskha that includes raisins.
The day after Easter, all locals visit their relatives and family members who are no longer alive and pay respect to them. As Easter is considered to be the commemoration of the rebirth of Jesus Christ, Georgian people honor it with all their relatives, alive or dead.

The reason for this heartfelt and touching tradition is that Georgians believe that their ancestors should not be alone on this significant day. And their family members will also visit and treasure them after their death.

Georgian people enjoy commemorating Easter with their family members, relatives, and neighbors. They keep the customs and traditions connected with Easter and celebrate this significant day with much joy and happiness.

If you happen to be in Georgia on Easter day, make the most out of it and celebrate it like a local.

 

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Easter holidays. How Georgians celebrate Easter

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