In Greece the midnight mass on the day of Easter is a big deal. Elisa and I weren’t going to be able to understand any of the words, but we wanted to see it anyway. You didn’t need any words. After a little singing, they turned out all the lights. There was a moment of anticipation and I think not understanding what they were saying probably made it more enjoyable for us. 🙂 Personally, it was just enough time to imagine the anticipation that I’m sure we all felt before Christ resurrected. “It is finished.” The priest came out with a lit candle. Everyone was holding candles and they passed the light around the room and then threw on all the lights. Then the real celebrating began outside. The kids outside had the loudest fireworks I have ever heard! My eardrums still hurt and I thought I might be leaving Greece without hearing. We felt like we were in the middle of a war zone, and it was scary. The church bells also started pealing. It really was jubilant.
Dinner started after the midnight mass finished. Our hotel did a traditional Easter meal. We only recognized half the things we were eating. We were tired but we wanted to participate. The room was decorated so pretty. There were candles lit everywhere and all the tables had a plate full of pastries and the famous red-dyed eggs. The custom is for two people to rap their eggs against each other to see which one breaks. We were told it represents something to do with our hearts being broken. Elisa’s egg cracked a bunch of times against my egg, which I think is symbolic of how sensitive her heart is. My egg wouldn’t crack until I hit it into the table a few times. 🙂