On Pascha
From jlrpuck: You've mentioned that you observe Orthodox Easter; I've always been curious about it (having only been exposed to it during russian class in college). Would you be willing to post a little bit about traditions related to Pascha?
GREAT BIG DISCLAIMER: There are lots of different traditions relating to Pascha, depending on which Orthodox church you belong to, how "ethnic" your church is, family traditions (if you're a cradle Orthodox), etc. Also, this is only my second Lent and Pascha in the Church (I attended my first Liturgy the Sunday after Pascha, 2006), so my ramblings here should not be considered an authoritative list of traditions, nor a universal one. Anyone else who has knowledge of Pascha traditions in the Orthodox church, please feel free to chime in!
The word 'Pascha' (which means, I believe, sacrifice, though I could be mistaken) is used in the Orthodox church instead of 'Easter' because the word 'Easter' actually comes from a pagan celebration sacred to the goddess Astarte. The date of Pascha sometimes varies from the date of western Easter because the official Church calendar is still the original Julian calendar. Consequently, the 21st-22nd March (the spring Equinox) falls twelve days later in the Church calendar than in the ordinary calendar. Since both Pascha and Easter fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring Equinox, the date of Pascha can be identical to Easter (as it was last year), a week off (as it was the year before), or several weeks off (as it is this year; Pascha is 27 April).
Lent in the Orthodox church is a Very Big Deal Indeed. You don't give up something you cherish for Lent; instead, you fast. A SERIOUS fast; traditionally, Orthodox Christians go entirely vegan during all of Lent and Holy Week. Well, I say vegan; it's actually "no meat from an animal with a backbone; no dairy; no eggs; no olive oil; no alcohol." Shellfish are allowed--my priest thinks it's because the Byzantines thought shellfish like mussels were actually plants, not animals. However, despite the strictness of the fast, it's made VERY plain in the Church that fasting is not an end of itself, nor is anyone to judge another on whether s/he fasts or not. There are lots of Bible readings in the weeks just before Lent that admonish against that sort of judgment. Whether one fasts or not is between oneself and God, and people with dietary restrictions for health reasons are often advised by their Father Confessor to adhere to a modified fast.
During Lent, there are midweek services called Presanctified Liturgies--that is, a Liturgy where the Communion that is given has been saved from the previous Sunday. Thus, "pre-Sanctified". It's a very different sort of Liturgy from the usual, and its point is to help strengthen us on our way through Lent. I love going to Presanctified, though I missed last week's; our parish holds them on Wednesday and Friday evenings. During Lent, you're also advised in the very, very strongest of terms to confess at least once if you're planning to take Communion on Pascha. It's funny; I grew up Catholic and was Catholic until I was 18, but I've gone to Confession more often in my year as a full member of the Orthodox church than I ever did as a Catholic. :)
On Palm Sunday, my parish does a mixture of traditions. Not only do we each get palms, but they also attach pussy willows to them. Apparently, in Russia, since it's near impossible to get palm fronds, pussy willows are the traditional plant for Palm Sunday, probably because they're an early-spring plant. I have a palm folded into the shape of a cross tucked behind the cross on my icon wall, and I also have a long palm with a pussy willow tied to it. Both of them are from last Palm Sunday. This year, I'll bring them both to church on Palm Sunday and exchange them for new ones.
On Good Friday, a "tomb" is set up in the church, consisting of an elaborate embroidered cloth with an image of Christ's body in its grave wrappings. This is surrounded by flowers and candles, and is venerated as a remembrance of the true Tomb. On Holy Saturday, peole start arriving for services about 9, and the Paschal service starts about 11. Everyone holds a Pascha candle (it's big, about a foot and a half high and about 3/4 inch in diameter, with a (silk) flower attached to it--you bring yours back each Pascha). It's an incredibly joyous service; there's a flyer they hand out that has the phrase 'Christ is risen!' and the response, 'Indeed, He is risen!' in about fifteen different languages, and we must shout that phrase dozens of times. There's a procession around the church just before midnight, and as midnight strikes, all the church bells ring and the priests shout "CHRIST IS RISEN!" three times, and we respond, "INDEED, HE IS RISEN!" each time.
We all go home after the Paschal liturgy, then most of us come back around noon for another Liturgy and a big feast where we're FINALLY DONE WITH FASTING and we can have all the goodies that we've been denying ourselves for all this time. If the weather's nice, we have a big picnic on the church grounds; people bring instruments and it's just a great big party.
That's barely touching on some of what I've experienced in my short time as an Orthodox Christian; hope you weren't too disappointed! :)
GREAT BIG DISCLAIMER: There are lots of different traditions relating to Pascha, depending on which Orthodox church you belong to, how "ethnic" your church is, family traditions (if you're a cradle Orthodox), etc. Also, this is only my second Lent and Pascha in the Church (I attended my first Liturgy the Sunday after Pascha, 2006), so my ramblings here should not be considered an authoritative list of traditions, nor a universal one. Anyone else who has knowledge of Pascha traditions in the Orthodox church, please feel free to chime in!
The word 'Pascha' (which means, I believe, sacrifice, though I could be mistaken) is used in the Orthodox church instead of 'Easter' because the word 'Easter' actually comes from a pagan celebration sacred to the goddess Astarte. The date of Pascha sometimes varies from the date of western Easter because the official Church calendar is still the original Julian calendar. Consequently, the 21st-22nd March (the spring Equinox) falls twelve days later in the Church calendar than in the ordinary calendar. Since both Pascha and Easter fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring Equinox, the date of Pascha can be identical to Easter (as it was last year), a week off (as it was the year before), or several weeks off (as it is this year; Pascha is 27 April).
Lent in the Orthodox church is a Very Big Deal Indeed. You don't give up something you cherish for Lent; instead, you fast. A SERIOUS fast; traditionally, Orthodox Christians go entirely vegan during all of Lent and Holy Week. Well, I say vegan; it's actually "no meat from an animal with a backbone; no dairy; no eggs; no olive oil; no alcohol." Shellfish are allowed--my priest thinks it's because the Byzantines thought shellfish like mussels were actually plants, not animals. However, despite the strictness of the fast, it's made VERY plain in the Church that fasting is not an end of itself, nor is anyone to judge another on whether s/he fasts or not. There are lots of Bible readings in the weeks just before Lent that admonish against that sort of judgment. Whether one fasts or not is between oneself and God, and people with dietary restrictions for health reasons are often advised by their Father Confessor to adhere to a modified fast.
During Lent, there are midweek services called Presanctified Liturgies--that is, a Liturgy where the Communion that is given has been saved from the previous Sunday. Thus, "pre-Sanctified". It's a very different sort of Liturgy from the usual, and its point is to help strengthen us on our way through Lent. I love going to Presanctified, though I missed last week's; our parish holds them on Wednesday and Friday evenings. During Lent, you're also advised in the very, very strongest of terms to confess at least once if you're planning to take Communion on Pascha. It's funny; I grew up Catholic and was Catholic until I was 18, but I've gone to Confession more often in my year as a full member of the Orthodox church than I ever did as a Catholic. :)
On Palm Sunday, my parish does a mixture of traditions. Not only do we each get palms, but they also attach pussy willows to them. Apparently, in Russia, since it's near impossible to get palm fronds, pussy willows are the traditional plant for Palm Sunday, probably because they're an early-spring plant. I have a palm folded into the shape of a cross tucked behind the cross on my icon wall, and I also have a long palm with a pussy willow tied to it. Both of them are from last Palm Sunday. This year, I'll bring them both to church on Palm Sunday and exchange them for new ones.
On Good Friday, a "tomb" is set up in the church, consisting of an elaborate embroidered cloth with an image of Christ's body in its grave wrappings. This is surrounded by flowers and candles, and is venerated as a remembrance of the true Tomb. On Holy Saturday, peole start arriving for services about 9, and the Paschal service starts about 11. Everyone holds a Pascha candle (it's big, about a foot and a half high and about 3/4 inch in diameter, with a (silk) flower attached to it--you bring yours back each Pascha). It's an incredibly joyous service; there's a flyer they hand out that has the phrase 'Christ is risen!' and the response, 'Indeed, He is risen!' in about fifteen different languages, and we must shout that phrase dozens of times. There's a procession around the church just before midnight, and as midnight strikes, all the church bells ring and the priests shout "CHRIST IS RISEN!" three times, and we respond, "INDEED, HE IS RISEN!" each time.
We all go home after the Paschal liturgy, then most of us come back around noon for another Liturgy and a big feast where we're FINALLY DONE WITH FASTING and we can have all the goodies that we've been denying ourselves for all this time. If the weather's nice, we have a big picnic on the church grounds; people bring instruments and it's just a great big party.
That's barely touching on some of what I've experienced in my short time as an Orthodox Christian; hope you weren't too disappointed! :)