1. EASTER Most Important Religious Holiday For Orthodox Georgians

2. Today we will talk about: * Description of the Holiday; * Eastern vs Western Dates; * Traditional Orthodox Easter Greeting; * Red Easter Eggs; * Holy Fire.

3. Easter: Preparation and Fasting * Georgians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary; * The spiritual preparations begin with Great Lent, a 40-day period of self- examination and fasting; * The last week of Lent is called Passion Week, ending with: Passion Thursday and Good Friday.

4. Easter - Celebration * Generally, almost every Georgian go to church the night before Easter and stay there until late the next morning; * Easter festivities begin with a celebratory evening church service; * Prayer service reflects the joy of Easter. After it the fast is broken and the feasting begins; * On Easter Monday, churches conduct a special prayer in memory of the deceased, Georgians bring red eggs and flowers to the graves of their relatives.

5. Eastern vs. Western Easter Dates * Easter is a moveable feast; * Western churches use the Gregorian Calendar to calculate the date of Easter; * Eastern Orthodox churches have used the Julian Calendar since the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.; * They also use the actual, astronomical full moon and the actual spring equinox as observed along the meridian of Jerusalem.

6. Traditional Orthodox Easter Greeting * It is tradition among Georgians to greet one another during Easter season with the phrase, "Christ is Risen!" The response is "He is Risen, Indeed!"

7. T wo important elements of Easter: * Red Easter eggs dyed on Good Friday, with a Rubia plant, are placed on a plate of sprouted green wheat grass. * Baked Easter Bread, Paska, which is made with cream cheese and raisins; * These dishes are “ blessed ” during the church service; * One of the blessed eggs is traditionally kept until the following Easter, the egg will not rot for the entire year.

8. Red Easter Eggs * The red color signifies Christ's blood, and the eggs and wheat grass represent new life; * These red eggs aren't all holy symbolism, the children play a cracking game wherein whoever's egg stays intact keeps the loser's.

9. Origins Of The Red Easter Eggs * After the Ascension of Jesus, Mary Magdalene went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," * The Emperor pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." * After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red.

10. Holy Fire * Holy Fire is a miracle that happens annually on the day preceding Orthodox Easter; * It is first mentioned by the pilgrim Bernard the Monk, in 870 AD.; * Since then the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Holy Sepulchre obtains the Holy Fire in a supernatural and divine way, miraculously; * Numerous Christian pilgrims receive it with great emotion, enthusiasm and joy.

11. Holy Fire * Holy Fire has a gleam of hue completely different from that of natural light. It sparkles, flashes like lightning and does not burn; * It is brought to Georgia every year by special flights; * Holy Fire appears only by the prayers of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. Each time that Heterodox Bishops tried to obtain it, they failed.

12. In Conclusion, * This is the way we celebrate Easter in Georgia; * We are always looking forward this holiday, 'cause it has great importance for Georgians not only for spiritual but also national reasons; * Religion, Language and Land always were intermingled in people's heart, that's what made our small country still independent for 21 centuries.

13. Thank You For Attention!