Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

[To Christians celebrating on the Orthodox calendar, Happy Easter -- Χριστος Ανεστη!]

"The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake." -- Basil Hume

"My mom used to say that Greek Easter was later because then you get stuff cheaper." -- Amy Sedaris< [This works when it's a week later. When it's a month later, like this year, not so much.]

From Cyprus Trip

Easter in Cyprus is loud. Between the loudspeakers blaring the chanting and the rest of the service to all the people who couldn't fit inside the church, the fireworks being set of in various parts of the neighbourhood, the church bells ringing chaotically when the big moment is announced (then gradually coming together as they continue ringing), and later on the enthusiastic screaming of children at play after a huge family meal in the wee hours right after church ... it's joyous and it's loudly joyous.

As we were walking up the street to my cousin's house (where we're staying, and where today's big family gathering is) from my other cousin's house (where this morning's huge dinner was), my cousin was startled to notice how alive and awake I was while eveybody else had that "way past my bedtime" feeling -- after a few weeks of seeing how tired I've been most of the time. I've been trying to tell them I'm a night-person... I really did feel more alive then -- I'd been not just awake but interacting with people, and it had been at my time of day; I wasn't merely awake and trying desparately to get to sleep.

I took only a film camera loaded with high-speed black and white film to the church itself, so no digital photos of that to post now.