Orthodox Easter 2021 – This day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion on Orthodox Good Friday.
In the United States the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and Greek Hellenic Orthodox Church celebrate the day along with other smaller Orthodox Churches. The Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar to determine their holy days. Easter for the Orthodox Church will always fall sometime between April 4th and May 8th each year.
Orthodox Easter 2021
Many people might be thinking when is Orthodox Easter 2021 going to be celebrated, worry not as this article got you covered. Each year the date of both Catholic and Orthodox Easters changes weekends and more often than not, the Orthodox happens later by some weeks.
It might help the Easter Bunny as he doesn’t have to deliver eggs all in one day, but it does cause confusion in countries such as Australia which have a high population of those of the Catholic and Orthodox faith.
So, despite believing in the same book, God and Savior, why do the Easter dates differ? Well, it’s quite complicated and the split occurred over four centuries ago.
Countries that Observe the Orthodox Easter
Despite it being commonly called Greek Easter, this tradition is celebrated in other places apart from Greece. They are listed below;
- Cyprus
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Lebanon
- The Republic of Macedonia.
When Is Orthodox Easter Sunday 2021?
Many Orthodox churches base their Easter date on the Julian calendar, which often differs from the Gregorian calendar that is used by many western countries. Therefore, the Orthodox Easter period often occurs later than the Easter period that falls around the time of the March equinox.
Sunday, May 2nd is day number 122 of the 2021 calendar year with 1 month, 18 days until Orthodox Easter 2021. You can get more details here.
How the Orthodox Easter is celebrated
Below are the steps on how the Orthodox Easter is been celebrated;
- The main date is Easter Sunday, or Easter Day, which is when Christ’s Resurrection took place.
- The fasting of Lent continues throughout Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday.
- In Greece, preparations begin on Holy Thursday. Easter bread (tsoureki) is baked and eggs are colored with red dye. Red is the color of life and also symbolic of the blood of Christ.
- Good Friday is a day of mourning. The most devout do not eat or cook at all, but if any cooking must be done, it’s only simple foods such as tahini soup.
- Flowers are taken to church to decorate a representation of the body of Christ, which is carried in a procession during a Service of Lamentation.
The date of Easter in Cyprus follows the Orthodox Calendar, which places it as the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs at the spring equinox. Public Holidays are observed on Orthodox Good Friday and Easter Monday
