A Greek Orthodox Easter

THE Greek Orthodox Church celebrated Easter this past weekend and once again it was a privilege to share the festivities in north London with the Greek Cypriot family of Xenia, my daughter-in-law.

Easter is a deeply religious occasion for the Orthodox community, which marks the occasion with fasting and then feasting, with midnight on the Saturday marking the end of one and the start of the other.

At 10.30pm, we left the family home in Edmonton, walking through the streets of this densely packed and ethnically diverse area to the Church of Dimitrius. Along the way, we met up with hundreds of other families making their way on foot to the church to observe the final hour before Easter Day.

We went inside the already packed church to buy our candles and then waited outside for the church lights to be extinguished. Thousands - including a remarkable number of younger people - were now gathered on the road as the church went dark and the main part of the service began.

When the lights went back on, candles lit from a flame within the church were brought out and from this one light, all our candles were lit to celebrate midnight and Easter Day.

We walked back home with our candles alight and these were not extinguished but allowed to burn out on their own accord.

Most Orthodox people, but especially women, had fasted for days before the midnight light shone, eschewing meat and dairy products, and attending Holy Communion at least once on one of the three holy days.

But how they made up for it on Sunday. Xenia's mum and day Anastasia and Aki provided a fitting bamquet for family and friends. The community's traditions are proudly observed, and quite rightly so.

Their heritage and culture is being absorbed into our own which is no worse off for it. But waht a pity that "English" people are made to feel ashamed by the chatterers in our society for wanting to celebrate St George's Day, singing the national anthem, and waving either the flag of St George or the Union flag.