Candles, carousing and cracking eggs: we celebrated Greek Easter on Hydra 

Dancing to pulsing bouzouki music may have had something to do with it, not to mention the wine and ouzo, but our Greek Easter Sunday lunch, on the romantic isle of Hydra, counted as a truly memorable meal. One of the most fun, ever.

Easter Sunday lunch, which morphed into dinner, capped our wonderful Greek Easter celebrations that included traditional foods, candlelight, religious processions, fireworks and other noisemakers, music, dancing, and the usual warm sunshine and azure waters that mark a typical Greek isle of the imagination.

Not to mention cracking the red Easter eggs!

Easter is a big deal in Greece, and a busy travel time for Greek people, so we opted to stay put for four nights on Hydra. As we drove back from the Peloponnese Peninsula into Athens, to catch our ferry at Piraeus port, we saw bumper-to-bumper traffic heading out of the city on Maundy Thursday. We handed over our rental car and boarded the packed ferry for Hydra.

Signs of Greek Easter

Easter decorations, both secular and sacred, bedecked the town of Nafplio.

We´d seen the signs of impending Easter during our food tour in Athens: hanging goats and lambs in the market and cartons of red eggs in bakeries and grocery stores. And the town of Nafplio sported lovely Easter decorations.

Even for those who don´t practise their Greek Orthodox religion, Easter in Greece is a time to get together with family and friends to celebrate the culture and traditions. Hence the heavy traffic exiting Athens – people were returning to their towns and villages to take part in processions, food and parties.

Hydra is known for a Good Friday tradition that´s a bit different. While every town and village has an Epitafios procession, during which a flower-bedecked bier depicting Jesus is paraded through the streets, on Hydra it´s carried right into the sea for a special blessing. This tradition, started by Hydra´s sponge divers, made the island sound like a special place to celebrate Easter. We couldn´t wait to get there.

Hydra – the car-free island

Donkeys, mules and small horses wait patiently at Hydra´s harbour to carry people and goods along the narrow alleys.

Hydra is also known for its lack of cars. Everyone walks or takes a donkey, horse or mule to navigate the narrow lanes, alleys and stairs that stand in for roads. Men with push carts carried huge suitcases for people from the harbour to their hotel. The only vehicles are a couple of garbage trucks, and an ambulance and firetruck. We saw the odd bicycle, but inside the town, cycling would be a nightmare with all the stairs up the steep slopes.

We stepped aside in many narrow alleys to let loaded horses, mules and donkeys go by.

I very much wanted to ride a donkey, but the host at our apartment rental said it was so busy that even she hadn’t been able to book one to have supplies delivered.

Hydra seemed an appropriate place to celebrate Easter, given that donkeys go with the story of Jesus: Mary rode on one to Bethlehem for His birth, and He rode a donkey into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) the week before He was crucified.

Ferries, tour boats, and expensive sailboats and catamarans delivered visitors to Hydra for Easter.

Many old ship-owning and merchant families had built mansions along Hydra town´s harbour. (Confusingly, the island and the main town are both called Hydra.) One mansion served as the Historical Archives Museum of Hydra, which Kathleen and I visited to learn the island´s long nautical history of strategic importance. 

Hydra became a tourist draw after Soipha Loren arrived in 1956 to portray a sponge diver in the movie “Boy on a Dolphin.” Many artists came in the 1960s, including Canada´s songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, who bought a house and lived there for a time. Reminders of Cohen are scattered over Hydra town: a bench overlooking the sea, his house on Cohen Street (not open to visitors), and his favourite beach (Spilia) and watering hole (Pirate Bar).

Today, the short 1.5-hour ferry ride from Athens makes Hydra popular with day-trippers.

Preparations for the coming celebrations

Koulourakia cookies (left) and sweet loaves of tsoureki, each with their red egg, tempted Easter shoppers.

Unlike some Greek families, our Easter preparations did not involve slaughtering a lamb or goat.

Instead, we simply had to make a reservation for Easter Sunday lunch, which turned out to be nearly as challenging. Our tour guide in Olympia had recommended a traditional taverna called Xeri Elia. Sadly, it was full. However, the friendly manager helped us by suggesting other restaurants. After calling three others, with fingers crossed that they spoke some English, I finally got us a reservation at Enalion. Success! 

On to other food preparations.

I had read about many Easter sweet treats, but two seemed essential: tsoureki and koulourakia. Spying what looked to be a nice bakery, we stepped inside Tsagkaris Pastry Shop, established in 1930. A young man in a baker´s tunic, with “Dimitris” embroidered on his chest, greeted us enthusiastically and explained the ingredients for each.  

Baker Dimitris Tsagaris, who had taken over the family business from his father and grandmother, gathered us for a selfie with our tsoureki.

Tsoureki is a sweet, braided bread with a red egg nestled into the folds at one end. You eat slices plain or piled with jam or spoon sweets. Koulourakia is a crunchy orange-vanilla cookie, somewhat like Italian biscotti but shaped with a twist. Good with coffee.

“May I take a photo with you?” I asked.

“Sure, sure!” he enthused. “Let´s have a group.”

As we paid for our tsoureki and koulourakia, Dimitris gave us samples of the popular Turkish Delight, made in the back room by his father and uncle. I peeked in and saw them slicing the jelly filling into squares, then rolling them in icing sugar.

Red eggs seemed like another mandatory Greek Easter ingredient. Although people traditionally dye their own at home, we saw cartons of already-dyed eggs in supermarkets, bakeries and corner stores. We weren´t sure if they were hard-boiled, so decided to stick with the one egg that came with our tsoureki. We later discovered that they are indeed first hard-boiled, and then dyed a deep red to symbolize the blood of Jesus Christ.

Our last preparations involved finding out the time for the next few days´ celebrations – our apartment host helped with that. But then, where to position ourselves to observe and/or take part?

Good Friday Epitafios procession into the sea

The multi-tiered Epitafios bier was covered in flowers, candles, palm fronds, and special embroidered cloths.

Good Friday is when Christians mourn Jesus´ death on the cross. By happenstance, our apartment was across the alley from the Kaminia church where that evening´s Epitafios procession was to start.

“Great!” we thought. And it was… sort of.

About 8:30 p.m., a half-dozen men emerged from the church, carrying a large wooden tiered bier called the Epitafios, covered in roses, baby´s breath, a purple flower I didn´t know, honey-toned beeswax candles, palm fronds and lanterns on the corners. The embroidered cloths were said to bear the image of Christ, but I couldn´t make that out. The topmost layer was shaped like a crown.

Brave young men stood in a line facing the shore, up to their waist in cold water while they held the Epitafios.

We followed the solemn procession down the alley towards Kaminia harbour. Priests and young men in white t-shirts carried lanterns, medallions, and crosses mounted on long poles. Everyone on the island seemed to turn out. As visitors, we felt welcome to take part.

More and more people joined the procession, and we found ourselves pushed further and further back. By the time we reached the harbour, we had missed seeing the Epitafios being carried into the water. At some point, the Epitafios had been transferred to the young men, who stood in the water holding it aloft.

I was stunned by the huge crowd on the beach, listening to the priests who stood on shore using a loudspeaker to intone the ceremony. We should have waited there instead.

After the long ceremony, the young men carried the Epitafios back onto shore.

I slowly wormed my way to a spot where I could peer between a bald man and a young woman to see the harbour below. The young men stood waist-deep in the water in a line. Some held the Epitafios aloft while others carried the lanterns and crosses.

They were brave! That water was cold! We´d been swimming that morning, and I can assure you that they were freezing. The priests chanted for a good half-hour, blessing the waters and praying for sponge divers, sailors, and calm waters. At least, that´s what I read. The ceremony was entirely in Greek, of course. The only words I could pick out were “Kyrie eleison” (Lord, have mercy), which I knew from singing in my own (Protestant) church choir.

People walked under the Epitafios, held aloft, to go back into the church for another service after the procession.

I took a lot of dark photos, most of them blurry from the low light and jostling crowds.

After emerging from the water, the young men handed the Epitafios back to the older men, then turned around and leaped back into the water, to great cheers from the crowd and boat-horn tooting.

The older men carried the Epitafios back to the church. We arrived back in time to see them standing with it near the doorway. Worshipers walked under it to go back into the church for another service.

Periodic very loud bangs that sounded like gunshots kept startling us. We learned that they were, indeed, gunshots, along with firecrackers. People apparently practised setting off their homemade explosives before Saturday at midnight, when it seemed like ear plugs would be required.   

Saturday: Holy Fire from Jerusalem

Kathleen, Arthur, Bill and I waited, with my beeswax candles, for the Holy Fire to arrive from Jerusalem.

On Saturday night, as we waited for the Holy Fire to arrive from Jerusalem, we enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner at Xeri Elia taverna (the one we couldn´t get into for Easter Sunday lunch). We dined al fresco under a canopy of trees and bougainvillea strung with lights. Beautiful!

Holy Saturday is when the church commemorates Jesus´s burial and, at the stroke of midnight, His resurrection. Here´s what happens for Greek Easter: in Jerusalem, orthodox priests break the seal on Jesus´ tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and emerge with the Holy Fire. Olympic Airways then flies the Holy Fire to Athens, where the light is shared with churches all over Greece.

The Holy Fire from Jerusalem arrived on Hydra by boat and was carried to the church.

On Hydra, the Holy Fire arrives by boat at the main harbour at about 11 p.m. Again, we weren´t quite sure where to stand, so we loitered with the gathering crowd on the main square facing the harbour. Bells from the clock tower rang out a song as I clutched the two beeswax candles I´d bought for the occasion.

It was exciting in a bewildering way since, despite all my research, we still didn´t know quite what to expect.

Finally, the light of a small water-taxi-sized boat emerged from the darkness out at sea, clearly headed for the harbour. After the boat docked, a black-suited man carrying a lantern hopped onto the pier and walked quickly to the nearby Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by various officials.   

The Holy Fire was shared with everyone´s outstretched candles, including mine.

The crowd followed them down a covered alley leading towards the church for the Anastasi service. Bill, Kathleen, and Arthur waited on the square while I wove amongst the people towards a courtyard outside the church. In the distance, I could see palm fronds arched over the priests, but it was so jam-packed, I aborted my attempt to get closer. I backed up into a tiny nook and waited.

Within a few minutes, a tall fellow with a long, lit taper worked his way through the crowd, lighting people´s outstretched candles as he came along. I pointed mine towards him and he lit them too. Then I made my way back out to the square, shielding my flame and trying very hard not to ignite the long hair of the woman just ahead of me.

We shared the Holy Fire from Jerusalem.

The square was magical – a sensory feast. The Holy Fire spread from candle to candle until everyone held the light of Christ. I loved the symbolism.

Boats honoured Christ’s resurrection with sirens and horns. Flares, firecrackers and gunshots erupted, reverberating off the hills and stone buildings. Church bells tolled merrily. The scent of beeswax and smoke spread amongst the people like my imagined feeling of brotherhood.  

We hung around the square for a bit, watching families visiting and friends hugging. People greeted each other: “Christos anesti!” (Christ is risen!). The reply was: “Alithos anesti!” (Truly, He is risen!).

The honey-sweet scents of melting beeswax candles filled the air.

Finally, we decided to make our way along the seafront lane back to our apartment. As we passed restaurants, we could see places set with red eggs on the spoons. Some people play the crack-the-egg game Saturday night, while others wait for Sunday. Hungry customers were already breaking their Lenten no-meat fasts with the traditional mayeritsa. This thick green soup ismade from goat or lamb intestines, kidneys and other offal stuff, rice, herbs and lemon. We could have stopped to try it, but sense prevailed.

As we left the harbour area, fireworks boomed and bloomed above the hills, so we stopped to watch. Gunshots added their nerve-shattering sounds to the cacophony of celebration.

“Christos anesti!” I said to a man as he passed us.

“Alithos anesti!” he replied.

Most importantly, I didn´t light anyone´s hair on fire, including my own.

Easter Sunday: feast time!

Red eggs and roast lamb or goat are important Greek Easter food traditions.

We slept in on Easter Sunday morning, enjoying a late breakfast of our tsoureki bread and the red egg. Our only plan for the day was Easter Sunday lunch, and that fit perfectly with Greek Easter traditions. After all the church services and solemn religious processions, Easter Sunday was party time.

When we arrived at Enalion restaurant, after a gorgeous 1.5-kilometre walk along the sea to the village of Vlichos, we found four red eggs on our table. At last! We got to play the red-egg game! We began smacking each other´s eggs with our eggs; Bill´s egg remained uncracked, so he won good luck for the rest of the year.

Our two platters of meat: the roast lamb (right) was tender and delicious.

Then, the drinking and eating began. After our white wine arrived, food came at regular intervals: tzatziki, olives, bread, olive oil for dipping, a large slice of feta drizzled with olive oil, tomato salad with a huge chunk of feta atop, green salad with fresh dill, and roasted potatoes.

The first meat course was slices of a rolled meat that had been on a skewer over a fire: organ meats (mostly liver) in the centre, surrounded by strips of goat or lamb. The outside was good; the inside was offal. But then the next meat course was delicious: a big platter of tender roast lamb. We had seen lambs and goats roasting on spits over wood fires.

We ate our Easter lunch-dinner outside on a terrace next to the beach. The setting was like something out of a movie.

In the midst of our feasting, we ordered more wine. Then the music began. Keyboard and bouzouki players accompanied three singers, who took turns. All had wonderful voices and knew how to work the crowd. The dark-haired female singer went from table to table, crooning to men and women alike.

As people finished their food, the singers got everyone up dancing, including the four of us. At one point, the dark-haired singer put her arm across my shoulder and we did a sort of line dance in a circle – typical Greek style – with a larger circle around us.

I haven´t danced that much in a long time.

Our favourite singer enlivened our Easter Sunday lunch-dinner.

Another bottle of wine appeared, and then a large bottle of ouzo. Somewhere in there, dessert arrived: slices of chocolate fudgy roll drizzled in chocolate sauce. Then more dancing. I had a blast but was getting tired but, at the same time, didn´t want it to stop. 

We´d arrived at 1:45 p.m. and didn´t leave until 7 p.m., when the male singer was into his second set. I do not know how long the party continued. We did not need dinner.    

Yamas! Kalo Paska!

Easter Sunday burning of Judas

Our walk to and from Easter Sunday lunch-dinner took us over a charming arched stone bridge. Fireworks followed.

After returning from our Easter lunch-dinner, we took much-needed naps. I set an alarm to get up in time for the 9 p.m. burning of Judas but we missed it. I turned off the alarm, rolled over, and didn´t wake up until the next morning.

I can only report what was supposed to happen: along the harbourfront in Hydra town, young men wearing traditional dress set an effigy of Judas alight. The straw man´s left hand holds a purse containing the 30 silver coins he earned for betraying Jesus to the authorities. The ensuing bonfire is celebrated with more fireworks. In other Greek towns, people apparently bring guns and shoot effigies of Judas.

The walk between the villages of Kaminia and Vlichos along the “main road” was gorgeous!

Despite missing Judas, we got a good taste, literally, of Greek Easter celebrations, from the preparations through to Holy Week celebrations and Easter Sunday partying. I would highly recommend planning a trip to Greece to include Easter. 

We celebrated Easter in Greece in April 2025. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.