Holy Week and Pascha
Holy Week in 2027 runs from Monday 26 April to Holy Saturday on 1 May, with Pascha falling on Sunday 2 May — weeks after the Western Easter, as calculated by the Julian calendar.
Holy Week in 2027 runs from Monday 26 April to Holy Saturday on 1 May, and Pascha falls on Sunday 2 May. The Orthodox Easter date is calculated according to the Julian calendar, placing the 2027 feast several weeks after the Western Easter. Great Friday falls on 30 April; Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays.
The principal observances of Holy Week follow a fixed liturgical sequence. On Great Friday evening the Epitaphios — the flower-dressed bier bearing an embroidered icon of the entombed Christ — is carried in procession through the streets of every parish, accompanied by the congregation. On Holy Saturday the Holy Light is brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and distributed at the midnight Anastasi service, at which the Resurrection is proclaimed.
Regional variations mark the week in particular locations. On Corfu, large clay water jugs (botides) are thrown from balconies at the First Resurrection on Holy Saturday morning. On Hydra the Epitaphios is carried into the sea. In Leonidio, Arcadia, hundreds of hot-air balloons are released at midnight. In Vrondados on Chios two rival parishes stage a fireworks exchange. Easter Sunday is marked across Greece by the outdoor roasting of lamb.