Easter was quite an event here. I (Gill) missed most of it because the plaster on my leg was replaced with something so unbalanced that I could not walk for three days. (It is off now.) However, Bob went to the midnight Easter service for a short time – the service actually continues for about four hours with everyone standing! But I must not rush this.

On the Wednesday night before Easter we saw a small fire outside the baker’s shop opposite our house. People were standing around laughing, drinking wine and from time to time jumping over the fire. Georgians tend to be high-spirited and we thought very little of it until the next day when someone explained that this is a very old, pre-Christian (and, therefore, looked down upon by the church) ritual where people dance with devils. Actually, it seems like a celebration of fire and, if you had spent a Georgian winter here, you would have felt the same way. (We didn’t get a picture, unfortunately.)

On Thursday, the Georgian Patriarch washes his priests’ feet, but this does not happen anywhere else but Tbilisi. Our family prepared the red dye for the eggs which are traditionally made on Good Friday, which is called Red Friday in Georgia. The dye is called endro in Georgian and I actually managed to find out that this is madder in English. There was a madder market in Norwich in England and a theater on the same spot is now known as the Madder Market. Madder is the root of a small bush and when you boil it, it produces a strong, deep red dye. In Georgia, the dye is primarily used for dying Easter eggs, but also for felt. My students were very surprised that we called Red (blood) Friday Good Friday in American and England. They could not understand what was good about it. When I explained that Christians believe that Christ died for us and to do something for someone else is the best thing you can do, they nodded a little, but I don’t think they were convinced.

On Friday, we dyed eggs, both in the Georgian fashion (i.e. blood red) and the American fashion (pastel colors). Georgians, like Lithuanians, have egg fights where you tap the end of your opponent’s egg and see whose cracks – like English conkers. Apart from that, Friday is a very sad day for most Georgians. They really believe that the world might end if the light is not lit in Jerusalem – more about that later. Our host sister told us that as a child she used to be very scared at this time.

Saturday is a time for more egg making. Many eggs and much candy are needed because on Saturday night children come visiting in Halloween fashion demanding eggs. There is a little rhyme they say which I guess is the equivalent of “Trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to eat.” The children are dressed up just like for Halloween. Some of them wore macaroni on their teeth – the vampire touch.

Also, Saturday night is the time of the long vigil to see whether Christ will rise this year. We knew nothing of this particular part of Georgian orthodox belief: Apparently, in the Georgian church in Jerusalem there is a piece of rock and on Easter Sunday morning a fire spontaneously erupts from the rock. If this does not happen, it means that Christ has not risen and the world will end. When the fire erupts, priests come out of the church and light candles and lanterns that are carried to Tbilisi – we suppose by plane, but could not find out how. We saw the lantern lighting on television. The news spreads fast and the worshipers at the church begin to sing about Christ’s resurrection. This, as I said, can go on for a very long time. The priest carries a light three times around the church and the congregation carrying candles follows him in procession. Everyone greets each other with “Christ is risen,” to which the response is “Truly, he is risen.” However, this is not just a rote response, it is an actual belief. The depth to which Georgians believe this is illustrated by the headline in the Sunday newspaper “Christ is Risen.” The paper also contains a candle which had been lit by flame from the rock (and subsequently extinguished!)

Monday is the day for visiting the dead. Georgians take the remaining red Easter eggs, a picnic and some wine and go off to the family cemetery. We always wondered why there are picnic tables in the cemeteries – that’s why. They spend the day there greeting their friends and neighbors who are also visiting their deceased family members. They exchange eggs and everyone has to toast everyone’s family which makes for quite a jolly day. Finally, they leave an egg at the cemetery for each dead family member and wend their way home.