The souvla has cooled, the last red eggs have been cracked, and the children- chocolate-covered and sticky-fingered- have finally worked off their sugar high.
Across Cyprus and the larger Orthodox world, Easter Sunday ends not with fireworks, but with community: a day full of food, laughter, dancing, phone calls to distant relatives, and stories told for the fifth- or fiftieth- time.
It’s a day of celebration, but also of something deeper. Easter is a reminder of something all too easy to forget: that standing in the dark in church on Saturday night, in silence, waiting for the candles to light and the bells to ring, holds a mirror to our own lives. The light always returns. Death is defeated. Hope springs eternal. Joy- true abiding joy- is simple. And as we come together across the island, we remember that being together, even when it’s messy or imperfect, is holy in its own way.
Why do you seek the living among the dead? he is not here, but is Risen
– Luke 24:5-6
This verse, read across the Orthodox world today, is not only scripture. For those who keep faith, it is the heart of the story. For others, it’s tradition and memory. For all, it’s a moment to breathe. It’s a promise that though the sorrows may last for the night, joy comes in the morning.
This Easter Sunday, whether at church, feasting with relatives, or in the quiet of your own home, may there be room for reflection. For old songs, warm bread, gratitude. And for light. May His holy light shine not just in church, but in your lives, today and every day.
As the candles burn low and the day is cleared away, we wish you peace. Christ is risen; he is risen indeed.
