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‘Twas the night before (Greek) Easter

*** This post is dedicated to my Orthodox friends and family celebrating Easter this weekend.  If you are not Orthodox, you still may find some humor in this poem so feel free to read on!  All you really need to know is that many of us have been fasting from meat, dairy, wine, fish, eggs, and oil, (or some variation of that) for close to 50 days.  We usually attend several church services this week culminating in a midnight service tonight celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. After that, we go home and EAT!  No matter what time it is! Although this will be a different Easter this year due to the quarantine, this poem reflects how we usually celebrate, and God willing how we will celebrate next year.  Kali Anastasi! ***
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‘Twas the night before Pascha, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The red eggs were placed in the tsoureki with care,
In hopes that some butter would soon be spread there,
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lamb and beef danced in their heads.
And me in my apron, making spinach pie,
I’m baking last minute, I ain’t gonna lie
When from the next room there arose such a clatter,
I ran from the kitchen to see what was the matter.
Away to the dining room, I made a mad dash,
I ran way too fast, then got a hot flash,
The moon out the window hung bright and hung low,
And that great lunar light gave the room an eerie glow.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a vision of a lamb on a spit crystal clear.
There was ham and potatoes and rice..take your pick,
I thought for a second, “This must be a trick!”
More rapid than eagles my hunger it came,
The feta and olives were calling my name!
O Niko! O Georgia! O Panos! O Toula!
Now Anna! Now Thanos! Now John And Stavroula!
Get ready for church, stop dreaming of meat,
We leave at 11, we must get a seat!
Late as usual, off to church, we flew,
With our prayer books and candles and appetites too,
We sat in the pew for what seemed like an hour,
The church was all dark as if there were no power.
Almost asleep as the time ticked away,
My head started bobbing, my body to sway,
The whispers got louder, the seats filled at last,
Only one more hour is left of this Fast!
And just when I thought I would soon hit the floor,
Bang! Came the priest! He threw open the Doors
He was dressed all in white, from his head to his toe,
His vestments were glorious, his face was aglow
His eyes how they shown, he looked toward the sky,
“Christ is Risen!” He shouted, his Light held up high,
The faithful responded, their voices filled with joy,
From the oldest yiayia, to the littlest altar boy.
Four hours later, back home we arrived,
Carrying lit candles in the car on the drive
We walked through the house with our candles aglow,
And blessed every room singing high, singing low
We cracked the red eggs and ate dinner at 3,
Went to our beds with full hearts and bellies
The Great Fast is over, sing with all of your might
Christos Anesti to all, and to all a Good night!

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