Easter Sunday in the Med

In the Mediterranean, Easter Sunday begins well before Easter Sunday. Food preparation is begun days before; costumes for the town parades are sewn and fitted weeks, or even months prior; the church mass has been practiced time and again; seating arrangements for the family feast are carefully coordinated. Everything must run like clockwork on the day. In the early hours of the day, the heads of the households awake first to complete the final arrangements; among many families and communities in southern Europe, this celebration is more important than Christmas.

On the Greek mainland and its hundreds of islands, families make their way to the final Easter liturgy accompanied by the growing morning light. In the Cyclades, the scenes are particularly romantic; inside the whitewashed, blue-domed churches candles flicker and mass commences - the same prayers and readings repeated year on year, each time signalling a moment of renewal, rebirth and regeneration. 

Further west in Italy, each town’s church bells ring out with a clarity that carries across piazzas and down narrow streets. It’s a sound that calls people together - they congregate in the main square greeting one another before sidling into the pews to offer their devotions in Catholic prayer. In Spain, traces of Semana Santa - a whole week of intense and spiritual commemoration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ - still linger. Here, Easter Sunday feels lighter. The day marks a shift from days of reflection to release. 

As Easter Mass comes to a close, there’s a shift in energy. Those in charge of feeding their loved ones, are the first to bolt home. The pressure is on to deliver one of the most important meals of the year, Everyone else takes their sweeter time though the anticipation for the banquet ahead is palpable. By the time they reach home, the kitchens are in full swing - they’re alive with smells, sounds, sights of traditional foods coming out of ovens, sizzling on stove tops, being sliced on wooden chopping boards. In Greece, the unmistakable scent of lamb drifts through the streets as they’re baked or roasted on a spit. Yet, over in Spain, the riches of the sea take centre stage on Easter. Mouthwatering salty cod prepared in a stew, croquetas, or simply slow-cooked is the traditional feasting food. In Italy, the showstopping Colomba Pasquale (a dove-shaped sponge cake) waits patiently alongside the savoury dishes safe in the knowledge that everyone will leave space for it at the end.

While the finishing flourishes to the meal are completed, attention turns to the children. Easter egg hunts - while not traditional in southern Europe - have been adopted by some families to delight the little ones. Though receiving chocolate eggs is always a must and they’ll weave between the set tables, clutching their sweet treats, comparing their bounty. While they’re distracted, the first bottles are popped open - in the Mediterranean, there’s no need to wait for the food to be served before the drinks are poured. Ringings of ‘Salute,’ ‘Yamas,’ and ‘Salud’ fill the air. It’s important that no-one forgets to bring in a glass for the cooks. 

And then, almost without announcement, the feast begins.

Long tables are covered with plastic or linen cloths. Mismatched plates are laid in front of mismatched chairs that have been collected from every corner of the house. Soon, when the food arrives, there won’t be much space for decorations or centrepieces but some chocolates or candles might be scattered among the crowds of crockery and bottles of wine.

The Grecian lamb is finally lifted from the fire, its skin crisp and golden from the lashings of local olive oil but the meat beneath is tender from hours of slow roasting. It is carved, shared and loaded onto plates already crowded with roasted potatoes, fresh salads and bread still warm to the touch. In Italy, the meal arrives in waves rather than all at once. A rich and comforting pasta course gives way to cooked meats, then vegetables, then something else entirely according to the region. Cheeses and cured hams are also never amiss. In Spain tapas-style dishes are strewn across the table and requests to pass them along from one end to the other are ceaseless. The traditional Easter recipes may differ depending on the country but there is one constant in each of the cultures; glasses of wine, filled again before they are ever empty, flow till the end of the meal and beyond.

Eventually, the pace softens. It has to. Chairs are pushed back slightly, bodies lean into the warmth of the day, food comas are readily felt, and a lull settles in. Coffee appears, small and strong, followed perhaps by something sweeter or stronger. In coastal towns, the sea begins to call. Some amble toward the water, letting the breeze cut through the richness of the meal. Others remain at the table, unwilling to leave the orbit of conversation just yet. 

As the sun begins its slow descent marking the final hours of the Easter celebrations, the Mediterranean gathers itself once more. In Greece, music often emerges through blaring speakers or if you’re lucky, through a live rendition. The Italian piazzas fill with those completing their evening walk (passeggiata) or with friends meeting for a final drink. A Mediterranean Easter is more than the religious ceremonies which anchor the day. They provide a reason for community, the heartiest meals, the heaviest laughter. From the morning’s reverence to the afternoon feast that drifts into evening, it is a day built on presence and togetherness.