It is Greek Easter this weekend, a big event that preparations have been underway for since final orders were called on last Easter.
The format is always the same.
Friends and family descend upon Yiayia and Papou’s house in the early afternoon. Lamb will have already been roasting for hours and the garden will have been furnished with an array of tables and chairs.
The Greek God(zilla) and BB will take turns to man the barbecue, although the Greek God(zilla)’s interpretation of this will be sitting down with a cold beer and shouting out orders for BB to turn the sausages.
BB will look over at me and roll her eyes. I will nod along sympathetically, but actually feel delighted she is able to relieve me from being the sole recipient of my husband’s ‘humour’.
Eva will greet all of the guests and offer drinks. You might at first witness this gesture and brush it off as a relatively small offering to the day’s proceedings. However, Eva’s true role is as Yiayia’s Lieutenant and she oversees every detail.
Each chair will have been strategically positioned to not only be in equal distance of the food and the house, but also facing the correct direction in order to avoid the glare of the afternoon sun.
If it is more lemon potatoes that you require, then it will be Eva who will make sure to let you know exactly where to stand, at exactly what time, to make sure you get first dibs.
One of the little Griwi* twins will be charging around in his wellies, a football tucked under his arm; the other one will probably be eating. Zachy will be chasing the one holding the football, unless the big Griwi twins are there. If the big Griwi twins are there, he will insist on them chasing him around the garden, or attempting to crash tackle one of them to the ground while they are trying to play cricket.
The coloured eggs will be handed out and the annual egg smashing contest will begin. Archie Bear will defend his championship title for the second year running. He is three.
At some point, the Greek music will be switched off and Spandau Ballet will blare out of the iPod speakers. Some people will start to dance around the garden, at which point Yiayia will retire to the sofa for the remainder of the evening.
Except this year it is going to be a bit different because for the first time EVER, the Greekster celebrations will be hosted at Chez Griwi.
I am certain that some aspects of the traditional festivities will remain.
The kids will do what they always do, no matter how many times they are told not to.
Yiayia will still prepare most of the food, but it will be Griwi Dad manning the BBQ. This is obviously an area of expertise for a Kiwi, so will give BB and the Greek God(zilla) plenty of time for uninterrupted drinking. In turn, this will undoubtedly ensure that the ancient Greek tradition of dancing about the garden to Fleetwood Mac lives on for another year.
I have blogged before about how I file Greek Easters in my head as though they are episodes of Friends. So far, we have had The One Where BB Got Stuck On The Roof; The One Where BB Got Wet; The One Where BB Didn’t Drink; The One Where BB Got Rat Arsed on White Wine; The One Where BB Brought Her New Fella; and The One That Nobody Mentions.
Who knows what tomorrow has in store for us all, but hopefully it will be The One Where The Sun Shone All Day Long And Everyone Had a Jolly Nice Time.
Christos Anesti!
*Griwi (one of Greek/Kiwi heritage)
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Alithos anesti!!
Xx
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why, thank you!
Your Greek Easters sound perfect. Tomorrow we’ll eat at one of the parent’s restaurants, crack eggs & drink ouzo. No doubt Dad will supply the Greek dancing. Christos Anesti Kai Kalo Paska x
Author
Your easters sound perfect too!
Have a lovely day x *spanglish
*spanglish (one of Spanish/English heritage)
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xx
Have a wonderful time – it sounds like a lot of fun! (we’re off to the pub tomorrow, Little A’s granny is coming to visit our new home) X.
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ooooh are you all settled in now?
Hope you’re having a fabulously sunny and joyous time!
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thanks Luci!