Easter Monday

The Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter a week later than "the West", this year on April 12th.  Monday,  also a holiday in Georgia, is called Easter Monday.  It is a day for friends and family to visit the graves of deceased family members and friends. They bring food and wine, maybe have a picnic, and drink a toast to the living and the dead.  Not a day of mourning, people are happy to to once again sit at the table with relatives who have long ago passed away.  
There's a very large cemetery near our apartment and it was very crowded (with live and dead people).  The graves are in small family plots, many quite elaborate, that are closely spaced with only the narrowest of walkways in-between and many deadends.

the candle is a sign of respect to the souls of the dead

The red eggs are a tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church representing the passion and death of Christ. They are rolled across the grave while saying "Christ has risen!  Indeed he has risen!".  Note the name in Georgian script above and in Russian below (most names were in Georgian).

An Easter Cake is another Georgian tradition. They have been for sale in the shops for several weeks.  The one we bought was very dry, as if it had sat on a store shelf for several weeks.  Next year I'll try to make my own.  

the cake is called Paska

It is very common for graves to have pictures or portrait etchings of the deceased, many in life-sized poses. 

We live just down the hill from a huge cemetery and the traffic jam on Monday was unbelievable. Many Georgians have a tradition of burying their dead relatives in the countryside, usually in the village or town where they were born.  So it was a big travel day.  

The cemetery is old and the layout not organized, and no disrespect intended, but Roy said it was better than a corn maze as we tried to wind our way through and find our way out.  







The Georgians are very family oriented, and I thought this was an interesting tradition:  (from the Ex-Pat newspaper)
"When drinking to the dead, a portion of the wine is traditionally poured on the grave - Georgians call that "knocking over a goblet". By doing so, the Georgians foster and express hope that they will not be alone in the afterlife and that their contact with the world of the living will not break because every Easter their living relatives will visit their resting places and feast alongside them".