We kicked off our Easter celebrations with a Catholic / Protestant Easter and ended with a big fat Greek Orthodox Easter. We look for any excuse to host a fabulous dinner party. In honor of Greek Orthodox Easter, we invited friends over to feast on traditional Greek dishes and sip on delicious Greek wines. We are excited to share our evening with you.
Orthodox Easter usually takes place after Catholic Easter. Orthodox churches base the date of this holiday on the Julian calendar. On the other hand, most western countries use the Gregorian calendar. In rare instances, the dates align, and Easter is celebrated simultaneously by both churches.
Our 2017 trip to Santorini inspired the color palette for our dinner party. Icy blues and crisp whites paid homage to the Greek flag, while fuchsia peonies resembled the magenta bougainvillea flowers in Santorini. We added a metallic blue fringe curtain and silver Greek Easter balloons to make our tablescape 3-dimensional. We dressed the table with fresh white linens. Greek wines served as additional table decor, along with white votive candles. Although chocolate, bunnies and pastels are a major part of Catholic Easter, you can forget about them for Orthodox Easter.
We created a Greek Easter menu, fit for Greek gods. 12 guests will never show up at the same time for a seated dinner. We recommend serving passed hors d’oeuvres as guests arrive. We printed menus and placed them at each setting. Must Have Menus is a great tool to create custom menus. Here’s a closer look at our scrumptious Greek Easter Meal.
During dinner, we sampled Greek white, rosé and red. The white and rosé paired nicely with the appetizers, while the medium bodied red complemented the lamb.
The filo bites, Greek spiral and spanakopita along with the Mezze platter were the perfect way to start the meal. The Mezze platter was very easy to put together.
- Start with a large platter and several ramekins
- Fill the ramekins with hummus, tzatziki, baba ghanoush, and/or roasted red pepper dips.
- Add canned artichokes
- Place 1 cup of tabouli
- Scatter 2 cups of Mediterranean or Feta Salad
- Fill the edges with sliced pita bread
Once all the guests arrived, we sat down and sipped the Greek Lemon Soup. The main course was lamb chops with Greek salad, couscous and briam (roasted vegetables). Roasted lamb is the traditional meat of choice on the Greek Easter table. It is normally seasoned and prepared on a spit, or souvla.
Dessert was assorted Greek pastries. Be careful these desserts might be small, but they pack a large dose of sweetness. Our friends, Kashif and Michelle, bought them from a Greek bakery in Queens.
Our first Orthodox Easter was so much fun. We can’t wait to celebrate again next year.
“My mom used to say that Greek Easter was later because then you get stuff cheaper.” – Amy Sedaris
Wow that Grilled Lamb Chops and Baklava sounds really appetizing to eat. I don’t know a lot about Greek Orthodox Easter and wants to learn more.
Yum! And this looks like tons of fun! We sort of accidentally ended up celebrating Greek Orthodox Easter since we went to a Greek restaurant that day, not realizing it was a holiday! It was crazy packed, but since we are regulars, they made room for us. So fun!
Wow,
I never seen Easter celebration like that ! We are celebrating totally different im my country !
Ooh, Greek wines are so good & those pastries look to die for! Sounds like a really lovely time 🙂
WOW all the food in this post looks so deli!! I definitely need to taste it!
oooh this has me craving greek food bad! sounds delish
Look at that grilled lamb. Looks so tasty and delicious. I need a taste of that lamb.
Looks like a wonderful dinner with lots on the menu. Having three Easter parties is exciting
OMG Can I just say, I can’t help but drool over the picture! Who would not love to taste these foods.
Thanks for sharing your big fat Greek Easter celebrations. I would love to spend a Christmas in Greece.
I was in Greece this year around Easter time so I felt like I’m celebrating it with them, haha! Great post!
Wow I’d love to experience a Greek Easter. How cool.