Georgia is a predominantly Orthodox Christian country and Easter is of great importance to the Georgians. Everyone returns to their villages to gather with their families and eat their way through mountains of food. Good Friday, called Red Friday here, is a public holiday, as is Easter Monday.
In regard to school holidays, myself and the majority of other volunteers had Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday off. Celebrations generally start the Wednesday before Easter, when fires are lit by each house. It is traditional to jump over these fires to prove you are not scared of the devil, and of course participation is not really optional! It’s always worth joining in with these customs because the village will be full of good words about the foreigner who can jump over fire. Whilst the fire jumping is happening the girls dress up as old women and boys accompany them with drums and pipes as they dance and sing through the village collecting red eggs as they go. Apparently the dressing up as old women is a very old tradition and no one really knows why they do it. But, the the song they sing translates as 'give me an egg and God will bless your household' i think it sounds more poetic in Georgian! The giver of the egg may request a song or a dance of his/her choice and the children must perform it to gain their egg. In some villages they dress as a bridal party instead of old women! These eggs are hardboiled chicken eggs that are dyed red. No chocolate Easter eggs here! They are often eaten later with salt.
All the family arrive on Good (Red) Friday or Saturday. On Saturday night devote religious people spend all night in the church praying to the Saints until 4am.
I was keen to escape the Easter shenanigans – being in a house full of Georgians can be very overwhelming when they all want to speak to you and make sure you eat enough Pasca (Easter Cake). It can be overwhelming especially when, despite being here a few months, you can’t speak any Georgian besides “Hello, how are you? I’m good, thanks”. Added to this is the visit to the graveyard on Easter Sunday/Monday which can make an outsider feel awkward especially if you are not prepared for the event. Here they pour wine on the graves of their relatives and often have supra (Georgian feast) by the graveside too. More red eggs are left here for the local children to collect.
If you intend to go away during Easter be aware as it is not that easy to organise an Easter trip especially on a limited budget – the 400lari a month is just enough to travel somewhere every weekend but for a longer trip it’s essential to save up or use some of those pounds/dollars you’d put away for a rainy day. Easter is not classed as being in the main tourist season and it is a weekend of rest. This means that many places are closed, for example all of the dry, indoor places in Batumi (it rained A LOT this Easter). We took the night train from Tbilisi to Batumi – a great way of reducing accommodation costs and much more bearable than I expected it to be!
The main benefit is that Tbilisi is very quiet as everyone has returned to their villages, and the majority of the shops are closed.
Perhaps the best idea would be to travel across the border to Armenia or Azerbaijan as long as you have money for the visas (they are not expensive, $15 and $90 respectively). Or, if you’re feeling brave, or are particularly interested in learning about the Georgian culture, stay with your family – it will be an experience that is for sure will be memorable and your family will love you forever!
Michelle Andrews
Footprints’ Teacher in Tela (tiny village near Lagodekhi, Kakheti)
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