Easter in Greek is called Pascha
April 7, 2008
In most languages, the word for Easter is the same as the word for Passover, so that the relationship between the feast of Passover and the death and the resurrection of Jesus is directly linked. In Latin, Pascha is the word used. In French, Paques is the word used. In Italian, Pasqua is the word used. In Dutch, Pasen is the word used.
Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, you can’t have Easter until Passover is literally over. If you look in a modern Greek dictionary, it will tell you that Pascha means Easter and Passover.
English speaking people always associated Easter with the celebration of Passover and the prophetic implications which occurred at Christ’s death and resurrection. We saw that the New Testament fulfillment was Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, called Easter. The correct etymology of Easter was recognized by the King James translators, who added an important factor to the use of the word Easter.
They refined the semantic range of Easter to be translated only once as Easter in Acts 12:4. This is because in every instance in the scriptures until Acts 12:4, the Greek word Pascha represented the pre-resurrection Passover. In other words, Christ had not yet died as the Passover lamb for the whole world.
Therefore, in Acts 12:4, it is a post-resurrection Passover. The Greek word Pascha appears twentynine times in the Greek New Testament. In twentyeight of those times, it is referring to the Old Testament Passover, but in Acts 12:4, it is referring to the New Testament celebration, which was the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus had become the Lamb of God and replaced the old Passover with the new covenant in His blood. Therefore, the old Passover was replaced with the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ, which is Easter.
Tsoureki the Greek Easter Bread
April 7, 2008
Ingredients >
3 each eggs
1 each egg yolk
5 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons mastic
1 teaspoon mahlepi
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 each egg
water as needed
sesame seeds for garnish
Method >
Mix eggs, egg yolk, one cup of flour, yeast, mastic and mahlepi in a mixer with a whip attachment until everything is well incorporated. Take off the mixer, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the yeast mixture should have increased in size and look bubbly.
Once this has been achieved, put the bowl back on the mixer, and add the sugar, butter and the rest of the flour. Mix until incorporated and a dough begins to form. If necessary, stop the machine and scrape the sides with a spatula. Once the dough begins to pull of the sides of the bowl, scrape the mixture onto a clean surface. Knead until gluten is fully developed and let rest covered for 10 minutes. Flour a clean surface and roll dough to desired shape. Once rolled, place on a buttered pan and let rest at room temperature to proof for 1 - 1.5 hours. Brush dough with an egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 320 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Happy Easter, the Greek way!
