The Best Holiday Ever- Coming of Age

After ten weeks of preparation for the “feast of feasts,” the day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. It is a cold spring Saturday night in Wichita, Kansas. Everyone is famished, exhausted, and anxiously awaiting the beginning of the glorious service. We enter the church long before the service even begins, just to guarantee a seat- it is, of course, Easter, the day everyone comes out to celebrate. The church is dimmed at first and everyone is reflecting upon their journey through Great Lent, lamenting the loss of our Savior and trying to grasp the amazing event that we are about to celebrate. The service begins quietly around 11:00 PM with a service entitled Midnight Office, which elaborates on the importance of Christ’s death and his breaking of the Bonds of Hades for us. The beautiful sounds of byzantine chant fill the church as the parish intently listens, trying to fully grasp the miracle that is about to be celebrated. At the conclusion of this service, all lights are extinguished and it is completely silent for just a moment. Then, the priest, using his already lit candle, lights the candle of someone in the front, and the light is passed back through the entire church.

As this light is being passed, a hymn is chanted as follows: “Come receive the light from the light that is never overtaken by night, come glorify Christ who is risen from the dead.” In a matter of just a minute, the entire church goes from darkness to light-which, aside from being absolutely beautiful, is a very symbolic event in the service. It not only symbolizes how this one man, Christ, spread light throughout the world, but the lyrics of the hymn emphasize that His light is so strong that it cannot be overtaken by even the darkness of night or, metaphorically, evil.

After all the candles are lit, it is about midnight. We all go outside and process around the church, singing “Thy resurrection O Christ our Savior, the angels in Heaven sing, enable us on earth to glorify Thee with purity of heart” asking that, although we are a fallen people and we have sinned against Him, we may glorify the Lord purely. This event in the service represents when the Myrrh-bearing Women made their journey to the tomb of Christ to find Him gone.

Once everyone has made the procession around the church, we are all cold and still hungry, but no ounce of worldly cares can distract us from the feast we are about to celebrate. In front of the church doors, there is a sort of reenactment of Christ breaking the Bonds of Hades and, immediately, we begin to sing a song of Christ’s rising from the dead. Everyone comes back into the bright and joyous church and the liturgy (regular Sunday service) is continued as normal but with exceeding light and joy. The priest raises his voice in praise saying, “Christ is Risen” as the parish responds “Indeed He is Risen” in several different language. As the service progresses, we all forget our tiredness, although we have been standing for hours and it is past midnight by this point, and praise the Lord with our whole heart.

            Once the service is over, there is a huge feast in our church hall, which is the first time in seven weeks that we all have had meat, dairy, and practically everything that is delicious. It is a HUGE celebration and there are hundreds of people there to rejoice in the resurrection of Christ. There is no time in the whole year when I see more joy in people. Everyone is in great fellowship with each other, everyone has worked on their relationship with Christ throughout the journey of Great Lent and is spiritually “in shape,” and everyone is slightly delirious because it is 2:00 AM.

            After such a long spiritual and physical cleansing, attending all kinds of services, from the Washing of the Feet and the Holy Unction to the service of Great and Holy Friday and undergoing long periods of fasting, everyone is so ready to celebrate Easter! THAT is why it is my favorite holiday. It is the most anticipated, joyous, and spiritually enriching holiday and I LOVE it.