Greek Orthodox Easter and our own Easter celebration rarely coincide because the Greek version is based on the Julian calendar while we use the Gregorian one. Today is Easter Sunday in Greece, a week after ours. Next year, though, the festivals will actually be celebrated on the same weekend with Good Friday falling jointly on 6 April.

2. ROMAN ROOTS

Over 95% of the country's population are members of the Greek Orthodox church.

Until the 11th century the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches operated under the same religious 'umbrella' but split following a number of cultural and theological differences of opinion.

3. WHAT' SIN THE NAME?

In Greece, Easter is known as 'Pascha', a linguistic connection with the Jewish festival of Passover.

4. HEAVY ON THE EGGS

The Greeks also use the egg as a symbol . . .for the Cretans, it is a fertility symbol . . .and they are generally coloured red to signify the blood of Christ. Eggs are painted on Holy Thursday and given to friends and relatives on Easter Sunday.

4. CARNIVAL TIME

Easter actually kicks off in Greece with a carnival two months before the Easter weekend. This marks the start of the Apokria season and incorporates the burning of a carnival king (effectively an effigy of Judas Iscariot), a ritual that takes place the evening before what the Greeks call 'Clean Monday' . . . the day Lent begins.

6. THE GOOD F RIDAY PROCESSION

This is a solemn and well-attended affair throughout the country with a bier carried aloft, decorated with white and purple flowers and representing the funeral of Christ. Along the route that is walked by the choir, clergy and altar boys, local people gather to throw flowers and sprinkle perfume on the funeral bier. On the island of Corfu you'll find that they also celebrate with an additional procession on Easter Saturday.

7. A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

The most important of the religious festivities is the midnight service on Holy Saturday . . . the 'anastasi' or resurrection mass. This actually concludes just before midnight when the church is thrown into darkness and the priest emerges with a single lit candle before lighting someone else's. Then the light is passed from candle to candle throughout the church.

8. ETERNAL FLAMES

In Crete people carry their candle home after the midnight service, making sure that it remains lit. At the front door they mark the sign of the cross above the entrance, the black sooty imprint a sign that the house has received the blessing of Christ for another year.

9. A TRUE FEAST DAY

Food plays a major part in the Greek festivities and the meal on Easter Sunday is the biggest feast of the Easter period.

As is the case in many European countries, lamb is the culinary mainstay of the Easter table in Greece although sometimes goat (young kid) is served instead. Traditionally the lamb is spiced and roasted over a spit and served with all manner of accompaniments including bean salads, grilled vegetable dishes and rice.

10. REGIONAL RARITIES

In some parts of the country you will experience particular idiosyncratic rituals: on Corfu people throw ceramic pots out of their windows to symbolise their rejection of evil; on Paros groups of local children pretend to be the disciples and then act out the story of the Last Supper and in Macedonia the young women dress in traditional costume and go from village to village singing Easter songs.