Palm Branches, Flowers, and Midnight Bells
Updated: 3 days ago
With our first Great Lent coming to a close, we were about to experience something entirely new: our first Orthodox Holy Week (Passion Week) and Pascha! Although we'd celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter throughout our lives in Protestant churches, there were new traditions to experience, unfamiliar services to attend, and plenty of things we were still trying to understand in the Orthodox Church.
Palm Sunday was a fun experience! Growing up in Protestant churches, I was already familiar with Palm Sunday being a joyful celebration. But experiencing it in the Orthodox Church brought something new. We actually walked around the entire church carrying palm branches! There was something so joyful about everyone participating in the procession together. It was a simple thing, but I really enjoyed it. And, of course, we got to take our palm branches home afterward.
Naturally, I decided to save mine! I hung them on the wall and labeled them with the date, April 5, 2026. Now I'm wondering just how many Palm Sunday branches I might collect over the years! It's a small tradition, but I love the idea of having those branches as little reminders of each year's celebration.
We had the opportunity to help decorate Christ's tomb with flowers in preparation for the upcoming services, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it! For those unfamiliar with this Orthodox tradition, the tomb is a decorated structure representing the burial place of Christ. During Great Friday and Holy Saturday services, it becomes a central part of the Church's remembrance of Christ's burial. There was something special about all the women and children gathering together to arrange flowers around the tomb. It was a beautiful way to participate in something that was still so new to us. Although, I did run into one little problem! I have allergies to certain flowers, and since I didn't know quite what to expect, I hadn't come prepared for being surrounded by so many of them. Oops! Well, at least now I know what to expect next year, and I'll be better prepared! Then came the service itself.
One thing that particularly stood out to me was the prostrations. Although we'd already begun learning about bowing and making the sign of the cross, experiencing a service that included prostrations was something different. There was a particular sense of reverence in those moments. It was a reminder that Orthodox worship involves more than simply listening, singing, or praying with our words. We also participate physically, using our bodies to express reverence, humility, and repentance. Looking back, I think what made the day so memorable was the combination of helping prepare the tomb and then participating in the solemn service. It was both a beautiful experience and another opportunity to learn about the traditions of the Orthodox Church.
And then came Pascha! I knew this was going to be different from anything we'd experienced before, but I don't think I fully understood just how different. Throughout Lent, we'd heard about how the Paschal celebration takes place in the middle of the night. This was quite different from the sunrise or morning Easter services we'd been accustomed to attending in Protestant churches. We arrived at church around 10 p.m., ready to attend the first service of our parish's Paschal celebration. And, well... it was a LONG night! I have to admit that attending the entire celebration was a little too much for us this first year. It was difficult, especially for the kids. We're still adjusting to the length of Orthodox services, and being at church so late into the night certainly added another challenge. But despite the late hour, the church was packed! And the atmosphere was incredibly festive.
Everyone was singing the Paschal hymn, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death..." over and over again. There was something wonderful about hearing those words repeated throughout the celebration. The entire church seemed to be overflowing with joy! And hearing the church bells ringing in the middle of the night made the celebration feel even more special. There's something quite memorable about standing outside a church in the middle of the night, hearing the bells ringing and knowing that everyone is gathered to celebrate Christ's Resurrection!
One thing I particularly appreciated was how understanding our parish was about the children.
Knowing that the Paschal celebration involves several services flowing into one another and continues well into the early morning hours, our parish had prepared a darkened area where tired children could rest. I found that so thoughtful and family-oriented! There was something rather adorable about seeing children fast asleep under random tables throughout the night! It made the whole experience feel a little more like being part of a large family, where everyone understands that little ones have their limits. We had actually planned for everyone in our family to take a nap before heading to church that evening. Well, that was the plan, anyway! Only one of us actually managed to fall asleep. So we were already starting the night at a bit of a disadvantage!
Learning about the midnight celebration also brought up something I'd never really considered before: when exactly did Christ rise from the dead? For some reason, I'd never given much thought to the actual time of the Resurrection. We know from Scripture that when the women arrived at the tomb early in the morning, Christ's body was already gone. But that doesn't tell us precisely when He rose. Could it have been shortly after midnight, at the beginning of the new day? Or sometime closer to dawn? It's simply something I'd never stopped to think about before, and experiencing Pascha in the middle of the night made me consider it in a completely different way.
Following the services, we gathered for the Paschal feast!
After weeks of fasting, there was quite a spread of delicious foods that we hadn't been eating throughout Lent. Our taste buds were very appreciative! It was a wonderful way to celebrate together and finally enjoy some of the foods we'd been abstaining from. By the time we finally arrived home, it was somewhere between 4 and 5 a.m. Yes, FOUR or FIVE in the morning! I think next year, or perhaps over the next two or three years, we may consider arriving closer to midnight rather than attending everything from the beginning.
We're still getting used to the services, and I think it's important to recognize what our family can realistically manage, especially with all the standing involved. But despite how difficult and exhausting the night was, I wouldn't describe it as a bad experience. The opposite actually. There was something incredibly beautiful about it all. In fact, I found Pascha to be one of the most festive services I've ever experienced!
The celebration of Christ's Resurrection, the atmosphere in the church, and simply being there for something so different from anything we'd known before made the entire experience unforgettable. There were also moments of surprise when something in the service introduced me to an aspect of the faith I'd never known or considered before. That's another thing I've been discovering about Orthodoxy. There is so much that the Church has preserved and passed down through the generations, and we're only beginning to encounter it. It's difficult to put into words exactly what made the night so moving. Perhaps it was the culmination of our first Great Lent, the anticipation of Pascha, or the realization that we were finally experiencing something we'd spent months learning about. Whatever it was, I know it was special. And even though we were exhausted by the end, I'm grateful we experienced it.
Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!
Христос воскресе! Воистину воскресе!
Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη!
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