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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Easter Light
The biggest struggle I ever experience on Easter is taking the "light" home. I have been constantly improving my technique for years.
But first, let me explain what the Easter light is about. Receiving the light is the crucial moment of the Easter sermon. At 12 o'clock, the church bells ring for longer than ever, then the sermon begins. All lights are shut down (or at least used to be) at this time. Then the priest comes with the holly light, a replica of the light that self-ignites at Easter in Jerusalem (as some choose to believe).
Children are always the first to receive it, so I was privileged for many years due to my "extreme" height. Now I just stay at the back of the crowd. Wait for the light and then I leave after a few minutes. I used to stay up and at the church for the whole sermon. It is different now. This year, the moment I heard the EU membership was dragged into the sermon, I left.
When I was in secondary school, getting the candle home without it being blew off by the wind was a severe task. They looked like the photo in this post, therefore it was quite hard to protect it. I remember one year, when the church I went to was 10 minutes from our house, I had to go back twice to relight my candle. As they say, third time is a charm, and I managed to get the light home.
This year, the candle was placed into a plastic recipient, so it all was a lot easier. It was pretty windy though, so I help it tight in my arms, trying to protect in on all sides. My mom's did not last that well, we had to light it again about three times. We also helped out other people returning from the church with no light.
This is a personal test for me. My bonding with the light, with fire in general, with my faith. I might not believe in the same things I used to believe in, however, I feel my faith is stronger now than ever. I can see the future, my future, and I also live in my present. And it is all looking quite bright. And also passionate and sometimes painful, like the fire withing me. Yes, there is no question as to why I was born under the sign of Aries.
The "self-igniting" story gets pretty complex after you open your eyes a little bit, doesn't it? It's easy to believe, hard to know...
I used to struggle getting the light home when I was little, the church was nowhere near home, special tactics were devised, the large number of friends and classmates come in handy :D
I don't think I once managed to arrive with the candle lit home. Actually, I didn't even try that much. The Easter night I remember with most pleasure is from about 2 years ago, which was spent at a Net Cafe, then telling jokes all morning. Guess that says a lot about what I believe in, doesn't it? Oh well...
I don't go to church that often, but I have my faith. So far, I choose to say that I have my own religion, of which I'm the only member, and that I'm not affiliated to any cult. I remember trying to bring the Light home twice, and almost succeeded twice. Each time the wind put my candle off just as I was getting home. The first time, the church was 15 minutes away, but I had to get across a wide, 6-lane street and a small open area around it. The light didn't go off until I got out of the open. Imagine that I only had 3 more minutes to get home, and the wind extinguished (seems to be the only word in english for this action) it. The second time I went all the way to the city center, to the, I don't know what's it called in english exactly so I'll say it in engrish, the Mitropolitan Catherdral. I managed to keep the flame lit for kilometers (about 5 km), but the wind put it off just as I was getting home. Again.
This being said, I think my home is cursed :) Priests come from time to time and throw holy water, but I think they're doing it wrong. They should throw it on the people that live there too, maybe force them to have a glass or two of holy water. :D
hehe, I know the feeling! It happened to me once to come from very far away and the light to last until the moment I opened the door. luckily, mine was not the only one.
yes, priests should concentrate more on people, not on houses :)
Good question, Safiya. Well, each Easter, in the first half of the sermon, the message sent by the Patriarch of the Romanian Christian Orthodox Church is read. This message is called "Pastorala". Within this message he mentioned the EU accession and what we as Europeans should do. I still don't get it, but see, it's a trend. EU and Romania within the EU has been a topic for soo long now, but somehow it never gets old!
I cannot believe this! EU topic even when it comes to such a special night. Other than that, your beautiful story made me go back in time, when I used to light a candle. :)
i don't think you can ever bring the light "home", because the light belongs to you yourself...
you are the only person who can illuminate the darkness in a way you can understand yourself, other peoples input and experiences are mostly irrelevant or tangential to your own needs...
listen, look around you and learn... only then can the light become brighter...
have a lovely weekend, be good and hope to hear from you monday ;-)
A late answer to your question, I think just one time in my life I managed to bring home the light, but I might be sooo wrong when it comes to remembering it, as I didn't go too many times for the serm as an adult, but a lot as a teenager in my hometown, was such a night for me and my friends every year. :P
Name: Alina Home: Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania About Me: "This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts". It's also where I feel free and my preferred means of expression. See my complete profile
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Keep thse light on for good.