MARCH
25TH CELEBRATIONS IN VANCOUVER AREA
Greek Independence Day, March 25, 1821 was celebrated in the greater Vancouver area in many ways by the Greek communities and Greek school organizations.
A few days before the event representatives of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver went to Vancouver City Hall to present the mayor with the Greek flag that was then flown outside one of the upper story windows of the building in honour of the Greek Independence Day.
The Greek schools of the various Greek communities and other organizations held their programs where the children presented their family and friends with a program of poems, song and dance.
Special memorial services were held at St. Nicholas & Dimitrios Church in Vancouver and at Ss. Konstantine & Helen Church in Surrey on Sunday, March 25th.
The official celebration took place at St. George Cathedral on Sunday March 25th. Representatives of the various Greek organizations were invited to participate. They brought their flags, banners and memorial wreaths which were taken into the church during the service. The Consul of Greece, the Maritime Attache and the Consul of Cyprus were in attendance. At the end of the Liturgy the Consul of Greece, George Aravositas got up at the front of the church and read the message from the President of Greece. At the conclusion of the church service the flags and banners were carried outside and mounted around the cenotaph outside the Hellenic Community of Vancouver. Rev. Demetrios Partsafas then lead a special memorial service which was followed by the laying of the memorial wreaths by the various organizations. Both the Canadian and Greek national anthems were sung. The celebrations then moved into the Hellenic Community Centre were refreshments and sandwiches were served.
GREEK CONSUL HOSTS MARCH 25TH OPEN HOUSE
As the official representative of the Hellenic Republic the Consul of Greece in Vancouver every year hosts an Open House in honour of the Greek Independence Day. Usually this is held in Vancouver but on several occasions over the past years the Consul had hosted the event in other parts of Western Canada. This year’s event, the 186th anniversary was held at the Hellenic Community Centre of Vancouver on the evening of March 25th.
The Consul of Greece George Aravositas, the Maritime Attache Apostolos Liourdis and the president of the Hellenic Community, Peter P. Kletas were on hand to greet the people as they entered the hall when the doors opened at 5:30 pm. Those in attendance included representatives from other Consulates, members of the local Greek societies and organizations and many individuals from the Greek communities et large. A wide variety of appetizers, wine and other refreshments were enjoyed while people intermingled. Everyone was also treated to a program of Greek folk dances performed by the Dimitrios Dance Group. Near the conclusion of the evening the Consul of Greece, George Aravositas addressed the people on the importance of this day in history for all Greeks, in Greece and abroad. The president of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, Peter P. Kletas also thanked everyone for attending. The Hellenic Community of Vancouver was co-sponsoring the event with the Greek Consulate.
VALLEY GREEKS CELEBRATE GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY
On Sunday, April 1st many Greeks gathered at St. Nicholas Orthodox church in Langley to commemorate March 25th, Greek Independence Day. After the Liturgy a special memorial was held to honour all those who gave up their lives or endured extreme hardships in the struggle for democracy.
Greek and Canadian flags which were mounted outdoors fluttered in the breeze. Flowers were bought into the church in memory of those long ago heroes and the hall was decorated with flags.
St. Nicholas is a parish made up of many ethnic cultures, including Greek. Greece’s struggle for independence is significant not only to the Greeks but also to those of other ethnicity as the Greek struggle also had a strong influence on other Orthodox countries.
April 1st was Palm Sunday so an outdoor procession was also held on the street in front of the church to commemorate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.
After the church services everyone was invited to join in the free buffet lunch that was provided by the Greek ladies as well as other members of the parish.
PHAROS – TONY HARRISON AND GREEK DRAMA
The March meeting of PHAROS, the Canadian Hellenic Cultural Society took place on Monday, March 26th in the upper hall of the Hellenic Community Centre. Presenting the illustrated lecture “Tony Harrison and Greek Drama: Confounding the Categories of High and Low” was Hallie Rebecca Marshall of the University of British Columbia Theatre Department.
Prof. Marshall spoke on the works of Tony Harrison, a very successful British poet of the late twentieth-century who was well known for his translations and adaptations of Classical Greek drama. She paid particular attention to Harrison’s play The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus which was an adaptation of Sophocles’s satyr play Ichneutae.
PASCHA IN VANCOUVER
The Greek Orthodox churches of Vancouver and surrounding area were well attended during Holy Week which started with Palm Sunday and ended on Pascha.
At St.George Cathedral was packed for the Holy Friday service with many late comers opting to listen to the service outside via the loudspeakers and then join in the procession as it emerged. The weather was mild on Holy Friday so the procession at St. George Cathedral in Vancouver was fairly large. SS. Nicholas & Dimitrios Church in east Vancouver and SS. Constantine & Helen Church in Surrey also had outdoor processions but the one at St. George Cathedra was the largest and the longest. There the procession meanders down the street for three long blocks, including busy Arbutus Street, forming a triangle before arriving back at the front of the church. At the end of the procession at all the churches some people disperse but the majority gradually make their way under the raised epitaphos into the church were the service continues. At the conclusion people are presented with flowers removed from the epitaphos to take home.
The churches were also well attended for the Holy Pascha service. Many people arrived early to get a good seat. At St. George, as in many other Orthodox churches, part of the ANASTASIS service takes place outdoors, at the front of the church before moving back into the church. Again a number of people leave at this point but the rest go back into the church for the continuation of that service, which is subsequently followed by the Sunday Paschal service. By the time this has finished, often 2am or later, the numbers have been thinned out even more. At the end many people take lit candles to bring the Paschal flame home.
On Pascha Sunday families, large and small, gathered to celebrate the day with the red eggs, tsoureki, lamb and other traditional foods
GOLD
LATE WINNER
Peter
Lagios, a Chilliwack
businessman with his wide Katerina and daughter Stella proudly showing the
results of the annual Gold Plate dinner of the Greek Orthodox Community of
East Vancouver and the Greek Orthodox Community of Surrey – Peter bought
out the last four ticket holders for $37,000 to drive away with the grand
prize, a Hummer which he then traded in for this model.
