I joined the Antiochian Orthodox church this past Saturday. I have talked a little about the dietary restrictions during Advent leading up to Christmas and we just concluded the Great Lent which leads up to Resurrection Sunday or Easter.
This past week was Orthodox Holy Week. That refers to the week between Palm Sunday and Easter in the Orthodox church. The calendars between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the churches of the West (including Roman Catholic) differ a bit. So Easter or Pascha occurs at a different time for us most years.
In the Orthodox church the services are designed using symbolism to model the events leading up to the Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ. So Friday night we had a very somber evening service with only candlelight and it really seemed like a wake or funeral. Then Saturday morning two of us were accepted into the Orthodox church in what is called a Chrismation Ceremony. That felt sort of like a wedding.