A Happy Eidah Goorah--"Great Feast" of the Church of the East--Easter! From Victor Alexander

I sent Victor Alexander a Great Feast greeting e-mail (vicalexander37@gmail.com). He responded with the note below. He addressed it to me, of course, but I share it with you:

Happy Easter, everyone.

In Baghdad, Iraq, where I grew up, the Church of the East celebrated Easter for seven days. I grew up Presbyterian because my father Nimrud and his father Dr. Alexander was a convert to the Presbyterian faith. Originally Dr. Alexander was a member of the Church of the East. Before WW I, the Presbyterian missionaries came from Princeton University to North Iran, where there were a lot of Assyrians (remnants of the Assyrian Empire, who had lived at peace with the Persians before Islam came) with the Prophet Muhammad in 700 Christian Era.

My grandfather attended the Presbyterian Medical College in Qallah, in Urmia, North Iran. (You can look in YouTube under Assyrian Church of the East in Urmi, Iran, and you will see the St. Mary's Church of the East there, which is a 2nd century Church; it is where my grandfather Dr. Alexander was buried in the graveyard next to the Church.)

Back to Easter. The Assyrians in Baghdad went to Church for seven days. On Thursday, they had palms in their hands. (Liv and I brought palm fronds in our hands and Liv placed them behind the picture of Jesus, which she bought in San Francisco when we first married.) Liv always says grace and blesses the food whenever we eat, saying the words, "In the name of Jesus Christ Eashoa Msheekha bless this food."

On Thursday Jesus sorrowed, when he was arrested and tried by Caiaphas. The Pontius Pilate tried him and found him guilty for calling himself the King of the Jews. On Friday, Jesus was crucified. On Saturday he lay in the tomb. And on Sunday, He Rose!

The Assyrians in Baghdad, me and women and young teenagers also, they stayed up all night on Saturday in the Church until the morning when Easter was celebrated on Sunday morning. They did not sleep for 24 hours! The Assyrians used to celebrate Easter seven days. On Monday morning, we brought colored eggs (dyed with color patterns -- Easter eggs) and the children 'fought' with eggs and they won many of them.

Again, wishing you a Happy Easter,
Vic Alexander
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And a very happy Easter to you and Liv, Vic.

Please see Another Note From Vic Alexander