Easter in Latvia Easter in Latvia The Christian festival of Easter is celebrated in Latvia as Lieldienas (). Lieldienas enters Holy Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, but Sunday will mark first Lieldienas. Second Lieldienas is on Monday of the following week. Each day has a special significance. Also, many pagan elements of celebrating Lieldienas have become a tradition. Nowadays, the common date of Lieldienas is the first Sunday after the first full moon, after or during the vernal equinox. Thus, the Western Christian Church Lieldienas falls on a date between 22 March and 25 April. In Eastern
Holy Week "Great and Holy Week", or "Passion Week". Since the Orthodox liturgical day starts at sunset (as it has from antiquity), Holy Monday services begin Sunday evening, at the normal timing for Monday Vespers (Vespers is the first service of the day). However, during Holy Week, in most parishes, many service times are advanced from six to twelve hours in time and celebrated in anticipation, which permits more of the faithful to attend the most prominent services. Thus, it is the matins service of Great Monday that is on "Palm Sunday" evening in parish churches and often vespers is in the