Orthodox Easter is perhaps the hardest holiday to prepare for to those who identify as Greek Orthodox Christians. It is a true test of faith. A test of willpower. A test of self-discipline. At this point, you may be asking yourself why. The answer is simple: our period of Great Lent.

Like other branches of Christianity, we observe a 40 day fast leading up to the day that Jesus rose from the dead. For Easter, we celebrate the same thing that all Christians do. We follow the same Bible, so we are celebrating Jesus's ascension into heaven- just to clear that up.

The struggle that comes with this is that in our particular fast, we refrain from eating meat and dairy during the 40-day Lenten period. Enter our first stereotype- yes Greeks absolutely do love to eat their fair share of meat. If your yiayia (grandmother) sees you eating a meal without any meat on your plate, she is guaranteed to scold you for at least 10 minutes before pulling leftovers out of the fridge and not letting you leave the table until its all gone.

I wish I was kidding.

Good luck trying that vegetarian phase in college, girls. Yiayia doesn't care about all of the benefits it gave Becca from your sorority and she's not sorry about it.

This nearly impossible feat only becomes harder when Holy Week rolls around. This is the week that leads into Easter Sunday, and if you've maybe been occasionally, accidentally cheating on your fast that all stops here. The fast is at its strictest during Holy Week to prepare for Jesus's homecoming into heaven.

In the end, though, it is all so worth it. Not only are we reminded of Jesus's most selfless and perfect act of sacrificing Himself for us, but we are able to come together with family and friends to celebrate this!

When the wait is finally over, Greeks don't waste a second in their ability to dig into the lamb that they have spent all weekend preparing. Immediately following our Saturday, midnight church service, families rush straight home to tear open the oven that was left on 'warm.' However, the real party begins when we wake up on Sunday morning.

We break out the classic pastel colors of spring and start getting the food ready for friends and family. Enter stereotype number two- we party any chance we get. This is truly for the best cause though. We get to reward ourselves for fasting in honor of our religion and also celebrate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Come on; don't tell me that doesn't make you want to party.

And finally, stereotype number three- we really do roast entire lambs on a rotating spit in our backyards. How else are you going to get it so tender and absolutely perfect? You're just not. So, we let the dads, uncles, and grandpas gather around the spit and prepare the best meal we have had in 40 days- and the one we'll be eating leftovers from for the next week.