SOME INFO ON THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
In the Orthodox Church, the chief feast is Pascha (Easter). This feast commemorates the Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, thus helping mankind to attain eternal life.  As the prominent hymn states for this feast, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by His death, and bestowing life to those in the tombs."  This feast has a formula for calculating it.  It must always be after the Vernal Equinox, and must be after the Jewish Passover.  It is a movable feast.

Some dates of Pascha/Easter in the next few years include:

2000 --> April 30th
2001 --> April 15th
2002 --> May 5th
2003 --> April 27th
2004 --> April 11th
2005 --> May 1st

The Orthodox Church uses the Julian Calendar for determining the date of Pascha. Many Western churches use the Gregorian Calendar. Recently, some parts of the Orthodox Church have been using the Gregorian Calendar for immovable Feastdays (such as Christmas, etc.), but remain using the Julian Calendar for movable feastdays (which include the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, America, Greece, and many others). 

Easter is regarded as the "Feast of Feasts", and "Festivals among festivals".  It is a great event in all Orthodox Communities, and many traditions have been attributed to this feast.  For example, Orthodox people paint red eggs on Holy Thursday, and will crack the eggs from Easter to Ascension Thursday.  Many stories have been attributed to the red eggs, but the one I've heard is that Mary Magdalene was travelling when she saw Tiberius.  She said that Jesus was falsely accused and killed unjustily. Mary Magdalene also told him that Jesus resurrected from the dead. When Tiberius heard this, he said, "If that is true, these eggs will turn red." The eggs turned red, and thus the Resurrection was revealed to Tiberius. 
Before Pascha, we follow the service book called the "Triodion".  After Pascha, we follow the service book called the "Penticostarion".  The "feasts" that are included in these service books (in order) are as follows:

- Publican and Pharisee
- Prodigal Son
- Meatfare Sunday (last day to eat meat)
- Cheesefare Sunday (last day to eat dairy)
- Clean Monday
- 1st Sunday of Lent (Sunday of Orthodoxy)
- 2nd Sunday of Lent (St. Gregory Palamas)
- 3rd Sunday of Lent (Cross-Adoring Sunday)
- 4th Sunday of Lent (St. John of the Ladder)
- Akathist Hymn to the Virgin Mary
- 5th Sunday of Lent (St. Mary of Egypt)
- Lazarus Saturday
- Palm Sunday
- Holy Week
- PASCHA/EASTER (and Renewal Week)
- The Life-Giving Font of the Virgin Mary
- Thomas Sunday
- Sunday of the Myrhh-Bearers
- Sunday of the Paralytic
- Midpentecost
- Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
- Sunday of the Blind Man
- The Ascension of Our Lord
- Sunday commemorating the 1st Ecumenical Council
- Pentecost (Trinity Sunday)
- Monday of the Holy Spirit
- Sunday of All Saints
During the year, the Gospels read on Sundays are as follows:

- Pascha/Easter to Pentecost: St. John
- Monday of the Holy Spirit - Sunday before the Exaltation: St. Matthew
- Sunday after the Exaltation - Triodion: St. Luke
- Triodion - Holy Week: St. Mark
The other Major Feasts in the Orthodox Church include:

1. Nativity of the Mother of God (September 8th)
2. The Exaltation of the Honoured and Life-Giving Cross (September 14th)
3. The Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple (November 21st)
4. Christmas (December 25)
5. Epiphany (January 6th)
6. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (February 2nd)
7. Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25th)
8. Palm Sunday (week before Easter)
9. The Ascension of Christ (40 days after Christ)
10. Pentecost (50 days after Easter)
11. The Transfiguration of our Lord(August 6th)
12. Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15th)
Other 'major' feasts include:

Circumcision of Christ (January 1st)
Three Hierarchs (January 30th)
Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24th)
Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29th)
Holy Apostles (June 30th)
Beheading of St. John the Baptist (August 29th)
Protection of the Theotokos (October 1st)
St. Nicholas (December 6th)
Fasts in the Orthodox Church include...

- Great Fast (Lent): roughly 40 days before Easter
- Fast of the Apostles: roughly 15 days before the Feast of the Holy Apostles
- Dormition Fast: 15 days before the Dormition of the Theotokos (Aug. 1-14)
- Christmas Fast: November 15 - December 24
- Every Wednesday and Friday (except for non-fasting periods).
- January 5th (day before Theophany)
- September 14th (Feast of the Holy Cross)
- August 29th (Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist)
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