Happy Easter, readers!
Like many Christian
countries Russians celebrate Easter with decorated eggs and special
foods and customs. The egg tradition dates back to per-Christian
times when people saw eggs as a remedy
of protection. When Orthodoxy was adopted, eggs
took on Christian symbolism.
Easter eggs by Peter Carl Fabergé
The traditional Easter breakfast includes kulich (Easter bread), paska (a dish made from cottage cheese, fruit, sugar, butter and usually formed into the shape of a pyramid), decorated eggs. Sometimes the food is blessed by the church before being eaten. Other tradition is one egg may be cut into pieces - one piece for each family member at the Easter table.I'm not a religious person but love to decorate eggs and do this every year.
Easter kulich
cottage cheese paska
Here Easter service is held Saturday evening and may be attended even by those families that do not regularly attend church. Midnight is the high point of the service, when bells are rung and the priest says, "Christ is risen!" and in reply, "He is truly risen!" Traditionally, after these words people have kissed on the cheek three times.
Since
childhood I remember as we, kids were waiting for the Easter morning
to taste a piece of kulich and to spread a paska layer on it.
After Easter breakfast we rolled eggs and tried to knock down another egg.
19th century postcards
Do you celebrate Easter or other spring holiday? Do you have any Easter/spring traditions?
Hello dear Nadezda!Happy Easter to all our friends abroad!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same traditions and we celebrate the Orthodox Easter on April 12 too!
Hope you have a great time!Kαλό Πάσχα!
Dimi...
Thank you Dimi, Kαλό Πάσχα!
DeleteThank You and the same to You, Nadieżda! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Ewa!
DeleteNot big on religion and don't do anything traditional for Easter other that give all the young children an Egg. Rather lazily bought. I remember as a child decorating eggs and going off to roll them with out grandfather in a nearby park. All the neighbourhood kids were there and it was such fun.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter Nadezda :)
I remember the same plays, Angie. It's interesting, isn't it?
DeleteI am not a religious person either, but like you, I do love to decorate Easter eggs. When our son was a boy we did an Easter egg hunt, but these days I mostly do a little decorating. Happy Easter to you Nadezda!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jennifer!
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ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching we always took the children to a church service for Easter. Sometimes they would enact the Easter story and one time this included taking a real live donkey into the church. Fortunately the donkey was well behaved.
ReplyDeleteFunny story, Sue! I can imagine a donkey in a church:))
DeleteHappy Easter!
Oh I love your Easter celebration...those beautiful eggs and yummy treats. Happy Easter Nadezda!
ReplyDeleteNadezda, gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all visits.
Happy Easter, my dear virtual friend!
I wish you a nice weekend!
Kiss and hug you!
Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych, Lucja!
DeleteHappy Easter Nadezda
ReplyDeleteThank you, Molly!
DeleteMost interesting post. Thank you for telling us about all these cakes. Today is Good Friday and we make little raisin loaves that are called Hot cross buns (you can see lots of pictures of it if you look up this name).
ReplyDeleteI liked the hot cross buns recipe, Alain. The most I liked is 'to brush apricot jam over the top of the warm buns' - it's very delicious!
DeleteNadezda, I love your Easter postcards !! We have quite similar traditions like you. And we always celebrates together with the family !!
ReplyDeleteNadezda, I wish you a Happy Easter !!
We're neighbors, Ela and have similar traditions. Thank you!
DeleteHappy Easter to you, Nadezda! The paska looks very delicious.
ReplyDeleteThe paska is soft, as cottage cheese and for me is very sweet, but the kids love it. Thank you, Jason!
DeleteLove your traditions! I enjoyed reading about them here. My gardens are celebrating Easter with each new leaf, bud and bloom... a renewal of life! We attend church each Sabbath Day, but on Easter there is a special program to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Our hearts turn to him as the source of all that is good in our lives. On Saturday before Easter we decorate boiled eggs and put out decorated baskets to receive treats. And then... the Easter egg hunt that has the little ones still finding eggs here and there for weeks. We have good hiders! Have a wonderful weekend Nadezda.
ReplyDeleteYou put decorated baskets outside,very interesting traditions, Carolyn!
DeleteSure your kids found all hidden eggs very soon.
.♥.♥.♥Pretty!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anita!
DeleteBonito post Nadezda y bonitas las postales antiguas .
ReplyDeleteBuena pascua amiga.
Que tengads un buen fin de semana.
Un beso.
Gracias, Laura,
Deleteun beso.
Your traditions are wonderful. I've found recipes for Pascha and Kulich and will try to make them next week. I learned that the XB on the paska stands for Христос воскресе, Christ is risen. I decorate eggs with my students at school and later I hide them for the children to find. The tradition is that the "Easter Bunny" comes in the night and brings eggs and chocolate shaped into eggs, rabbits, chicks, and religious symbols for children to find. Sometimes baskets of small toys are also left. Here, many churches have evening services during the week before ester, especially on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Easter Vigil happens on Saturday night or very early Sunday morning and the main Easter services are on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Peter. The letters XB are ' Христос Bоскресе, Christ is risen'. Sometimes they stand on the egg, painted or glued on it. Here Easter vigil happens at the same time, and then in the morning priest sanctifies parishioners' cakes. How our traditions are similar!
DeleteI really like your illustrations and postcards Nadezda. I also enjoyed reading about your food traditions. My family was not religious in Paris but my mother always gave me chocolate eggs. The candy stores have a great selection of chocolate eggs of all kinds and all flavors. Here in the US they have the Easter Bunny bringing the eggs but in France we do not know the Easter Bunny- I think this bunny tradition came from Germany originally.
ReplyDeleteIn Russia we have no Easter bunny tradition as well, Vagabonde. The chocolate eggs are sold all year, there is a toy inside.
DeleteEaster was always the most important holiday when I was growing up for religious reasons. We attended several church services during the week, and I always had a pretty new spring dress for Easter--sewn by my mother. Easter morning church is still an important tradition for us, but the grandkids look forward to Easter egg hunts most of all, not to mention all the treats left by the Easter Bunny:) So interesting to read about traditions from other countries. Hope you had a Happy Easter, Nadezda!
ReplyDeleteAnd for it's interesting to learn about your traditions, Rose. You had a new dress every Easter, thanks for your mother. What a treat!
DeleteWe have Easter on April, !2 and I hope to spend nice time.
I love learning about traditions (especially FOOD traditions!) from around the world! Thank you for sharing this. I want to try making those foods now. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's not a complicate recipe, Mary Anne. You could find the recipe here:
Deletehttp://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/crossculturaldesserts/r/paskacheese.htm
Good luck!
I absolutely love easter pasha! One of my favourite sweet dishes and I make it every year. As well as I colour easter eggs with onion skins. These are nice traditions!
ReplyDeleteOh, Tistou, I didn't know you like and make pasha! For me it's too sweet. Happy belated Easter!
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