Big religious holiday for many believers around the world. Also in Russia, he pays attention to Easter traditions and customs. great attention. This day symbolizes not only the resurrection of the Lord, but also the onset of spring, the rebirth of nature. The symbols of the celebration, as well as many rituals, have survived to this day.
Story
Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs honored a special day of the year, symbolizing the beginning of spring and the rebirth of all living things. As a rule, the celebration took place at the end of March - beginning of April, because during this period nature awakened after the winter cold. Our ancestors lit fires, asking the main patron, the Sun, to be favorable to them and give them rich harvests.
Celebrating Easter on Russian soil began after Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity. The traditions and customs of Bright Day, observed by representatives of various faiths, echo the period recorded in the New Testament. The main message is the prosperity of earthly life and its immunity from death.
Important! The name of the holiday “Passover” means “deliverance” (comes from the Hebrew “Passover”).
Gospel events that formed the basis of the liturgical calendar:
- The Messiah was supposed to arrive in Jerusalem for Easter. The people, knowing about the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, solemnly greet Jesus as the coming King. Maundy Thursday - Jesus establishes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Upper Room of Zion in Jerusalem. Nowadays, the Church remembers and again celebrates the Last Supper of the Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples and apostles.
- Good Friday - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, having asked Pilate to bury the body of Jesus, wrap it in a shroud soaked in incense and place it in the nearest tomb - a cave until the Sabbath rest.
- Holy Saturday - the high priests, remembering that Christ spoke about his resurrection on the third day, turn to Pilate to set a guard for three days so that the disciples do not steal the body, thereby depicting the resurrection of the teacher from the dead.
- The Resurrection of Christ - the Myrrh-Bearing Women go to the tomb. An Angel descends before them, rolls away the stone from the tomb and tells the wives that Christ has risen.
- After 8 days, Jesus appears to the disciples.
- Over the next 40 days, Christ appears to the disciples in Galilee and restores Peter's apostleship.
- On the 40th day after the resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven, giving a blessing to the apostles.
- On the 50th day after the resurrection, the apostles receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Preparation for the holiday
It is customary to begin preparations for Easter celebrations in advance. The week before the celebration is called Passionate and during this period people traditionally clean their homes and get rid of unnecessary things. Following tradition, general cleaning of the house takes place on Maundy Thursday.
TO preparatory stage This includes baking Easter cakes, coloring eggs (our ancestors did this using colored wax, but today they use food paint and stickers). Traditionally, this activity is taught all day – Saturday.
Particular attention is paid to preparing dishes for the festive table. But they will only be available to try on Sunday. Since according to tradition, in Holy Week this cannot be done.
On this holiday, housewives always set sumptuous tables, preparing the most delicious dishes. They are treated to a variety of salads, pastries, meat and fish dishes.
Surprise your family and guests by serving pickled plums on your holiday table. You can read more about step-by-step recipes for their preparation in.
You can start your meal after returning from church in the morning. First of all, the oldest member of the family took the consecrated egg and cut it into portions (according to the number of household members). It was believed that with the received piece of “krashenka” prosperity, happiness and good luck were transmitted for the whole next year.
The festive table is distinguished by lush decoration and a variety of snacks. Since many adhered to Lent, on this day it was allowed to drink wine, mead, and treat themselves to meat and fish dishes. For lunch, soups, jellied meat, sweet and salty pies, caviar, cheese, and jelly are traditionally served. If a family slaughters a lamb for Easter, it is baked and always treated to friends, neighbors and everyone. Thus, the family invites wealth and prosperity into the house.
To decorate the table, be sure to prepare a special Easter pastry - “lamb”. 
Symbols
Not a single festive table is complete without the main symbols of Easter - painted eggs and baked Easter cakes, which must be blessed in church the day before. Parishioners who honored church traditions always shared treats with the poor after the consecration. Bright Sunday is a universal holiday, which means it is a time for good deeds. The traditions of the presence of these dishes on the table precede their own stories.
It is believed that after the resurrection of Christ, his disciples, while eating, always left a piece of bread for their teacher. Therefore, baked Easter cakes for the holiday symbolize holy food. Dyes (especially red) are also considered to personify God's spirit. According to legend, Mary Magdalene presented the emperor with a painted egg as a gift, telling about the miraculous resurrection of Christ.
The color red has long symbolized the power of the sun, the awakening of nature and vitality. To give the eggs such a rich shade, our ancestors boiled them in onion skins. And today this tradition has been preserved, despite many other methods of coloring.
The cross is an integral part of Easter and a traditional Christian symbol. The crucifixion of Christ took place there, and he rose again 3 days after his death. Therefore, the holiday is often called Bright Sunday of Christ. According to religious concepts, the cross symbolizes eternal life.
Easter gingerbread cookies were considered another symbol - they were baked in the shape of bunnies, cockerels, and doves. 
The hare (or rabbit) also often appears in all holiday paraphernalia - bouquets, wreaths, Easter appliqués and eggs. It is famous for its fertility, therefore it symbolizes well-being in the home.
Traditions and rituals
Main tradition Happy Sunday- visiting church. In the morning the whole family goes to a festive service. And in general, it is customary to spend this day with family and friends. During the service, Easter cakes, Easter eggs and other holiday treats are blessed.
According to tradition, people bring all food to church in decorated wicker baskets. In some regions of Russia, they adhere to a custom: a large Easter cake is placed in the most visible place, which stands there throughout the service, and at the end of it, it is divided into pieces and distributed to all parishioners who want it.
Returning home after the service, the festive meal begins. Dishes on the table - Easter, krashenki, different types sausages and cheese, smoked meat, boiled fish, cottage cheese casserole, compotes and juices. And since Easter is a spring holiday, many people prepare fresh vegetable salads. Regarding drinks: alcohol is not prohibited. Traditionally this is red wine.
Important! Nutritionists give advice to those who have fasted: you should not eat all the dishes at once, you need to eat in portions. The main thing is not to overeat, as this will harm the body, which has become unaccustomed to heavy meals in a few weeks.
When meeting during Easter celebrations, people greet each other with the words “Christ is Risen,” to which the interlocutor replies, “Truly he is Risen.” Afterwards it is customary to kiss the cheek three times. This custom is called “Christification”.
ChristeningIn Russia, Easter is a big holiday and is always celebrated with magnificent celebrations. After the meal, our ancestors organized folk festivities - held competitions, sang songs, and danced in circles.
The holiday, according to the Orthodox canon, is usually celebrated for a week. People visit friends and relatives and bring Easter treats. On the 7th day Red Hill is celebrated.
In Rus' during this period, weddings were often celebrated and people had fun. After all, what follows again is religious fasting and the beginning of work in the field and garden.
Signs
People have long associated many signs with the holiday:
- In order to honor the dead, before sitting down to the table, a small pot filled with honey was placed in front of the icon.
- It is customary to weave Easter wreaths from fresh flowers and hang around the house. They attract happiness, prosperity to the family and protect from evil spirits.
- Before the holiday, people tried to do good deeds and help each other as often as possible. In this way, it was possible to cleanse the soul of sins.
- It was customary to wear new clothes to church services.
- People often celebrated the Easter sunrise because they believed that it would help “renew” their thoughts.
- On the night from Saturday to Sunday, parishioners often bathed in the Holy Spring near the church. It was believed that in this way one could get rid of past troubles and enlist the support of higher powers.
- The eggshells were not thrown away, but were crushed and wrapped in a scarf. Before field work began, it was buried in the ground to increase fertility.
The traditions and rituals of Easter are rooted in the distant past, because this holiday has been around for so many years. We will tell you about what traditions and rituals of celebrating Easter have survived to this day in our material today.
Traditions and rituals of Easter: preparation for the holiday
In the evening from Thursday to Friday, the housewives began. Traditionally, they practiced the sacrament of baking alone, without assistants, with prayer, a pure heart and good thoughts.
IN Good or Good Friday, the day when Christ was crucified on the cross, strict fasting is observed, and if possible, fasting. On this day it was necessary to bring candles from church and light them in every room of the house. These Easter customs are still observed today.
IN Saturday- a day of sorrow, so it is not customary to have fun. On Saturday evening, the All-Night Easter Service begins, to which you need to bring an Easter basket with food for blessing. Traditionally, Easter eggs and meat are placed in the basket.
And on Sunday comes Easter, the day when Jesus Christ was resurrected.
Easter traditions: how to spend Easter 2018
On Easter morning it is customary to break the fast - after praying, to taste a piece of the blessed Easter, eggs, meat. According to tradition, the Easter table should be rich, so as not to experience need and hunger throughout the year. Usually the family's favorite dishes are prepared from meat, fish, vegetables are stewed and served. Easter must be placed in the center of the table, and colored eggs are laid out around it. But it is not customary to sit at the table for a long time; it is better to go to visit your parents and godparents.
Even ancient Christians gathered together on Easter, held public services, tried to do only good deeds on this day, not quarrel and bring peace to each other. On Easter, be sure to help those who need it, for example, distribute food to the poor, donate money to orphans and the disadvantaged.
Also, there were always crowded celebrations: people rode on swings, danced in circles, sang songs. On Easter Day, it is customary to congratulate each other with the words “Christ is risen!” and say in response, “Truly he is risen!” and kiss three times on the cheek.
When meeting, friends and acquaintances exchanged colored eggs, Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs were brought to the owner’s house when they went to visit, and during the meal they were broken in a certain way and always rolled on the table. Games with eggs promised prosperity.
Easter signs
Based on what the weather was like on Easter, assumptions were made about the future. There are special Easter signs:
- Thunderstorm for Easter - for late and dry autumn.
- If it rains on Easter, then spring will also rain.
- If it was warm and clear on Easter, then the summer will be sunny and the harvest will be good.
- A starry night on Easter is an Easter omen for frost.
- At Easter the sky is gloomy - summer will be cold and cloudy.
- By Easter all the snow had melted away - for a good harvest.
- If there is frost or thunder on the first day of Easter, it means a good harvest.
- If it rains on the first day of Easter, it means a rainy spring and a good rye harvest.
- If the weather is cold on the second day of Easter, then the summer will be dry.
- If the weather is clear on the second day after Easter, then the summer will be rainy.
Paying attention to Easter signs, you may be surprised when they come true.
May your Easter day be happy and joyful!
The first Sunday after Easter is called Antipascha, and popularly – Red Hill. In Rus', it has always been a day of youth celebrations, round dances and matchmaking. Girls and boys who had reached marriageable age were supposed to take part in these festivities. According to church traditions, starting from Krasnaya Gorka, believers can get married.
My favorite Easter pastime was egg rolling, or "rollers". The games began on the first day of Easter and sometimes continued throughout Bright Week. One game could last several hours. They often used wooden, skillfully painted eggs, and sometimes entire sets of such eggs were prepared especially for the game.
The riding rules were as follows. The colored egg was rolled down an inclined wooden plank or along the ground - from a slight hill. Below, all the participants in the fun placed other eggs in a semicircle, one each. The goal was to knock the egg out of place. If this worked, the participant took the beaten egg for himself and continued the game. If he missed, the next participant entered the game, and the unsuccessfully rolled egg remained on the line.
Traditions Easter among different nations
In Orthodox Greece, Easter is the most important holiday. It is celebrated solemnly and publicly. As in Russia, preparation begins with Holy Week. During this time, no bells are rung in Greece. For Easter they prepare a special bread called " Tsoureki" On the eve of the holiday, on the evening of Holy Saturday, they make magiritsa. This is a hearty soup with giblets, egg-lemon dressing and herbs, made from Easter lamb liver. Magiritsa is usually served at night immediately after the Easter service. This soup becomes the first meat dish to break the fast after Lent.
In Poland they eat " mazurkas» - shortbread cookies with fruit and nut fillings. Traditionally, the delicacy was prepared with plums and apples, but now there are recipes for cookies with citrus fruits. Chopped almonds or walnuts are added to the filling. The top of the mazurka is sprinkled with powdered sugar or covered with glaze.
Easter Sunday in Poland is followed by “Wet Monday”. On this day, Poles generously water each other from buckets and drop water “bombs”.
In Bulgaria and Romania, Easter bread is called " kozunak" Its filling can be very varied and depends only on the baker’s imagination.
In some countries of Europe and North America, it is a common custom to hide Easter eggs. Children wake up and immediately rush to search the entire house and yard until they find a “nest” easter bunny with many colorful eggs.
Until the 16th century, a variety of animals occupied Easter eggs: foxes and roosters, storks and cuckoos, cranes and wood grouse. However, today, not only in Germany, but throughout the world, the favorite of children is Easter bunny.
Germans prepare Easter cakes for Easter lamb shaped pies.
In the UK, as in Germany, children's mornings begin with a search for a basket hidden by the Easter Bunny.
On Good Friday the British eat hotcrossbuns- buns with spices, decorated with a cross pattern. It is believed that buns baked on Good Friday do not spoil throughout the year. At Easter in the United Kingdom they cook roast lamb.
In France they hide it from children chocolate eggs. The main dish, as in Great Britain, is lamb.
In Italy, on Easter Sunday, thousands of people come to the main square of Rome to listen to the Pope's congratulations. Easter celebrations begin on Good Friday, when the famous Procession of the Cross takes place from the Colosseum to the Palatine Hill. The marchers make 14 stops, which symbolize the path of Christ from the place of judgment to Golgotha. There are also theatrical performances dedicated to the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Christ.
The main Easter dish in Italy is lamb with fried artichokes, a salad of sweet peppers, olives and tomatoes, and a savory pie with eggs and cheese. There is also an analogue of our Easter on the table - Colomba, translated from Italian as “Easter dove”. This is a tall, dry, dove-shaped pie made from yeast dough with the addition of grated orange zest, candied fruits or raisins. The top of the colomba is sprinkled with almond slices and sugar.
In America, on Easter, children receive baskets from the Easter Bunny filled with Easter eggs and various sweets. Traditional American Easter lunch consists of ham with pineapples, potatoes, fruit salad and vegetables.
In the USA, rolling eggs on a sloping lawn is very popular. Children compete to see who can roll their egg the furthest without stopping. Similar competitions are even held on the lawn of the White House in Washington and are called WhiteHouseEasterEggRoll.
The long-standing holiday of Easter, Bright Sunday of Christ, has deep roots in the past and extends to the entire Christian world. Each religion is rich in its own different Easter traditions and rituals.
According to Christian customs, Easter is the most solemn of holidays, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, from year to year, Easter day travels around the calendar without having a fixed date. Easter is determined by counting from the full moon on the day Spring equinox or after it. The bright holiday of resurrection symbolizes the revival of nature - the first sunny days of spring, warmth, everything around is green, blossoming, triumphant. Easter usually falls between March 22 and April 25.
Basic Easter traditions
The modern celebration of Easter preserves most of the main traditions of the holiday from ancient times. Everyone sincerely wants the Easter weekend to be memorable for the whole family.
Now, as before, tables are generously set for Easter and a variety of dishes are prepared. Among them, the main symbol of the Easter table, for many years, remains painted eggs, Easter cakes, fragrant curd Easter. On Saturday night, all these goodies are brought to the solemn service in the church, where the priest always sanctifies them. And on Sunday morning the whole family gathers around the set table to break their fast with holy food. Festive and dressed, relatives greet each other three times with the words: “Christ is risen!”, to which they also answer three times: “Truly he is risen!” and, in turn, they also kiss three times according to tradition. The table is full of cheer and laughter, and Easter entertainment adds its own flavor.
The national pastime “nabbitki”, a favorite since childhood, amuses both adults and children. Before cleaning the decorated egg, two people compete to see whose will be stronger. Everyone has an egg in their hands, then the Easter eggs hit each other. The one whose egg turned out to be stronger is the winner and, if desired, can honestly take the defeated broken egg for himself. The most enterprising ones make personal special preparations exclusively for the holiday. The contents are pumped out of a raw egg through a small hole, and once it’s finished, wax is poured inside. The wax cools and firmly holds the shell together. So try to beat such an opponent! Another one fun game"into the kitties." Several people can participate in it at the same time. Several dyes are lowered from an inclined plane, starting in one row. The egg that goes to the side goes to the one who led it astray.
The fun doesn’t end there; desperate guys, when flirting with girls, love to pour water on them. And beauties present the most beautiful Easter eggs to their suitors as a sign of sympathy.
It is customary that the biggest Easter stays in the house. It is customary to treat other Easter eggs, which are smaller, and paints to friends, acquaintances, and donate them to churches, monasteries, and hospitals. They paint as many eggs as possible. According to tradition, the egg symbolizes resurrection, because it is from the egg that the new life, it is also welcomed as a symbol of the sun, a symbol of peace. Many Easter entertainments, beliefs and customs are associated with eggs. Nowadays, decorating Easter eggs has become an art. You can paint Easter eggs to suit every taste and color. Everything that the imagination allows is used, from natural dyes to food dyes. But the most common is the traditional decoction of onion peels.
A rich and generous table is prepared for Easter also in connection with the end of the Great Forty Day Lent, which begins before Easter. It is associated with the time that Jesus Christ spent in the desert. According to old traditions, almost all Christians fasted. Restrictions applied to meat dishes, milk, eggs, and wine. Fasting is, first of all, also a spiritual cleansing, a period of repentance, humility, reflection, and frequent trips to church for services.
How to prepare for Easter?
In order for the Easter celebration to be a success, preparations begin in advance. After all, for one of the main holidays of the year, the house should be clean and tidy. The whole family, including children and husband, is involved in global cleaning, and then everyone can also participate in preparing Easter cakes with raisins, nuts and decorating eggs. Business must be completed by 12 midnight on Saturday.
From Maundy Thursday, also called Maundy Thursday, they begin to restore order. Nowadays, many try to “clean out all the feathers” on this day - they wash, bathe, trim their hair so that their hair becomes thicker and silkier, clean their apartments, wash the windows, get rid of excess garbage. Clean Thursday received its name in the same way as a symbol of spiritual cleansing. In addition to cleaning and personal hygiene procedures, it is recommended that on Thursday you start preparing Easter cakes, coloring eggs, and preparing Easter eggs. Believers try to complete their work on Thursday so as not to be distracted from church services on Good Friday.
Easter preparations with children
In fact, Easter preparations are an excellent opportunity to bring the family together, to involve them in work with interest. game form children. First, let them be as creative as possible in decorating the eggs. Let them glue colored stickers, combine colors to their liking, and apply drawings to their heart’s content. The main thing is to present this task to them in an easy, unobtrusive form. Involve the kids in baking Easter cakes. Be a lot patient and even the little ones can be involved. Depending on the age, trust your child to knead the dough, add raisins and even put everything into molds. Of course, the process should take place under your control, do not let everything take its course, especially since there are hot and sharp objects in the kitchen that need to be handled with extreme caution. And here creative process decorating the baked Easter cake is just right for a young fidget. Give him a choice of powder from multi-colored balls and stars. Children especially appreciate little beads. Then they will be happy to treat their friends to them. Decide to take your children to church for the blessing of Easter. Nothing will allow you to feel the mysterious and solemn atmosphere of the holiday better than a procession early at dawn with a full basket of prepared goodies along with a crowd of people to the church. The child will be pleased to feel like he is part of the festive action.
A good idea that will especially please the kids would be prepared small souvenirs for children and adults. This way the holiday will leave even more pleasant impressions. On the occasion of Easter, the house can not only be cleaned and put in order, but also beautifully decorated, following the spring theme.
Festive table for Easter
A lot of worries are associated with preparing the festive table. The more beautiful and rich he is, the more prosperous the coming year promises to be. In addition, appeasing loved ones and guests with various goodies is also a useful and pleasant thing. It doesn’t matter whether you plan to host your entire inner circle or limit yourself to a meeting with those closest to you - an original element of decor on your table, as well as a symbol of the arrival of spring according to long-standing traditions, there will be a lush, green Easter meadow. It’s not at all difficult to make, you just need to think in advance about what it will consist of. To prepare, first fill a wide bowl with soil; a few centimeters will be enough. Next, they sow a choice of grains into it. Both oats, wheat and regular lawn grass are suitable for this idea; you can also experiment with dill or parsley seeds. Water the lawn thoroughly and place it closer to the sun. When you decorate a clearing with sprouted greenery for table decoration, put flowers, bright colors on it, tie it with ribbons, and also add decorative toy bunnies and little yellow chickens.
If you don’t want to spend a long time tinkering with growing a clearing, then you can get by with fresh herbs. A large bunch of dill will be enough. It should be laid out on a wide plate in the form of a green pillow and the composition should also be filled with Easter-themed elements. By the way, any greenery and flowers have long been a mandatory attribute of the Easter table. On long winter evenings, they specially made artificial flowers with their own hands, so that later they could decorate Easter cakes, icons, and thereby add bright spring colors to the festive table.
Easter tree
Handicraft lovers will definitely like this idea. easter tree. This tradition came to us from Western Europe, and every year it becomes more and more widespread. To begin with, wash well raw eggs decorated to your taste and color. There are no restrictions, despite the religious nature of the holiday, it is not necessary to adhere to the relevant theme. Easter colors can be bright spring colors, with drawings of funny animals or exquisite plants, the main thing is that you like them. The contents of already painted eggs are cleaned, preferably over a bowl. To do this, you need to carefully pierce the egg with a needle and widen the hole, and also pierce the yolk. Then, using a syringe, pump out the inside. After the egg has become light and fragile, it is fixed on tree branches. A ribbon is pulled through the middle of the egg and secured with a double knot above and below the egg. At the end, ribbons are attached to the tree with a bow. This composition will create a festive mood for the whole family, and especially if there are children in the house.
Since Easter is spring holiday, in good sunny weather, it’s an excellent reason to get the whole family out into nature. Children love to spend time actively, running and playing around on the spring lawn. They will be interested in going on a picnic with their parents, going fishing together, playing with a ball, participating in cooking in nature, the main thing is your desire to pay more attention to the child. Think in advance about what food you can take with you, because fresh air A good appetite always wakes up and a juicy kebab will come in handy. Alternatively, invite your friends, such joint trips give many new impressions, and the holidays will certainly be pleasantly remembered.
Beliefs
The change of generations and the passage of thousands of years closely intertwine Easter beliefs and rituals. There are many ancient things associated with Easter folk beliefs:
- on the eve of Easter, on Maundy Thursday, people tried to take care of their financial well-being for the coming year. While bathing, they put the largest coins by value into a cauldron of water, as if thus washing wealth into the house;
- on Saturday evening we went to the intersection and different sides they rolled eggs, thus entangling the evil spirits so that they would not find their way to the village and would not bring disease and hunger with them;
- on Easter night, when the religious procession ended, everyone locked themselves in their homes and even the bravest were afraid to go out. According to legend, devils and demons were walking around the village at that time, they were lying in wait for people, and did not allow them to celebrate the Easter holiday;
- Having returned from church, caring housewives visited the livestock and rolled it with painted, sacred eggs. They believed that in this way they took care of the health and beautiful, smooth hair of animals. And the rest of the sacred food should be well hidden from mice. If rodents taste Easter food, they risk turning into bats, symbolizing death;
— brides who lost their grooms even resorted to sinful customs. They lingered longer in the church after the procession was over and tried to see the deceased behind the flames of the candles;
- a bright, but at the same time, reverent belief says that on Easter days no one guards the gates to heaven and all those who died during Easter week can go straight there without obstacles.
There is no doubt that for the holiday to leave the most pleasant impressions, take up the preparations with a positive attitude, in good mood. Appreciate the opportunity to spend time with your family and don't miss the opportunity to include everyone in the same preparatory process. Then a charge of positive emotions is guaranteed to you for a long time, and the Easter holiday will be solemn and memorable!
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Easter has its own customs and traditions that you need to know and preferably observe. This information will be useful for both adults and children.
Easter customs
In ancient times, Christians continued the great Easter holiday They gathered daily for public worship and sanctified this day with special deeds of piety, mercy and charity.
Imitating the Lord, who by His Resurrection freed all people from the shackles of sin and death, pious kings wiped out prisons on Easter days and forgave prisoners (but not criminals). Ordinary Christians these days came to the aid of the poor, the orphaned and the wretched. Brashno (that is, food), blessed on Easter, was distributed to the poor and thereby made the poor participants in the great joy of the bright celebration.
It has long been a tradition that in Rus', with Easter, lively festivities for young people always began: they rode on swings, danced in circles, sang spring flowers.
On this bright and great holiday, all people celebrate Christ: They kiss on the lips three times in Russian and say: “Christ is risen!” - “Truly risen!” At the same time, everyone gives each other painted, blessed Easter eggs and takes them to the graves of the dead.
On Easter day, after a long seven-week fast festive table appear Easter cakes, eggs, cottage cheese and meat.
Why is it customary to give eggs at Easter?
The egg is considered the main Easter symbol of the Resurrection, since from it a new creature is born. Therefore, since ancient times in Orthodox Church the pious tradition of giving in Holy holiday Easter eggs. This custom was introduced by Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, when, after the Ascension of the Lord, she came to Rome to preach the Gospel, appeared before Emperor Tiberius and, presenting him with a red egg, said: “Christ is Risen!”, thus beginning her sermon.
Following the example of Mary Magdalene, all Christians now and in our days give each other colored eggs on Easter, confessing the life-giving death and the Resurrection of the Lord - two events that Easter unites in itself. The Easter egg is a reminder of one of the main tenets of faith and serves visible sign the blessed resurrection of the dead, the guarantee of which is in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - the Conqueror of death and hell.
Painted Red eggs were previously called krashenka, painted eggs were called pysanka, and wooden Easter eggs were called yaichata. A red egg signifies rebirth for people through the blood of Christ. The different colors and patterns used to decorate the eggs are an innovation that also reflects the joy of the greatest holiday of Christ's Resurrection.
There is even an Easter sign: If you wash your face with water in which dye has been dipped, the person will be healthy and handsome. And staying awake the night before Easter protects against illness, ensures a successful and happy marriage, a rich harvest and good luck in the hunt.
