I wrote in previous posts that I like to celebrate Easter in Ukraine. It differs sharply in mood from celebrating it in other countries.
For those who do not know what Easter is, a short excursion into antiquity and history.
This majestic action is worth looking for even in pre-Christian times, when our ancestors celebrated the most important day of spring – Easter. Solemnly celebrating the victory of the spring season over the winter season, each family baked Easter cakes and dyed eggs, which later transformed into paska and krashenka, familiar to our ears.
Easter-a great day – and means the arrival of spring, the sun, all the best, the rebirth of nature. So, Great Day, in its fundamental principle, is the celebration of the resurrection of the earth and nature to a new life.
The word “Easter” comes from the name of the Old Testament holiday Pesach (from Hebrew – “transition”), which was celebrated by the Jews in memory of the liberation from Egyptian captivity. Therefore, for the Israelis, this holiday symbolizes the transition from slavery to freedom.
This is the transition from death to life, the liberation of us from the burden of sins, this is the transition of a person from the slavery of sin, evil to the freedom of love, goodness and associated with the person of Jesus Christ as the feast of the Resurrection of Christ.The date of Easter changes every year, but it is always calculated according to the same rule: it is the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. According to the biblical scriptures, it was on this day that Jesus Christ resurrected after the execution.Today, the Easter holiday in Ukraine also symbolizes the general revival and renewal of the world. Indeed, in the memory of Ukrainians, many customs and rituals have been preserved, which are still carried out, but do not have a direct connection with Christianity.
It is impossible to imagine Ukrainian Easter without pysanky, whose unique ornaments and variety of colors fascinate the eye. Almost all peoples of the world revered the egg for a long time and became a symbol of life and birth, since it contains life as such.
All the symbols that were important for people in different periods and were considered amulets were written on the eggs: the sun, the moon, the stars, fire, water, earth, etc. Of course, in those days when people were just starting to make Easter eggs, they were not as perfect as they are today: they were elementary images of objects, phenomena, patterns, and over the years, painting Easter eggs has become an art.
In the Easter cycle of holidays, there are still Easter games, of which there are a huge number. During these games, young people built various towers, rode on a swing, danced round dances and rolled eggs. Some games were purely entertaining, others showed masculine strength and endurance, and most of the games had a courtship character. However, they all symbolized something in one way or another: for example, if someone managed to build a high tower, it meant that wheat would definitely give birth this year, it would be as tall as the tower. But by beating Easter eggs, people probably wanted to speed up the emergence of a new life, and young people measured who had a more beautiful and stronger Easter egg.
The last week before Easter called Holy Week and especially held every day.Tuesday clothes were chosen forcelebration of the holiday and cleaning og the house began,thought over whar dishes would be cooked and how much,prepared them.On Wednesday,a general cleaning of the house was started and continued on Thursday.On this day people bathed,washed and cooked Easter cakes and dyed eggs.Friday was called Good Friday,fasting was especially performed,a day with thoughts about God and the earthly sufferings of the son of God.
On Saturday evening,an all-night service began at which people took baskets of food .Sunday came with a prayer for coming of the holiday and families gathered at a common table/The fast ended.
Great Sunday symbolizes the cleansing of the soul and deliverance from sins.people celebrate it three days and the first day is dedicated to the family,the second to friends and the third to acquaintances.
