City Easter traditions. Similarities and differences between Easter celebrations in these countries

Easter is a delightful holiday, rich in tradition. It is celebrated solemnly and joyfully by both believers and non-believers in Russia.

The national holiday always falls at the beginning of spring. The exact date of this celebration is determined according to the lunar calendar.

The week preceding the festival is called Easter week or Holy week, in which every day, starting from Monday, is Bright. The Russian people prepare in advance for the festival, enduring the multi-day Lent, decorating their houses and courtyards, and bringing ideal cleanliness everywhere and in everything.

But preparations for the Resurrection of Christ begin most actively on Maundy (Bright) Thursday. Believers were supposed to get up at dawn in order to certainly bathe and thus be cleansed of all sorts of sins accumulated throughout the year. And only after that visit the temple, where it was necessary to confess and receive communion. After the service, we quickly went home to make the final touches in an exemplary manner, before painting the eggs and baking the Easter cakes.

In the evening on Bright Saturday, all literally Christians, smartly dressed, with Easter cakes, Easter cakes, and krashankas, went to churches for the solemn All-Night Vigil. Before midnight, bells rang out, signaling the approaching moment of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. A religious procession around the cathedrals began to the incessant ringing of bells.

Russian traditions for Easter

Over the 11 centuries of its existence, Russian Easter has acquired its originality and flavor. After all, it is the festive Easter table that significantly distinguishes it from other Orthodox holidays. The holiday is characterized by special symbols - Easter cake and egg. All over Russia, starting from Maundy Thursday, Easter cakes are baked, Easter cottage cheese is prepared, and eggs are colored in various ways. According to ancient custom, they tried to prepare a rich side menu, but even in poor families, Easter dishes always included freshly baked Easter cake and painted eggs according to a special recipe.

It takes a lot of free time to prepare them each time. The dough for Easter cakes or Easter was kneaded for a long time, armed with patience. The best of the best food products were used. Next, the eggs were decorated and painted. Artistically decorated eggs have always been an impressive source of pride for the family. Other dishes that were prepared for the Easter table were also unique. Most of them were largely unprepared throughout the calendar year. They mainly preferred meat dishes and baked goods: Easter cakes, Easter cakes, rolls, roasting young pigs, hams, fried veal.

Easter has always been a particularly solemn and family holiday; it was celebrated mainly among relatives. It was also necessary to visit distant family members. In homes, absolutely all lamps and light sources were lit, and in God’s churches, during the entire liturgy, absolutely all lamps and candles burned.

When going on a visit, it was mandatory to take colored eggs with you. They greeted each other with the phrases “Christ is Risen” - “Truly He is Risen,” kissed three times and exchanged krashankas. The presented custom is rightfully considered a characteristic feature of only the Slavic peoples; in other countries of the world this tradition is absent.

Another Easter, but predominantly religious custom is the blessing of the artos (prosphora). Prosphora is a yeast-free bread with a cross on it, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ. Another Easter, but predominantly religious custom is the blessing of the artos (prosphora). Prosphora is a yeast-free bread with a cross on it, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ. The solemn liturgy lasted all night. After it was completed, everyone in the church said Christ, congratulated each other, proclaiming: “Christ is risen! " - " Truly risen! “, kissed three times and exchanged dyes. Temple servants began to consecrate the eggs, Easter cakes, and paskas brought by parishioners.

In addition, during the Easter period, a generous tradition was established: to distribute money, holy eggs and small beads to the poor, so that the beggars would also have the opportunity to enjoy the radiant celebration - the Resurrection of Christ.

Fun and games for Easter

After many days of fasting, as well as the refusal of various joys and amusements, the holiday of Easter was desired and adored by absolutely everyone. In this regard, many popular entertainments and methods of entertainment were invented, which are now loved not only by children, but also by adults. Most of these games are still popular today. In particular, the ritual of beating boiled colored eggs: someone holds a pysanka in the palm of their hand with the nose up, and opposite the other one hits it with the nose of the next egg. Whoever's pysanka remains intact continues to compete with others.

One of the exciting activities is egg rolling. It should be played on a table or on the floor surface, the main condition being that it is a flat surface. Additionally, a gutter is required, which is placed directly at an angle, as well as a blanket. Anyone playing on the tray launched an egg, which rolled onto the blanket. Provided that the descending egg collided with an egg resting on the blanket, then this was a victory. The players took the broken eggs for themselves. It was necessary to have the skill to control the movement of the egg. The greater the number of people playing, the more fun and interesting the spectacle became.

And the “game of heaps” was considered a form of entertainment only for girls. They poured more than two piles of sand onto each player. The young ladies, completely not participating in the competition, placed a decorated egg directly under a single pile of sand. The playing participants came up and pointed to one of the piles. The girl who found the hidden egg won.

Signs for Easter

Christian Russian Easter, indeed, grouped around itself numerous ethnic signs, legends and rituals, which are not at all recognized by church ministers, but are deservedly popular among peasants.

• So on Easter, girls, under no circumstances, did not take salt with their hands so that their hands would not sweat.
• It was necessary to wash only with water from a red egg in order to always be in bloom.
• We tried to stand on the ax to be strong. They said that this helped wonderfully, and the girls were so strong that, as the proverb says, “even if you hit her on the road, she won’t care.”
• - Babies born during the Easter period will always have excellent health and will be lucky in everything.
• — The drinking water collected from the well on Easter night was considered magical. If you sprinkle the living space with it, then it is possible to remove unkind slander, bad thoughts and sins.
• - During the Easter season, you should not get drunk and rage.
• - They equally believed that if on the very first days of the Resurrection of Christ you roll the first bird egg laid on that day around the perimeter of the yard, you can drive away all evil spirits.
• “And if a young lady intends to get married quickly, then during the divine service she needs to say: “The Resurrection of Christ!” Send me personally a betrothed single man!”

Even on Easter, absolutely all love omens come true:

• “You accidentally hit yourself with your elbow,” the beloved began to remember your person.
• - Mouth itching - to inevitable kisses.
• - My eyebrows were itching - to bow to my longed-for friend.
• If an insect got into the cabbage soup, then the girls expected a quick date.

Isolated from all these superstitions is the monolithic category of Easter signs, which are now called economic signs. For example, the Russian population was unshakably convinced that Easter food, consecrated by prayer in church, has supernatural value and has the power to assist them in dangerous and important moments of life. In this regard, absolutely all remains, especially bones, from the Easter table were carefully preserved: some of them were buried in the soil of pastures in order to protect crops from hail, and some were kept in homes and thrown into the flames during a summer thunderstorm, in order to to retract the lightning. In the same way, a head of holy Easter cake was preserved everywhere, so that the householder, going out to sow the arable land, had the opportunity to take it with him and eat it in his own field, which, in essence, ensured the future excellent size of the harvest.

RP learned how Easter was celebrated in Krasnoyarsk and the Yenisei province in the 19th century, when the traditions of this holiday had not yet been destroyed by the Bolsheviks.

A sincerely joyful holiday

Easter in Siberia was considered the main holiday of the year and they prepared for it “the rich - as he wants, and the poor - as he can.”

Men who worked in the fields or in the mines always returned home to celebrate Easter with their families. Commercial hunters were leaving the taiga.

The celebrations continued all week, from Sunday to Sunday, and even the shops were closed on these days: their owners did not intend to work, since this was considered a terrible sin. And the Easter week itself in Siberia was called Bright, Holy, Joyful or Red.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Yenisei doctor and ethnographer Mikhail Krivoshapkin wrote: “The long-awaited Easter is coming. There is no holiday that a peasant would celebrate with a more solemnly clear, joyful face. We know that there is Christmas with noisy, cheerful Christmastide, but it’s not the same meeting for him, not the full, sincere, sincerely joyful greeting,” historian Ivan Savelyev quotes the RP correspondent.

The holidays began on the pre-Easter Saturday with an all-night service and continued with a solemn religious procession on Sunday, after which everyone again went to church for the morning service, which in Siberia was called “Christ’s Matins.”

During this service, it was customary to christen yourself - to congratulate each other on Easter, exchanging kisses and colored eggs, historian Irina Sirotinina tells the RP correspondent. - Eggs received as a gift from the priest were especially valued: the laity believed that they never spoiled, protected the house from misfortunes and healed from illnesses. Those who slept through Matins were punished - they were doused with water from a bucket.

Easter cakes and colored eggs

Matins turned into Liturgy, after which most parishioners left the church and waited in the courtyard while the priest blessed Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs. Only after this could one go home and sit down at the table.

Krasnoyarsk teacher and ethnographer Maria Krasnozhenova writes: “At Easter, even poor townsfolk always had a table, that is, wine in bottles and decanters was placed on the dining table covered with a white tablecloth; pork, lamb, veal hams; roast chicken, duck, turkey or goose; language; homemade sausages, colored eggs, cheese, rolls. And this table was not dismantled for three days.” The main dishes were, of course, Easter cakes, colored eggs and “cheese” - that’s what the Siberians called Easter. And Easter cakes were called Easter in the Yenisei province,” says Ivan Savelyev. - We started the meal, “broke our fast” with eggs, prefacing the meal with three kisses. In many Siberian families, it was customary to divide the very first egg among all family members. Even if there were 20 people in the family, they managed to cut it so that everyone got a piece.

In the poorest families, eggs were colored with onion skins or sickle grass. Those who were a little richer used sandalwood powder for this, and then decorated the eggs with colored threads and pieces of multi-colored fabrics. And wealthy townspeople entrusted this work to artists - they painted the eggs according to the customer’s taste. Vasily Surikov also had the opportunity to earn extra money: when he was orphaned, he got a job as a scribe in the provincial government, painting eggs for sale.

Easter cakes, especially in merchant families, were baked in huge sizes. Bucket shapes were in great demand. It was believed that the more magnificent and taller the Easter cake turned out, the more prosperous the year would be. The top of the Easter cake was usually brushed with beaten egg white and sprinkled with cereal colored in different colors. The largest Easter cake was considered a family one, but each family member had to bake his own, separate one. Even infants received a small Easter cake as a gift.

Skitters and giants

In Yeniseisk and Krasnoyarsk, wooden booths were tripled in size for Easter, where the common people were entertained with puppet shows. Magicians, acrobats, organ grinders, and bear trainers also performed here.

For young people, a swing was always built for the holy week. To do this, they chose the thickest logs and especially strong hemp ropes that could support the weight of several people. Next to the hanging swing, they placed a “goat” made of logs, over which they threw a long board, on which several people could sit on each side. Such swings were called skakuls.

Another popular attraction was the giant. A tall pillar was dug into the ground, and a rotating wheel was fixed on top of it. Ropes with loops at the end that did not reach the ground were tied to this wheel. The young people put one foot in this loop and pushed off the ground with the other.

When Easter was late, village boys and young men danced in circles, played burners, hide and seek, lapta, gorodki and babka. And if the snow had not yet melted, then the youth gathered in a special hut built on the outskirts of the village. There you could dance to the accordion or sing songs.

Special entertainment was provided for children on Easter,” says Irina Sirotinina. - If there was a hill nearby, then the children gathered in a group at its top and rolled colored eggs down the slope. The winner was the one whose egg rolled further than the others. If there was no slide, then a large circle was outlined on the ground, low sides were made for it, and a special wooden tray with grooves was installed on the edge. Coins and sweets were placed in this circle, and then the children rolled the eggs down the groove. It went over a coin, hit a piece of candy - take it. If you don't hit, leave the lost egg in the general circle, it will go to the one who manages to roll his egg so as to hit it.

Another entertainment for children was this simple game: you had to hit your egg against your opponent’s egg. Whose one crashed, he lost. The broken egg went to the winner.

There were definitely people who wanted to cheat,” Irina Sirotinina smiles. - The most cunning ones soaked the eggs in a lime solution in advance. This made the shell stronger, but it was impossible to tell by its appearance. Those less savvy would carve the eggs out of wood in advance and then paint them to hide the trick. If such a swindler was exposed, he could be severely beaten. But with a successful combination of circumstances, he brought home whole buckets of loot. This simple fun was not neglected at the family table, but in this case the egg was usually hit not on another egg, but on the forehead: if the egg broke, it was given to the one who offered the forehead.

Visit along the Silk Road

The ringing of bells also created a festive atmosphere. Throughout Easter week, anyone could climb the bell tower. Family people went to visit on Easter.

Many Yenisei merchants who got rich from the “gold rush” used this tradition as an opportunity to once again demonstrate their wealth, says Ivan Savelyev. - For example, one of the local nouveau riche once hired all the city cabs wholesale, and went on a visit in the first of them, ordering the others to follow. The line of carriages stretched along the entire street. And the other merchant, to spite him, went to visit easily, on foot. And in order not to get his feet dirty in the street mud, he ordered pieces of expensive silk fabric to be spread along his entire route.

The prisoners of the Krasnoyarsk prison also eagerly awaited the Holy Week. In honor of Easter, it was customary to collect donations for prisoners in order to arrange a rich festive table. Many prisoners who were supposed to be sent further along the stage paid bribes to the guards so that this would happen several days later. The same tables were set with money from philanthropists in almshouses.

The last day of Easter week, Sunday, was called Red Hill. It was believed that this was the best time to celebrate a wedding. And unmarried girls on this day had to go on a visit or for a walk. Everyone believed: if a girl stayed at home on Krasnaya Gorka, then either she would not get married at all, or her future husband would be very ugly.

The tradition of mass Easter celebrations ended when Soviet power was established in Siberia. The Bolsheviks declared: “Easter is a holiday of slaves,” and replaced it with the celebration of May Day, putting forward the slogan: “Easter is a holiday of obedience and humility. May 1 is a holiday of struggle and freedom. Choose between them." Only 70 years later the holiday began to return to the homes of Siberians.

Muscovites greeted the Easter announcement in all churches and cathedrals, decorated with flowers and lights. In some places, rockets were launched into the air - these were the predecessors of modern fireworks. From Khamovniki to Sokolniki, according to the recollections of contemporaries, by Saturday evening all the city noise fell silent. Festive preparations for this moment should be completed.

As darkness fell, people flocked to churches. Only very young children and old people could stay at home. You couldn’t even hear the cab drivers’ screams on the streets, and the windows of the houses went out.

And only after midnight crowds of people poured out of churches onto the streets and flocked towards the Kremlin to listen to the bells ringing.

The writer and statesman Pyotr Valuev wrote this about Moscow Easter:

“Whoever has not seen Easter Matins in Moscow cannot form an idea of ​​the solemn spectacle it represents and the touching impression it makes. You can talk about a spectacle, talk, see, and not hear, precisely because part of the sense of sight directly relates to those distinctive features that belong to the solemn night of Easter in Moscow.”

After the solemn meeting of Christ's Sunday and the service in the temple, Muscovites went to public festivities. With the end of Lent, the ban on all entertainment was lifted. Now we could dance. Round dances and street dancing were accompanied by music and singing. There were large carousels and swings on Moscow boulevards. There were street fairs in the parks where homemade souvenirs and flowers were sold.

Muscovites enjoyed visiting taverns and cafes to treat themselves to overseas delicacies after such a long abstinence.

The children had the most fun. One of the most popular games were the so-called “rolls”: they required a small board and Easter eggs. The task was to launch a colored egg from above along the board and knock down the rest of the eggs below. An unsuccessfully rolled egg, of course, was not returned to the player. In the first three days of Easter, the most desired entertainment for Moscow boys was to climb the bell tower of the Cathedral on Presnya and ring the bell.

The writer Kuprin recalls it this way:

“It’s difficult for an adult to swing his massive tongue; the boys have to do this as a team. Eight, ten, twelve persistent efforts and, finally, bammm... Such a deafening, such a terrible, such a thousand-sounding copper roar that it hurts in the ears and every part of the body trembles. Isn't this pleasure?

From the height of the cathedral there was a view of the whole of Moscow: one could see the Kremlin, the Simonov Monastery, Vagankovo ​​and the entire Moscow River. The golden and silver domes shone with incredible light from a bird's eye view.

In addition to street fairs, Muscovites went to Petrovka for Easter shopping. After 1905, all the necessary elements of the festive table could be bought at Eliseevsky on Tverskaya. People went there for saffron cake, marzipan, fragrant tea, nuts, sweet port wine and eggs, which were colored with onion skins.

The famous Filippov's Bakery also offered a large selection of holiday pastries. By the way, prices were raised seriously before the holiday: the celebration helped a huge number of entrepreneurs make money.

Prices for eggs could increase almost several times before the holiday.

The holiday traditions meant that the table should be festive and plentiful. Every Moscow family, regardless of income, made baskets for eggs and a mold for Easter. Everyone tried to surprise the guests with signature dishes in the traditional Russian style. Any delicacy was used: liver, offal, boiled crayfish, beef kidneys, duck with honey and roast goose.

On the table there were wines and homemade liqueurs, as well as homemade compotes, jelly and sbitny. In rich houses, the number of dishes could reach 50 - according to the number of days of Lent.

Easter cakes became the main decoration of the table. Housewives of the late 19th century advise: until the dough has risen, you should not talk loudly, ventilate the room, or even slam doors - this will cause the dough to settle. Finished baked goods should be cut crosswise, not lengthwise. They didn’t eat the top right away, but covered the cake with it so that it wouldn’t go stale.

The festive table remained set all week, becoming a place for table games. One of the traditional pastimes was playing palindromes - phrases that sound the same when read from left to right and back. By the way, this entertainment reached Soviet times. According to legend, the most brilliant Easter phrase belonged to the pianist: “Sensation! Pop blew his balls!”

Houses were decorated with Easter flowers - roses. They were everywhere: from the entrance to the house to the images of icons. In addition, they used ribbons to decorate windows and laid ceremonial carpets.

The letters X and B, made of wood, were placed on the door. Easter candles and lamps were placed throughout the house.

Most of the church candles were made in the Kremlin. Candle stubs and melted lard were boiled in huge cauldrons, which were then poured into various forms. Candles were brought after the consecration in the church and given to loved ones. Sugar desserts, small souvenirs in the form of eggs and wooden figurines on strings were also desirable gifts.

Most often, Easter eggs were brought as gifts, and not only edible ones. Wealthy townspeople could order eggs made from beads, stones and polished wood, decorated by hand, from craftsmen. In high society it was customary to give eggs made of precious metals with inlay. For this purpose, some Moscow factories organized mass production of porcelain and glass eggs. Eggs with bows, which were hung from icons, as well as copies decorated with commemorative inscriptions, were in fashion.

Rich Muscovites gave each other fashionable keychains made of gold and precious stones, as well as jewelry. Anything shaped like an egg was considered fashionable: ladies collected precious souvenirs into necklaces, and gentlemen hung them on their pocket watches.

The most famous jewelry gift was the precious egg that Alexander III gave to his wife Maria Feodorovna in 1885. It was made by Carl Faberge.

After this, the fashion for luxurious gifts swept high society, and subsequently the emperor urged not to give expensive gifts to him and his wife.

Having reached the building on Myasnitskaya Street, one could send Easter cards - “congratulations” to relatives and friends from other cities. Since 1894, the issuance of such postcards has been allowed to individuals, which has given rise to a huge number of different variations of cards. Among the designers there were even such famous artists as Alexander Benois.

Even members of the imperial court included their designs on mass-produced postcards. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, sister, painted “congratulations”, which were then scattered throughout the country. Some postcards also had a charitable purpose: already at that time it was becoming fashionable among progressive townspeople. By purchasing one of the cards, you could help orphans or hospital patients - this was written on the back, which could often touch elderly ladies of high society.

Congratulations on the bright holiday of Easter! For me, Easter is one of my favorite childhood holidays. I remember that I always looked forward to this Sunday, it was this holiday that seemed like a real spring holiday, and not March 8th.
I remember how diligently they approached the process of painting eggs and how they waited for Easter cakes. Our homemade Easter cakes were the most delicious, and I didn’t like sharing - you give away your own delicious ones, but they bring someone else’s tasteless ones.

Night Easter Petersburg at the end of the 19th century
Torches were lit at St. Isaac's Cathedral
I think many people have pleasant childhood memories of this holiday.

Easter has many traditions that bring people joy.
In the 19th century, on Easter night, cities shone with lights - festive lanterns made of colored glass were lit. The illumination was created simply - wire was attached to the houses, and lanterns were hung on it. Townspeople walked along the streets with flashlights in their hands, waiting for the words “Christ is Risen!” to be heard. In St. Petersburg we went boating along the canals, the boats were also lit with lanterns.

Boating on Easter night
After the end of the festive church service, the townspeople lit candles, so the fire from the temple was passed on to each other. People returned home, trying to bring the sacred fire. And at home a laid festive table was already waiting.

I like this sincere postcard, where a kind boy gives a flashlight
Tsar Peter I celebrated Easter for the first time in St. Petersburg in 1708. According to the memoirs of contemporaries “The Easter holiday was taken in St. Petersburg. And the next day the ice began to break on the Neva, and as the ice cleared on the same date, His Majesty walked along the river in a rope (boat).”

Easter night

The relationship between nature and Easter is very accurately described in verses Yakov Polonsky, 19th century poet

Easter news
The news is that people began to torment God,
Rooks brought us to the north...
The pine slums have darkened,
The quiet keys began to cry...
On the hillocks the stones were exposed
Bald spots covered in frost...
And tears began to fall on the stones
Evil winter of cleared birches.

And other news, worse than the first,
The starlings brought them into the wilderness:
Crucified on the cross, forgiving everyone,
God, the Savior of our souls, has died.
From such news the clouds thickened,
The air began to rustle with stormy rain...
They rose - the rivers became seas
And the first thunder thundered in the mountains.

The third message was extraordinary:
God has risen and death has been defeated!
This victorious news came rushing
God resurrected spring...
And the forests all around turned green,
And the chest of the earth breathed warmth,
And listening to the nightingale’s trills,
Lilies of the valley and roses bloomed.

During the day on Easter, traditional folk festivities took place with booths and swings in the central squares. In St. Petersburg, since 1820, the schedule of the festive program was published in newspapers. Festive festivities lasted a week from Sunday to Sunday. The festive performances began at noon, signaled by a cannon shot, and ended at eight o’clock in the evening.

Festive carousels and booths in the 19th century
During Easter week they paid visits, during which they exchanged colored eggs - they made Christ, and congratulated each other. In houses, before guests arrived, a separate table was set for visitors. The visits lasted no more than five minutes. In order to have time to travel around the entire city, visitors hired a cab driver who drove them to the desired addresses.

Easter meeting. Merchants of Boris Kustodiev
The tradition of exchanging colored eggs has been widespread among the Slavs since ancient times. Inedible “gift” Easter eggs have also been around for a long time. In the 18th century, Easter eggs were produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Landscapes, urban and folk scenes, and biblical characters were painted on porcelain eggs. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, in 1793, Empress Catherine II was brought baskets with 373 porcelain eggs, which she gave to guests.

Catherine's grandson, Emperor Alexander I, who loved to walk around the city on foot, baptized himself with passers-by. In the 19th century, for Easter, five thousand porcelain and seven thousand glass Easter eggs were made for the imperial court as gifts to their subjects.

And so, according to the recollections of a court lady, Easter gifts were exchanged at the court of Alexander II:
“The Emperor entered. He had just re-Christed with a mass of orderlies, sentries standing at the doors of his rooms, with all his employees... Then the Empress entered..., Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich came out with her, he was holding a rather large basket with porcelain eggs. We approached the Empress one after another and said: “Christ is Risen!” She, nodding her head, answered very affably: “Merci” (Thank you). We kissed her hand, and she kissed our head; she took an egg from the basket and said: “Voici pour vous aussi un oeuf” (Here’s an egg for you too). She gave me a porphyry egg. (The Empress sometimes added some porcelain or glass thing to the egg: a vase or plate for fruit, a decanter with a glass, candlesticks, or some nice decoration for the toilet).”

Easter souvenir. Egg with chicken inside
The famous Faberge, whose eggs became masterpieces of jewelry, was by decree of Alexander III the main supplier to the court. Faberge's workshop produced 54 Easter eggs for the royal family; in total, 71 creations from his factory are known. Faberge's works are also unique in their mechanical properties - musical, with a clockwork mechanism, opening with miniature portraits.

Faberge egg with clock and mechanical cockerel
Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov, who wrote poetry (under the pseudonym K.R.) dedicated these lines to the Easter holiday

Praise be to the Risen One
Praise the Lord from heaven
And sing incessantly:
The world of His miracles is filled
And unspeakable glory.
Praise the host of ethereal forces
And angelic faces:
From the darkness of the mournful graves
A great light shone.
Praise the Lord from heaven,
Hills, cliffs, mountains!
Hosanna! The fear of death has disappeared
Our eyes brighten.
Praise God, far away seas
And the ocean is endless!
May all sorrow be silenced
And the murmur is hopeless!
Praise the Lord from heaven
And praise, people!
Christ is risen! Christ is risen!
And trampled death forever!

At Easter it was a tradition to decorate the house with the first spring flowers. Most often these were daffodils and hyacinths. Easter is a holiday of spring flowers, the soft aroma of which enveloped homes.

I would also like to add some poems and memories. Igor Severyanin, where the Easter flavor of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg is very accurately and colorfully described.

Easter in St. Petersburg
The dining room smelled of hyacinths,
Ham, Easter cake and Madeira,
It smelled like Easter in the spring,
Orthodox Russian faith.

The smell of sunshine and window paint
And lemon from a woman's body,
Happy Inspirational Easter,
That the bells were buzzing all around.

And at the monument to Nicholas
Just before Bolshaya Morskaya,
Where was the pavement at the ends,
There was a smell of tarred board.

Because of the glasses washed for the holiday,
Because of the frames without sand and without cotton wool
The city stomped, rang and clattered,
He kissed, overwhelmed with delight.

It was sweet for the belly and spirit
Youth rushed, pinning flowers.
And among the elders, although it was dry,
Fur coats, cotton wool in the ears and galoshes...

Poetry of religion, where are you?
Where is the religiosity of poetry?
All the “idle” songs are sung,
“Business” seriousness from now on...

Let it be ridiculous, funny, stupid
It was in my young years,
But my heart was filled
Something that is unique to Russia!
(Written in 1926)

Easter night in the philosophical painting of Nicholas Roerich

I would like to mention another good Easter tradition that appeared in Germany. This is the Easter Bunny who brings children a basket of colored eggs. Among the German peoples, the celebration of Easter coincided with the holiday of the goddess of spring, who, according to mythology, was accompanied by hares (a symbol of fertility). So the hare became a festive Easter symbol, and in the 19th century also a character who brings gifts. The Easter Bunny was often depicted on German postcards.

Easter bunny on a traditional German postcard

Easter bunnies in Slavic stories

Last year I was at an exhibition of vintage Easter cards, here are my posts with photos.