Oven or not Easter cakes and whether to cook Easter after Easter? Folk traditions for Holy Week. When to bake Easter and Easter cakes

09.04.2019

In 2016, Holy Week (week) begins on April 25, each day is called Great. This is the week of the strictest fast.

Food calendar for Holy Week - 2016

According to the strict monastic charter, the food calendar for Holy Week is as follows:

May 1, Easter, Holy Sunday of Christ: a holiday, meat, wine and everything else is allowed, except for drugs.

On Great Monday, the first day of Holy Week, the church remembers the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful, whom the evil brothers sold into slavery in Egypt. The suffering of Joseph is considered a prototype of the suffering of Jesus Christ - at first he suffered hardships and humiliation, but then he gained glory and saved many, not only the Egyptians, but even his envious brothers, who sold him into slavery. On this day, they remember the gospel story about how Jesus cursed a barren fig tree that did not bear spiritual fruit. Of course, the Savior was adequate at that moment and was not at all going to curse the unfortunate tree. Thus he gave his disciples a figurative lesson in spiritual wisdom. The fig tree symbolized the human soul, deprived of the good fruits of faith, true repentance and good deeds.

Maundy Tuesday

On Maundy Tuesday, the church remembers how Jesus denounced the Pharisees and scribes, as well as the parables that the Savior told in the Temple in Jerusalem: about tribute to Caesar, about the resurrection of the dead, about the Last Judgment and about ten virgins and talents.

Great Wednesday

Great Wednesday is a mournful day on which the Orthodox remember the betrayal of Judas. 13 The disciple of Christ betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees for 30 pieces of silver. Also on this day, they remember the sinner, who, having washed with tears and anointed precious world feet of Christ, prepared him for burial.

Maundy Thursday

This one of the most important days Holy Week, which is associated with the following events that the church remembers:

The Last Supper.

Christ washing the feet of the disciples.

Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Betrayal of Judas.

Good Friday

Good Friday is dedicated to the memories of the trial of Jesus, the crucifixion, the pain on the cross and the death of the Savior. In Orthodoxy, on this day, during Matins, the 12 Gospels of the Holy Passion of Christ are read, during Vespers, a shroud is brought out and the Canon of the crucifixion of the Lord and “To weep” are sung. Holy Mother of God". From sunset until the end of the service, it is customary to abstain from food, it is also good to find a way not to work. According to the observations of believers, on this day, neither work nor fun is really possible - the best thing is to be in silence alone with yourself, it’s good to go to the service, if possible.

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is a day of rest and remembrance of Christ's presence in the tomb. The consecration of Easter food takes place in churches. On Saturday, the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place in Jerusalem, which is then transferred to believers all over the world.

Easter

Easter, or the Bright Resurrection of Christ, is main holiday in Christianity. On this day, believers celebrate the Resurrection of God from the dead, by which He saved mankind and freed him from sinful death. The release is not automatic, of course. Even to get a free pie at a charity dinner, you have to come to this dinner - so to save the soul you need to make at least some effort.

folk traditions on Holy Week

Throughout Holy Week in Rus', preparations were made for the main holiday of Easter. The hostesses cleaned the dwellings in the most thorough way: they washed the walls, ceilings, tables, benches, benches, windows and doors, washed and scrubbed the floors in the most thorough way, shook out the rugs, and washed all the dishes, including boilers and pans. They whitewashed the stove, and sometimes the walls.

From Thursday to Saturday, the preparation of Easter dishes began: the housewives baked Easter cakes, dyed eggs, baked meat. The men set up swings in the yard for Easter amusements, prepared firewood, etc.

Throughout Holy Week until Easter itself, loud conversations, singing, with the exception of the spiritual, games, round dances and, in general, all amusements were considered a sin. Read more about how to prepare for Easter in the materials of the Federal News Agency.

Easter cakes, easter and eggs

The main dish that is usually put on the table for Easter is Easter cake, which symbolizes the presence in the house of the risen Christ. It is customary to bake Easter cakes in advance in order to have time to consecrate them in the temple before Easter.

Other most popular Easter dishes are cottage cheese Easter (or as they are sometimes called "pasci") and colored eggs. Cottage cheese Easter symbolizes the feast of the Resurrection of Christ itself, and there is a well-known well-known legend about the tradition of painting eggs.

Where did the custom of painting eggs for Easter come from?

After the resurrection of Christ, his disciples dispersed different countries preaching his teachings to different peoples. One of the followers of Christ - Mary Magdalene - came with the word of God to the Roman emperor Tiberius. Mary handed Tiberius an egg - a symbol of life and perfection of the world - and exclaimed: "Christ is risen!"

However, Tiberius replied: "No one can be resurrected after death, as this egg will never turn red." According to legend, the egg immediately turned red, and the emperor, after some shock, believed in the resurrection of Christ and exclaimed: “Truly he has risen!”

How to paint eggs

If for Easter cakes and delicious lungs“Paski” is answered by the mistress of the house, then the whole family, including children and animals, takes part in the fun business of dyeing eggs. The easiest way is to add onion peel when cooking, which will give the eggs beautiful colour: From light golden to deep red-brown.

However, there are no strict canons here - they also dye with the help of colored threads, wrapping them around eggs before cooking, and with special food dyes. Eggs can also be decorated with special stickers with Easter stories, but not with crosses and icons (because then they will have to be thrown away, and this is not good).

If the eggs are not intended for eating, but will serve as an Easter table decoration or a gift, then you can take raw eggs, pierce them with a needle from both sides, blow out the contents, and then give free rein to your imagination - here any paints, sparkles, beads, etc. are suitable for decoration.

The origins of the custom of making Easter cakes for Easter

After his miraculous Resurrection, Jesus Christ came to his disciples during their meal. Therefore, the apostles, waiting for Jesus, left bread for him in the middle of the table. Later, such bread, intended for the resurrected son of God, began to be left at Easter in all churches. After the consecration, this bread (in Greek - artos) was distributed to believers. And since every Christian home, family is a small church, then there was a custom to bake their own artos for Easter - Easter cake, which symbolizes the resurrected Christ invisibly present in the house.

What should be the cake

It is customary to make Easter cake tall, cylindrical in shape, so that it resembles a church in its appearance (the same applies to curd Easter). Easter cakes are baked from yeast dough and decorated with icing, candied fruit, chocolate, etc. It is customary to decorate the top of the Easter cake with the letters ХВ (which means “Christ is Risen”) and patterns.

When to bake Easter cakes and paint eggs

It is customary to bake Easter cakes and paint eggs on Maundy Thursday, in 2016 this day falls on April 28.

How and when they consecrate Easter cakes, easter and eggs

It is customary to consecrate Easter cakes, Easter and painted eggs after the morning service on Great Saturday. You can do this right before you start. Easter service. It is customary to eat the consecrated Easter cake throughout the entire Easter week.

Easy recipe for Easter cake 2016

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 kg

Milk - 400 gr.

Butter (or margarine) - 300 gr.

Sugar - 250 gr.

Eggs - 6 pcs.

Yeast - 50 gr.

Salt - half a teaspoon

Seedless raisins - 200 gr.

Nuts - 50 gr.

Cooking

Prepare steam. To do this, dilute the yeast in warm milk, then add 500 grams of flour. Mix everything, cover with a towel and put in warm place for fermentation.

While the dough rises, separate egg yolks from proteins. Beat the whites well until a stable foam forms, and grind the yolks with sugar until white.

When the dough rises and doubles in volume, add salt, pre-melted butter, yolks mashed with sugar and the remaining 500 grams of flour.

Knead everything well, and then put it back in a warm place so that the dough rises and doubles in volume.

When the dough will do, add raisins and finely chopped nuts there, mix everything well. Then carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture.

Grease the cake molds with oil, put oiled parchment on the bottom. Dust the sides of the molds with flour. Forms fill with dough to half, cover with a towel and put in a warm place.

Wait until ready dough will rise to three quarters of the height of the form, brush the top of the cakes with an egg and bake in the oven for about an hour, at a temperature of 210 degrees.

Ready Easter cakes to cool, decorate and eat.

Easter or bright resurrection Christ's- one of the most important and ancient church holidays

The date of the celebration of Easter is annually calculated according to a special church calendar and falls in the spring.

Usually Orthodox and Catholics celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ in different time, But easter greeting in different denominations and different languages invariably: “Christ is risen” - “Truly risen”.

Story

The Resurrection of Christ - the first Christian holiday - the disciples of Jesus celebrated from the very moment of this greatest event and commanded all believers.

Old Testament Easter (Pesach) was celebrated long before the crucifixion of Christ - from the XIII century BC, as a memory of the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian slavery. The word "Passover" - from the Hebrew "Pesach", means "passing, deliverance."

According to the Bible, at the command of the Lord, the destroying angel passed by Jewish houses, because the doorposts and windows were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

So Pesach became a prophetic omen of the Resurrection of Christ, who redeemed humanity from sins by his death and through the resurrection granted forgiveness and eternal life.

After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, which took place on the fiftieth day after Easter, the followers of Christ for the first time began to hold a special service - the Liturgy. At the Liturgy, the Sacrament of Communion was performed, which Christ himself established at the Last Supper. The liturgies were performed exactly according to the example of the Last Supper.

In the early centuries of Christianity, Easter was celebrated every week. On Friday, Christians fasted and remembered the suffering of the Savior on the cross. On Sunday, they rejoiced and glorified the Risen Christ.

In the spring, during the Jewish Passover, the celebration was especially solemn, because it was on the Jewish Passover that the crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ took place.
Easter
At first, all Christians celebrated Easter according to the Jewish calendar. The holiday began on the 14th day of the month Nisan - the first month of the year in the Jewish calendar, which corresponds to March - April according to the Gregorian (modern) calendar.

But, already from the II century, the date of the celebration of Christian Easter was moved to another day that does not coincide with the Easter of the Jews. The date of the celebration was postponed at the initiative of Bishop Sixtus, who led the Roman Church from 116 to 126.

The new date for Christian Easter caused controversy within the Church that lasted until 325. At the Council of Nicaea, convened by Emperor Constantine, it was decided general rule- Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, but not before spring day equinoxes (March 21).

The very word "Easter" became generally accepted to refer to the feast of the Resurrection of Christ in the 5th century. Gradually, Easter acquired the most great importance among the others Christian holidays, it began to be called “holidays holiday”.

The difference in determining the date of celebration among Catholics and Orthodox arose after the calendar reform carried out by the Roman Catholic Church in 1582 and the adoption of new rules for calculating Easter, which were not recognized by the Orthodox Churches.
Pope Gregory introduced a new, Gregorian calendar ( a new style), A Orthodox Church continued to celebrate church holidays the old way - julian calendar. And because of the difference in calendars, the calculation of the date by Catholics and Orthodox leads to different dates Easter in different years.

In particular, the discrepancies are caused by the date of the church full moon and the difference between the astronomical calendars (Julian and Gregorian - in this century it is 13 days).

The difference between the dates of the Catholic and Orthodox Easter is either one or several weeks, or these dates coincide. The last time the celebration of Easter among Catholics and Orthodox coincided in 2014.
great post
Easter in Orthodoxy is given special meaning. The holiday is preceded by Great Lent, which Orthodox tradition much stricter than the Catholics.

In Holy Week, it is necessary to observe especially strict post- Orthodox believers are not allowed to have fun and mess around, eat meat and fish, drink wine and much more. But already the Easter table has no prohibitions.
the last week fasting is also accompanied by special mournful services. Special events before Easter are held in almost every church in Georgia, starting from Palm Sunday. Special - on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Traditions
colored eggs, Easter cake and cottage cheese Easter occupy the most honorable place on Easter table, as they are integral symbols of Easter. By ancient tradition, the first meal after Lent should be a painted egg consecrated in the church.

Initially, the color was only red, symbolizing the blood of Christ shed on the cross, while the egg itself was a symbol of rebirth. Later they began to be painted in other colors, using natural or food colorings.
In Georgia, eggs have been dyed with roots for a long time. medicinal plant- madder dye (Rubia tinctorum), which is called “endro” in the common people.

The tradition of painting eggs for Easter is rooted in antiquity. According to legend, the first Easter egg was presented by Mary Magdalene to the Roman Emperor Tiberius with the words: “Christ is Risen!”. In those days, it was impossible to come empty-handed. However, Tiberius did not believe her words, arguing that no one can be resurrected, just like white egg cannot turn red. Just the last word flew from his lips as the egg really took on a scarlet color.

Kulich personifies how Christ ate bread with his disciples so that they would believe in his resurrection.
Curd Easter is made in the form of a truncated pyramid, the letters “ХВ” are applied to it. It symbolizes the Holy Sepulcher and, replacing the Paschal lamb, recalls that the time of the Old Testament sacrifices has passed.

The feast of the Resurrection of Christ, in Georgian - Akhdgoma, is celebrated in Georgia with special solemnity.

From the night of Holy Saturday, a divine service is performed. In Georgia, many believers come to church on Sunday night and stay until the end of the service, almost until morning.

On Easter, Georgians greet each other with the words “Kriste Agsdga!” (Christ is Risen!), and in response they receive - “Cheshmaritad Agsdga!” (Truly Risen).

On this day, the doors of all houses in Georgia are open to guests, although it is customary to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ with the family.

On the first Monday, immediately after Easter, it is customary in Georgia to commemorate relatives and friends in cemeteries.

Celebrate in Georgia and the entire next week after Easter, which is called Bright Week. And the most favorable day of the year is Krasnaya Gorka, the next Sunday after Easter.

The Georgian feast has always been famous for its colorfulness and abundance of dishes - various meat and fish dishes, flavored with Georgian spices, a lot of salads and sauces, not to mention khachapuri, lobiani and other various pastries.

But a special place on a beautifully served table is occupied by Easter eggs, placed on sprouted green wheat, symbolizing new life, sunday, eternity . People grow wheat on flat plates two weeks before Easter. On Easter in Georgia they drink exclusively grape red wine, which symbolizes the blood of Christ.

IN different areas countries, including highland Georgia, have their own unique Easter traditions. For example, in the village of Shukhuti in Western Georgia, they still play “lelo”, an old ball game. The competition is similar to rugby - players are allowed to have possession of the ball in any way.

The ball is made by the residents themselves, its weight is about 16 kilograms. All residents are divided into two teams, stand on different banks of the local river. The team that crosses the river with the ball and leaves it on the other side wins.

But in the homeland of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II - in the village of Sno, archery competitions are held. Moreover, colored chicken eggs act as targets.

The Easter holiday in the east of Georgia is celebrated widely and cheerfully: during the entire festive week, believers visit each other, organize festivities with songs and entertainment. And the main dish on the table is grilled lamb.

In southern Georgia, after a night of worship in the church, parishioners go home, and in the morning women bake special Easter bread in the tandoor (oven), which is the main dish on the festive table.

But the most beloved tradition for Easter is “clinking eggs”, which is common not only throughout Georgia, but also in many other countries.

Orthodox dates and catholic easter almost never match. / 1zoom.ru

The fundamental holiday of Christianity - the Resurrection of Christ or Easter - is almost always celebrated by different denominations at different times. They were the same last year, but this year the dates are different.

The traditions of celebrations also differ. "Glavred" decided to clarify the most important of them.

When is Easter Catholic?

Christians, despite all the church schisms, celebrated Easter on the same day - until the 16th century, when the calendar reform was carried out. After it, the Orthodox continued to celebrate dates in the old style, and the Catholics in the new one. At first, the difference between the calendars was only 8 days, but gradually, due to leap years and the fact that the calendar still only approximately corresponds to astronomical time, another 7 days were added.

Due to such large run-ups, the calculations had to be changed, but the dates of Catholic and Orthodox Easter now rarely coincide. Most often, Catholics celebrate the Resurrection of Christ earlier, although in 2019 the Orthodox will celebrate Easter a week earlier than the Catholic brothers.

For Catholics, the celebration begins on Holy Saturday with the Easter service. Before the start of Easter Eve, Paschal is lit - a special candle, the fire of which is distributed to all Christians. The service ends with the words familiar to all Christians: "Christ is risen!", In response, all those present in the temple traditionally answer: "Truly risen!"

Easter for Catholics family celebration, so on this day they will certainly gather for festive table the whole clan. And the main dishes on the table are rabbit, chicken or turkey.

One of the main symbols of the holiday is fire (as a part of the Holy Fire) and Easter eggs, symbolizing the beginning of a new life. In the West, another of the main symbols of Easter is Easter Bunny. Local children believe that he hides colorful flowers in his nest. chocolate eggs, then to distribute them to good and well-mannered children. Easter egg hunts in the USA and in Western Europe- one of the favorite pastimes of the kids.

When is Easter 2018 in Ukraine?

By the way, by folk omens if Easter is early (like this year), then spring will be warm and clear. However, this time.

/ Photo from open sources

Christ is risen. Icon

Weekend for Easter-2018

Easter in Ukraine is public holiday, that is, on this day, Ukrainians are entitled to a day off. And since the holiday already falls on Sunday, the day off is transferred to the next day - Monday.

Thus, in 2018, Ukrainians will be able to rest on Saturday, April 7, on Sunday, April 8 and also on Monday, April 9.

When to bake Easter and Easter cakes?

According to the canon, the Easter oven and Easter cakes begin at Clean Thursday. Believers will certainly pray before kneading the dough in order to cleanse the soul and the space around the place of preparation, otherwise Easter cakes may fail.

When is Maundy Thursday?

On this day, you need to cleanse both the body (it is customary to bathe before sunrise) and your home. It is also recommended to take communion and not refuse to help those in need.

How to paint eggs for Easter 100 to 1

Well, and, of course, the second important symbol of the holiday (along with Easter and Easter cake) are Easter eggs.

As already mentioned, they start painting from Thursday. A separate article will be devoted to how and how to paint eggs with your own hands. detailed material. And in this material we will focus on only one curious moment.

Did you know that the most frequently searched question on Google is "100 to 1 egg coloring for Easter"? At the same time, this issue has a very indirect relationship with the holiday itself - this is not some church canon, and the question in the android game "100 to 1". By the way, the correct answers are as follows:

food colorings– the most popular answer of 40 points;
onion peel- the best natural dye, is worth 80 points;
beet- gives pleasant pink color, the answer is worth 120 points;
brilliant green- Cute green tint, the answer is 160 points;
gouache- in another way, you can say paints, they get 200 points for the answer;
threads- but for this unique answer they give 240 points.

We previously wrote about . For example, p searching on this day should be modest, without products prohibited during Lent. An exception is made only for fish and vegetable oil.

Why are Easter cakes baked for Easter? Many people who have been brought up in the traditions of Christianity since childhood do not even think about where this custom came from, because the Easter cake has always been the main decoration of the Easter table, along with Easter cottage cheese and painted eggs.

However, if we turn to history, it turns out that the custom of baking Easter cakes originally appeared not in the Christian, but in the pagan tradition - long before the advent of the Christian cult, and they were baked not once, but three times a year, in honor of the onset of holidays significant for the ancients. Slavs. When did paganism and Christianity merge? This article is devoted to finding an answer to this question.

Understanding concepts

With the adoption of Christianity and the beginning of religious rites in the image and likeness of the sacraments performed by the Greek Church, a huge number of words borrowed from the Greek language came into the Russian language. The word "Kulich" is also of Greek origin, meaning "round bread".

What events are associated with this attribute of the bright holiday?

With coming Christian traditions to Rus', traditional Slavic ritual bread became known as Easter cake and was required attribute Easter meal. It is baked from yeast dough with the addition of candied fruit and raisins and has the shape of a tall cylinder decorated with sugar icing. For greater decorativeness, Old Slavic Easter cakes were sprinkled with dyed millet. Nowadays, decorative sprinkles are used for this purpose.

Holy (Great) Saturday preceding Easter is the time for the consecration of Easter cakes, Easter and painted eggs (the question: “why do they paint eggs for Easter?” Again refers us to the need to turn to historical reference books).

In every Russian region used for baking different forms. For the most part, the Easter cake resembled high church bread - artos, although the Vologda peasants baked it in the form of an open berry pie.

Whatever Easter pies are: large or small, narrow or wide, they always have round shape. This is connected with the memory that Christ was dressed in a round shroud.

The fact that Easter breads are baked from very sweet and rich dough indicates the festivity of this dish, dedicated to a bright event in the history of all mankind. Before the great sacrifice, Jesus and his apostles knew only the taste of bread baked from unleavened dough. After the miraculous resurrection, bread made from an unusually tasty, fermented dough appeared on their table.

Easter cakes were modest: the dough from which they were baked contained a huge amount of butter and eggs. Recipes are known, according to which a whole hundred eggs were added to two kilograms of wheat grain.

After seven weeks of Lent, a small piece of the pie was the best food to create the feeling of happy holiday, and prepare the body of the fasting parishioner for a plentiful festive feast.

They broke the fast (that is, for the first time after fasting they ate fast food) with a symbolic loaf only after the Easter church service.

The meaning of the Easter cake in the Old Slavonic tradition

Ritual bread baked from sourdough was at first sacrificed to the mother earth, ancestors or natural elements. The purpose of such a sacrifice was the desire to get their support, thereby ensuring a rich harvest and soil fertility. Ritual loaves were baked on the eve of sowing.

The prototypes of future Easter cakes were initially baked twice a year: at the beginning of spring (marking the beginning of field work) and at the end of autumn (on the occasion of harvesting). In the times of Peter the Great, they were also baked in winter, in connection with the onset of a new calendar year.

Such frugality was explained by the rather high cost of the resulting product, since their manufacture requires a large number of valuable and expensive products. In addition, baking technology is characterized by great complexity and duration of the process itself, which makes them exclusively an attribute of only a solemn and significant feast.

For some time, festive breads were used in pagan cult rites along with the administration of Christian customs, as a result of which there was an imperceptible interpenetration of the two cultural traditions. Over time, the pagan meaning of the rite was forgotten, giving way to Christian meaning associated with the history of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why does baking appear on the Resurrection of Christ?

The Christian meaning of the tradition of baking Easter cakes for the holiday is associated with an ancient tradition, according to which the resurrected Jesus Christ visited the dining apostles. From that time on, they always left a place for Jesus in the center of the table, where freshly baked bread was always waiting for him.

Over time, on the Easter holiday, a church tradition appeared to bake special bread - artos (which is a whole prosphora) and leave it on a special table, in imitation of the actions of Christ's disciples.

On all days of the Easter week, the artos is an indispensable attribute of the processions around the church. On Saturday of the Holy Week (after reading the prayer for the fragmentation of the artos), the clergy divide it into parts and distribute it to the parishioners after the end of the church service as a shrine. The distribution of the artos is accompanied by the kissing of the cross.

One of the tenets of Christian teaching is the idea that every family is a small church, which in Holy holiday Easter must have its own artos. The role of such an arthos was played by the Easter cake.

Thus, the presence of Easter bread on the table became a symbol of the invisible presence of the Lord in every home. On everyone's table Orthodox Christian on this day, there must be Easter cake and Easter. The Church assists believers in every possible way, taking part in their consecration.

Kulichik symbolically means the bread broken by the resurrected Jesus during the meal of the apostles.

Festive bread is hallmark between Jewish and Christian Easter. During the Jewish Passover, only unleavened bread is served on the tables of believers. Leavened bread at this moment is under the strictest ban. Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter by enjoying delicious sweet pies.

The sacrament of cooking

When putting the dough and kneading the dough, it is necessary to maintain purity of thoughts and a high mental attitude, so the hostess at this moment should read a prayer and turn to the Lord with a request to help her prepare a successful Easter cake.

It has long been believed that the type of Easter cake for the whole year determines the well-being of the whole family. The even and smooth surface of the finished cake means that the affairs of the family will turn out well. If the Easter cake did not rise well or cracks formed on its surface, this portends many upcoming disappointments and losses.

Easter cakes are baked on Maundy Thursday, in an atmosphere of comfort, cleanliness and order. The hostess who baked in the old days always wore a clean shirt.

At the time of baking Easter cakes in the house, it was impossible not only to knock, but also to raise your voice, as well as open doors and windows.

In order to prevent the freshly baked cake from settling, it was planted on a down pillow until it cooled completely. At this time, all household members were removed from the kitchen in order to exclude the occurrence of drafts and extraneous air currents accompanying any movement.

How to properly cut Easter bread?

The cake is cut not lengthwise, but across, in rings. If necessary (if the Easter cake has a large diameter), these rings can be cut radially.

The upper part of the cake is kept until last moment(until the last piece of pulp has been eaten) using it as a lid to keep the tender flesh of the cake from drying out.

Easter cakes are baked taking into account the number of members in the family. Easter cake must be distributed over the entire Easter week: Each member of the family should receive one piece daily.

What is the uniqueness of Russian Easter cake?

Unlike European varieties of Easter bread (for example, an English cake or an Austrian reindling), the Russian version of Easter cake is much lighter both in structure and in the degree of assimilation by the human body.

The unique combination of sweetness and lightness of the cake makes it indispensable product facilitating a gradual and safe transition from observing a strict fast to eating fast food.

The sourdough for Russian Easter cake is set a week before Easter, and the dough is traditionally made on Maundy Thursday.

The flour intended for Easter cake is sifted at least twice: this contributes to its saturation with oxygen.

The tub with the created dough is covered with pillows to prevent it from sagging, and during its proofing, loud conversations and walking around the room in heavy shoes are unacceptable.

In the room where Easter cakes are prepared, there should be constant temperature air, excluding even the slightest temperature fluctuations.

A festive Orthodox Easter cake is unthinkable without prayers read over it.

Easter or Bright Resurrection of Christ- one of the most important and ancient church holidays

The date of the celebration of Easter is annually calculated according to a special church calendar and falls in the spring.

Usually Orthodox and Catholics celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ at different times, but the Easter greetings of different confessions and in different languages are the same: "Christ is risen" - "Truly risen."

Story

The Resurrection of Christ - the first Christian holiday - the disciples of Jesus celebrated from the very moment of this greatest event and commanded all believers.

According to the Bible, at the command of the Lord, the destroying angel passed by Jewish houses, because the doorposts and windows were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

So Pesach became a prophetic omen of the Resurrection of Christ, who redeemed humanity from sins by his death and through the resurrection granted forgiveness and eternal life.

The new date for Christian Easter caused controversy within the Church that lasted until 325. At the Council of Nicaea, convened by Emperor Constantine, a general rule was adopted - Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, but not earlier than the spring equinox (March 21).

The very word "Easter" became generally accepted to refer to the feast of the Resurrection of Christ in the 5th century. Gradually, Easter acquired the greatest importance among other Christian holidays, it began to be called "holidays".

The difference in determining the date of celebration among Catholics and Orthodox arose after the calendar reform carried out by the Roman Catholic Church in 1582 and the adoption of new rules for calculating Easter, which were not recognized by the Orthodox Churches.
Pope Gregory introduced a new, Gregorian calendar (new style), and the Orthodox Church continued to celebrate church holidays in the old way - the Julian calendar. And because of the difference in calendars, the calculation of the date by Catholics and Orthodox leads to different dates of Easter in different years.

In particular, the discrepancies are caused by the date of the church full moon and the difference between the astronomical calendars (Julian and Gregorian - in this century it is 13 days).

The difference between the dates of the Catholic and Orthodox Easter is either one or several weeks, or these dates coincide. The last time the celebration of Easter among Catholics and Orthodox coincided in 2014.
great post
The Easter holiday in Orthodoxy is given special significance. The holiday is preceded by Great Lent, which in the Orthodox tradition is much stricter than that of Catholics.

On Holy Week, a particularly strict fast is supposed to be observed - Orthodox believers are not allowed to have fun and mess around, eat meat and fish, drink wine, and much more. But already the Easter table has no prohibitions.
The last week of fasting is also accompanied by special mournful services. Special events before Easter are held in almost every church in Georgia, starting from Palm Sunday. Special - on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Traditions
Painted eggs, Easter cake and cottage cheese Easter occupy the most honorable place on the Easter table, as they are integral symbols of Easter. According to ancient tradition, the first meal after Lent should be a painted egg consecrated in the church.

Initially, the color was only red, symbolizing the blood of Christ shed on the cross, while the egg itself was a symbol of rebirth. Later they began to be dyed in other colors, using natural or food dyes.
In Georgia, eggs have long been dyed with the roots of a medicinal plant - madder (Rubia tinctorum), which is called "endro" in the common people.

The tradition of painting eggs for Easter is rooted in antiquity. According to legend, the first Easter egg was presented by Mary Magdalene to the Roman Emperor Tiberius with the words: "Christ is Risen!". In those days, it was impossible to come empty-handed. However, Tiberius did not believe her words, arguing that no one can be resurrected, just as a white egg cannot become red. As soon as the last word left his lips, the egg really took on a scarlet color.

Kulich personifies how Christ ate bread with his disciples so that they would believe in his resurrection.
Curd Easter is made in the form of a truncated pyramid, the letters "ХВ" are applied to it. It symbolizes the Holy Sepulcher and, replacing the Paschal lamb, recalls that the time of the Old Testament sacrifices has passed.

The feast of the Resurrection of Christ, in Georgian - Akhdgoma, is celebrated in Georgia with special solemnity.

From the night of Holy Saturday, a divine service is performed. In Georgia, many believers come to church on Sunday night and stay until the end of the service, almost until morning.

On Easter, Georgians greet each other with the words "Kriste Agsdga!" (Christ is Risen!), and in response they receive - "Cheshmaritad Agsdga!" (Truly Risen).

On this day, the doors of all houses in Georgia are open to guests, although it is customary to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ with the family.

On the first Monday, immediately after Easter, it is customary in Georgia to commemorate relatives and friends in cemeteries.

Celebrate in Georgia and the entire next week after Easter, which is called Bright Week. And the most favorable day of the year is Krasnaya Gorka, the next Sunday after Easter.

The Georgian feast has always been famous for its colorfulness and abundance of dishes - various meat and fish dishes flavored with Georgian spices, many salads and sauces, not to mention khachapuri, lobiani and other various pastries.

But a special place on the beautifully served table is occupied by Easter eggs placed on sprouted green wheat, symbolizing new life, Sunday, eternity. People grow wheat on flat plates two weeks before Easter. On Easter in Georgia they drink exclusively grape red wine, which symbolizes the blood of Christ.

Different parts of the country, including mountainous Georgia, have their own unique Easter traditions. For example, in the village of Shukhuti in Western Georgia, they still play "lelo" - an old ball game. The competition is similar to rugby - players are allowed to have possession of the ball in any way.

But in the homeland of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II - in the village of Sno, archery competitions are held. Moreover, colored chicken eggs act as targets.

But the most beloved tradition for Easter is "clinking eggs", which is common not only throughout Georgia, but also in many other countries.