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

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

The week preceding the feast is called the bright Easter week or Passion Week, in which every day, starting from Monday, is Bright. The Russian people are preparing for the feast in advance, enduring the multi-day Great Lent, decorating houses and yards, bringing perfect cleanliness everywhere and in everything.

But most actively they begin to prepare for the Resurrection of Christ from Pure (Bright) Thursday. Believers were supposed to get up at dawn, so that they would certainly bathe and thus be cleansed of all kinds of sins that had accumulated over the whole year. And only after that visit the temple, where it was necessary to confess and take communion. After the service, they quickly went home to put the finishing touches in exemplary order, before painting the eggs and baking Easter cakes.

In the evening on a bright Saturday, literally all Christians, smartly dressed, with Easter cakes, Easter eggs, krashankas, went to churches for the solemn Vespers. Before midnight, bells rang out, announcing the approach of the moment of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Under the incessant chimes, the religious procession around the cathedrals began.

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 an egg. All over Russia, starting from Maundy Thursday, they bake Easter cakes, prepare cottage cheese Easter, paint eggs in various ways. According to ancient custom, they tried to prepare a plentiful garnished menu, but even in poor families, Easter dishes always included freshly baked Easter cake according to a special recipe and painted eggs.

It takes a lot of free time to prepare them every time. The dough for Easter cakes or Easter was kneaded for a long time, armed with patience. We used the best of the best food. The eggs were then decorated and painted. Artistically decorated eggs have always been the impressive pride of the family. Other dishes that were prepared for the Easter table were also unique. Most of them were mostly not prepared during the calendar year. They mainly preferred meat dishes and baked goods: Easter cakes, Easter, rolls, roasting of young pigs, hams, roast veal.

Easter has always been an especially solemn and family holiday, it was celebrated mainly in the circle of relatives. It was supposed to visit distant family members. Absolutely all the lamps and light sources were lit in the dwellings, and in God's temples, during the entire liturgy, absolutely all the lamps and candles were lit.

Going on a visit, they took colored eggs with them without fail. They greeted each other with the phrases “Christ is risen” - “Truly risen”, kissed three times and exchanged krashanki. 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 artos (prosphora). Prosphora is a yeast-free bread, on which a cross is presented, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ. Another Easter, but predominantly religious custom is the blessing of artos (prosphora). Prosphora is a yeast-free bread, on which a cross is presented, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ. The solemn liturgy lasted all night. After its completion, all those in the temple christened, congratulated each other, proclaiming: “Christ is risen! "-" Truly risen! “, kissed three times and exchanged krashanki. The servants of the temples began to consecrate the eggs, Easter cakes, Easter cakes brought by the parishioners.

In addition, during the Easter period, a generous tradition was instituted: to distribute to the poor their money, holy eggs and small bees, so that the beggars also had the opportunity to enjoy the radiant triumph - the Resurrection of Christ.

Fun and Games for Easter

After many days of fasting, as well as the rejection of various joys and amusements, the Easter holiday was desired and absolutely adored by everyone. In this regard, many popular amusements and ways 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 painted eggs: someone holds a pysanka in the palm of his hand with the spout up, on the contrary, the second beats it with the spout of the next egg. Whoever has a particular Easter egg has remained intact, he continues to compete with others.

One of the exciting pastimes is egg rolling. It should be played on a table or on the floor surface, the main condition is that it should be a flat plane. Additionally, a chute is required, which is placed directly under the slope, as well as a blanket. Anyone playing on the tray launched an egg that rolled onto the blanket. Provided that the descending egg collided with the egg resting on the blanket, then this was a victory. The broken eggs were taken away by the players. It was necessary to have the skill to direct the movement of the egg. The greater the number of people playing, the more fun and interesting the spectacle became.

And the "game of piles" was attributed to the form of entertainment only for girls. Poured out more than two piles of sand for each player. The young ladies, who did not participate at all 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

The Christian Russian Easter, indeed, grouped around itself numerous ethnic signs, legends and rituals that are not at all recognized by the ministers of the church, but they enjoy well-deserved popularity among the peasant environment.

• So on Easter girls, under no circumstances, did not take salt with their hands so that their hands would not sweat.
• It was supposed to wash only with water from a red egg, in order to always be blooming.
• We tried to stand on the ax to be strong. It was said that this miraculously helps, and the girls were so strong that, as the proverb says, "hit her at least on the road, but she doesn't care."
• - Babies born during the Easter period will always have excellent health and will be lucky in everything.
• - The drinking water collected on Easter night from the well was magical. If it is sprinkled with a dwelling, then it is possible to remove unkind slanders, bad thoughts and sins.
• - At Easter time, you should not get drunk and rage.
• - It was equally believed that if on the very first day of the Resurrection of Christ you roll around the perimeter of the yard the first bird's egg laid that day, then you can drive out any evil spirits.
• - And if the young lady intends to get married quickly, then during the divine service she needs to say: “The Resurrection of Christ! Send for me personally the betrothed bachelor!

Even on Easter, absolutely all love signs come true:

• - If you accidentally hit your elbow - the beloved began to recall your person.
• - Itched his mouth - to the inevitable kisses.
• - Eyebrows combed - to bow with a desired friend.
• If an insect got into the cabbage soup, then the girls were waiting for a quick date.

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

Traditions and customs in Russia make this holiday one of the main ones of the year for all Orthodox people. This day has a deep religious meaning for millions of believers. Therefore, much attention is paid to the celebration of Easter in Russia.

Before the adoption of Christianity in Slavic culture, there was a special day that symbolized the arrival of spring and the birth of a new life. Our ancestors celebrated it at the end of March - early April, since it was this time that was considered the beginning of the awakening of nature after a long and cold winter. Men laid out large fires, trying to beg the favor of their main patron - the Sun.

And the women chose the most beautiful young girl, undressed, doused her with spring water, decorated her body with herbs, wove wild flowers into her braids. And they performed a special ritual, where the newly-made goddess of spring had to go around the village with a plow in order to give fertility to the earth and awaken all plants to life.

Originally rooted in events described in the Old Testament. The ancient Jews began to celebrate this holiday after Moses led his people out of Egypt. The literal translation of the word Passover from Hebrew is deliverance.

But the triumph, which honors the entire Christian world, has nothing to do with the Jewish liberation from the yoke of the Egyptians. The history and traditions of the celebration of Easter, which are observed by Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, belong to the period reflected in the New Testament. The main meaning is the triumph of life over death, which manifested itself in the immortality of the Son of God, who resurrected on the 3rd day after the crucifixion.

Easter day is called the Resurrection of the Lord. Other options are known: Bright, Holy or Easter. In countries where Catholicism or Protestantism is professed, the day when the Savior was resurrected is celebrated a little earlier. This is due to the fact that Orthodox culture keeps track of time according to the Gregorian calendar. The starting point is the spring equinox. On the first Sunday after the full moon, which came after the Equinox, Easter is celebrated in Russia.

The custom to celebrate the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ appeared in our country a very long time ago. The celebration of Easter in Rus' began to be held after the baptism, which was accepted by Prince Vladimir. At first, the Slavs accepted the new religion with distrust. The traditions of celebrating Holy Easter did not take root immediately. This holiday was often accompanied by pagan rituals that had nothing to do with the Christian faith.

Gradually, Easter traditions came in line with the requirements of Orthodoxy. Today, as several centuries ago, the celebration of Easter in Russia has a certain order, to which all believers obey.

It represents the beginning of a new life. This day marks the end of the longest fast. The last 6 days before the Bright Holiday are called Passion Week. These are the strictest days of Great Lent, when believers not only refuse animal food, but switch to bread and water. Orthodox are supposed to refrain from fun and pray fervently.

Holy Week is also the beginning of preparations for the Resurrection of Christ. One of the main Easter traditions is to celebrate this day, completely getting rid of everything unnecessary. It is not only about purity of thoughts, but also about order in the truest sense of the word. On Thursday, called clean, it is customary to wash at dawn. In the old days, villagers with the first rays of the sun specially went to the stream to wash away their sins.

On this day, the Orthodox are supposed to clean their homes and throw away unnecessary things. From Thursday, they begin to prepare the main dishes for the upcoming celebration: bake Easter cakes and paint boiled eggs.

Easter symbols: eggs and Easter cakes

The main components of the festive table are colored eggs and Easter cakes, without which Easter is not complete, traditions prescribe to cook on the eve of the celebration and pre-consecrate in the church. These simple dishes have become symbols of the Bright Day.

Today, the Orthodox consider them just a tasty treat that you can afford after Lent. In the old days, Easter cakes and colorful eggs had a deep religious meaning. The traditions of celebrating Easter with these special symbols are explained by biblical traditions.

treat	Meaning
kulich	It is believed that the apostles, after the ascension of Christ to heaven, always put a piece of bread on the table during the meal, leaving it for the resurrected teacher. Therefore, Easter cake is the personification of this holy food.
Curd Easter	In some regions, curd Easter with raisins or candied fruits is prepared for the holiday. It has the shape of a trapezoid, symbolizing the Holy Sepulcher.
colored eggs	Legend has it that Mary Magdalene gave it to the emperor, telling the news of the miraculous resurrection of Jesus. It is believed that since then, the Orthodox red egg has also been a symbol of the Holy Sepulcher, which was stone and dead on the outside, but inside contained the living soul of the Savior.

Red color in Rus' has long been considered the color of the sun, life and rebirth. To give the eggs a rich red hue, they were boiled in onion skins. And at present this custom has been preserved, although there are many other, more modern ways of dyeing Easter eggs.

A few days before the Resurrection of Christ, only Easter cakes and krashenka were prepared (as Easter eggs were called in the old days). They were supposed to be consecrated on the eve of the holiday. The one who honored all the rites at Easter always gave part of the festive treats to the poor. This was considered a good deed, because the Bright Resurrection of the Savior is a universal celebration, which means that the poor should also be able to celebrate it according to all the rules.

The festive table has always been rich. People who held Great Lent could afford to drink wine or mead, taste meat and fish dishes. For dinner, cold appetizers, jelly were served, pies with various fillings were baked. In some villages, it was customary to slaughter a lamb, bake it according to old recipes and treat all friends and neighbors.

Easter rituals

The main features of how Easter is celebrated in Russia came to us from antiquity. The main meeting place for Great Sunday is the temple. Parishioners bring Easter cakes and eggs with them, which the priest illuminates during the solemn ceremony. It starts on Saturday evening and continues until early morning. This service is called Vespers. The Orthodox try to put on bright things in order to meet the good news in festive clothes.

Around midnight, the whole district resounds with the ringing of bells, and the priest announces to all those assembled that Christ has risen from the dead. At this point Easter is coming. The parishioners, following the ministers of the church, carrying banners, go to the procession.

Having walked around the temple 3 times, the Orthodox begin to congratulate each other on the salvation of Jesus. In the people, this ritual is called Christosovanie. According to tradition, the younger addresses the elder with the words “Christ is Risen!”, in response he hears “Truly Risen!”. After such a traditional greeting, it is customary to kiss 3 times on both cheeks.

In the early morning, parishioners return home, where they lay a festive table. Easter is usually celebrated with family. Earlier on this day, all relatives, even from the most distant corners of the country, gathered in the house of the elders in the family. Today, Bright Sunday is celebrated in a narrower circle, but the holiday remains one of the main family celebrations of the year.

During the Soviet period and the 90s. It was customary to go to the cemetery on Easter. Today the church says that it is not necessary to do this. After all, there is a special day for the remembrance of the dead. Parental Saturday is celebrated shortly after the main Orthodox holiday.

They celebrate 7 days. This period is called. It ends with Red Hill. At this time in Rus' it was customary to play weddings, since this short period of time preceded the next religious fast and the time when the peasants began to sow grain.

Today, the seven-day Easter week is observed only by deeply religious, church-going people. But 1 Sunday after the end of Lent is celebrated in almost every family in which they profess Orthodoxy.

Easter traditions

EasterorResurrection of Christ - ancient Christian holiday ; main holiday liturgical of the year. Installed in honorresurrection of Jesus Christ.

Almost all Easter traditions originated in worship. Even the scope of Easter festivities is associated with breaking the fast after Great Lent - the time of abstinence, when all holidays, including family ones, were transferred to the celebration of Easter. The symbols of Easter are everything that expresses Renewal (Easter streams), Light (Easter fire), Life (Easter cakes, eggs and hares) .

Easter service

On Easter, as the most important holiday of the church year, a particularly solemn service is celebrated. It was formed in the first centuries of Christianity as baptismal. Most of the catechumens after the preparatory fast were baptized on this special day.

In the Church of ancient times, a tradition developed for the celebration of the Easter service at night; or in some countries (for example, Serbia) in the early morning - at dawn.

Easter greeting

Starting from Easter night and the next forty days (until Easter is given away), it is customary to celebrate Christ, that is, to greet each other with the words: "Christ is Risen !" - "In truth, he is risen!" while kissing three times. This custom has been going on since apostolic times: "Greet one another with a holy kiss."

Easter fire

Easter fire plays a big role in worship, as well as in folk festivals. It symbolizes Light of God who enlightens all nations after Christ's Resurrection. In Greece, as well as in large cities of Russia, in Orthodox churches, before the start of the Easter service, believers are waiting Holy Fire from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher . In the event of a successful arrival of fire from Jerusalem, the priests solemnly carry it to the temples of the city. Believers immediately light their candles from him. After the service, many carry the lamp with fire home, where they try to maintain it for a year.

In Catholic worship, before the start of the Easter service, they burn Easter - a special Easter candle, the fire from which is distributed to all believers, after which the service begins. This candle is lit at all services of the Easter week.

In pre-revolutionary times in Russia, and in the West, to this day, a large fire is lit on the temple grounds. On the one hand, the meaning of a bonfire, like that of an Easter candle, is that there is fire Light And Update . An Easter fire is also lit for the symbolic burning of Judas (Greece, Germany). On the other hand, those who left the temple or did not reach it can warm themselves near this fire, therefore it is also a symbol of the fire at which Peter warmed himself. In addition to the light illumination of bonfires and fireworks, all sorts of firecrackers and "crackers" are used to make the holiday solemn.

Easter meal

During Holy Saturday and after the Easter service in churches, they consecrate Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese, eggs, and everything that is prepared for the festive table for conversation after Great Lent. Easter eggs believers give each other as a symbol of the miraculous birth - the Resurrection of Christ. According to legend, when Mary Magdalene presented an egg as a gift to Emperor Tiberius as a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ, the emperor, having doubts, said that just as an egg does not turn red from white, so the dead do not rise. The egg immediately turned red. Although eggs are dyed in different colors, red is traditional, as the color of life and victory. In the icon-painting tradition, the resurrected Christ, as well as during the Transfiguration, is surrounded by radiance in the form of an oval. This figure, close in shape to an egg, among the Hellenes (Greeks) meant a miracle or a riddle, in contrast to the correct symmetrical circle.

In the Orthodox tradition, Easter is consecrated artos - leavened bread of special consecration. Those who are not could take communion at Easter to feel unity through the eating of common bread.

Now artos is distributed to believers for storage at home for a year, it is customary to eat it on an empty stomach in case of illness. Symbol of unity moved to Easter cakes And Easter m ( easter) (not to be confused with the name of the holiday "Easter")

At the curd easter (pasche) , as a rule, they put seals with the letters "ХВ" and a lamb. The symbol of Easter is the lamb, in the form of which a cake is usually baked in Russia. In the southern countries - Bulgaria, Italy, the Balkans, a lamb is slaughtered for Easter.

Cottage cheese Easter (in the foreground), Easter cake and colored eggs - a traditional Easter meal

They try to finish preparing the Easter table on Maundy Thursday, so that nothing distracts from the services of Good Friday, the day of the removal of the Holy Shroud and prayer.

Easter procession

Immediately before Easter, the Orthodox gather in the temple, from where the religious procession begins at midnight with loud singing stichera holiday (hymnographicstrophic texts ). Then the procession approaches the doors of the temple and the service of Paschal Matins begins.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the procession is also performed on Easter Eve, but not before the Liturgy, but after it. The Easter procession should not be confused with the service of the Way of the Cross, a special Catholic Lenten service in memory of the Passion Lord's.

Easter bells

In Russia, as well as in other Orthodox countries, after the silence of the bells during the Passion Days on Easter itself, the blagovest is especially solemnly rung. All Bright week anyone can climb the bell tower and ring in honor of Christ's Resurrection.

In Belgium, children are told that the bells are silent until Easter, because they left for Rome and will return with a rabbit and eggs.

The sound accompaniment of the holiday also has an evangelical meaning. So, in some churches in Greece, as soon as they begin to read about the earthquake in Jerusalem in the Gospel, an unimaginable noise rises in the church. The parishioners, having waited, begin to beat with sticks on the wooden stairs, and the elderly rattle the seats of the benches, while the chandeliers sway from side to side. The man-made "earthquake" thus symbolizes the opening of the tomb at the resurrection of Christ.

folk customs

On the evening of Easter, festivities begin right in the churchyard. In Russia, folk festivals with round dances, games, swings continued in different areas from one day to two or three weeks and were called Red hill.

In Bulgaria, hundreds of large and small clay pots made before the holiday, decorated with good wishes, are thrown from the upper floors to commemorate the Easter victory over evil. Any passer-by can take a shard from a broken pot for good luck.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, Easter eggs "christened" - breaking different ends in turn, just as people christened three times on the cheeks.

Kissing and common phrases at Christening are a holy Paschal heritage handed down to us, according to ancient church tradition, by the apostles themselves and their disciples. Meeting each other in the first days after the Resurrection of the Savior, they joyfully exclaimed "Christ is Risen!" and greeted each other with enthusiastic, brotherly kisses. Thus, mutual kisses, with which on the holy days of the Resurrection of Christ, believers greet each other, are visible signs that our enmity has been destroyed, and we are brought back into communion with God by the death and Resurrection of the Savior. The custom of giving an egg at the same time, and certainly a red one, is associated with the name of St. Mary Magdalene.

Also on Easter, the children arranged"pokatushki" - Whose egg rolls farther. Easter painted egg in Russian culture meant new life, rebirth. Easter eggs in Russia were rolled on the ground to make it fertile.

Egg rolling. Pre-revolutionary Easter postcard

In some countries of Europe and North America, it is customary to hide Easter eggs on Easter morning. Children upon awakening immediately rush to search the whole house. Since the eggs are taken from nowhere, the kids eventually find the Easter Bunny's "nest" with many colorful eggs. Easter Bunny As a symbol of fertility and wealth, it has become a symbol of Easter in Germany since the 16th century and has since spread throughout the world. In the form of bunnies, toys and sweets are made, as well as souvenirs that sometimes make up entire families or different professions.

Long before Easter, Easter markets open in the main squares of European cities, where you can buy things made by yourself. Bridges and fountains are decorated with greenery and colorful eggs, symbolizing Easter streams - Renewal and Spring of Joy . In many courtyards, you can see bushes and trees decorated with eggs and various characters, like a Christmas tree.

In Ukraine, on Easter Monday, the guys pour water on the girls, the girls "revenge" on Tuesday.

Easter ("poured") Monday. Ukraine. Lviv

In France, on Monday, wives can beat their husbands, and they can answer them on Tuesday.

In most European countries, Holy Week and the week after Easter are school and student holidays. Many European countries, as well as Australia, celebrate Easter and Easter Monday as public holidays. In Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada, Latvia, Portugal, Croatia and most Latin American countries, Good Friday is also a public holiday. All Easter triduum are public holidays in Spain.

In 2018, Easter fell on April 8th. In Orthodoxy, the status of Easter as the main holiday is reflected in the words "holidays, a holiday and a celebration of celebrations." The church celebration of Easter lasts 40 days.

The Bright Resurrection of Christ is the most ancient and important holiday of the entire Orthodox world: the day of the triumph of life over death.

In the early centuries of Christianity, different communities celebrated Easter at different times. In the East, in Asia Minor, it was celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (March-April), no matter what day of the week this number falls on. The Western Church celebrated Easter on the first Sunday after the spring full moon.

At the First Ecumenical Council in 325, it was decided to celebrate Easter everywhere at the same time on the Alexandrian Paschalia. This continued until the 16th century, when the unity of Western and Eastern Christians in celebrating Easter and other holidays was broken by the calendar reform of Pope Gregory XIII.

The Orthodox Church determines the date of the celebration of Easter according to the Alexandrian Paschalia: the holiday must be on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover, after the full moon and after the spring equinox.

Easter 2018: traditions and customs

Easter service begins at midnight from Saturday to Sunday; all of it is filled with spiritual joy and exultation. All of it is a solemn hymn to the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the reconciliation of God and man, the victory of life over death.

Immediately before Easter, believers gather in the temple, from where the procession begins at midnight with loud singing of the stichera of the holiday. Then the procession approaches the doors of the temple and the service of Paschal Matins begins.

On Easter Day, it is customary to greet each other with the words: “Christ is risen!”, To which the interlocutor should answer: “He has risen in truth!”. In every church on this holiday, you can hear the words that mark the beginning of the church service: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs."

After the end of the festive service, Orthodox Christians usually “break their fast” - they treat themselves to consecrated painted eggs and Easter cakes at the temple or at home. Traditionally, the first food to be eaten was an egg.

On Easter, the children arranged "pokatushki" - whose egg rolls further. Easter painted egg in Russian culture meant new life, rebirth. Easter eggs in Russia were rolled on the ground to make it fertile.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, Easter eggs were “christened” - breaking different ends in turn, just as people were christened three times on their cheeks.

In Russia, after the silence of the bells during the Passion Days on Easter itself, the blagovest is especially solemnly rung. Throughout Bright Week, anyone can climb the bell tower and ring in honor of Christ's Resurrection.

The celebration of Easter lasts 40 days, because that is how much time Christ spent on earth with his disciples after the resurrection. Special celebrations in churches are held a week after Easter - when solemn services, religious processions, and sprinkling of holy water are held on Bright Week. All week after Easter, it is customary to go to visit relatives, go for festivities, celebrate Christ and give gifts.

Notes for Easter. Popular beliefs

In order for Easter pastries to turn out magnificent and tasty, the house should be quiet and calm. You can not speak loudly and, moreover, quarrel.

After the consecration in the church, each owner tried to bring the Easter cake home as soon as possible. This custom is based on popular belief: whoever comes home first with Easter will have the best harvest and that owner will be the first to finish the field work.

In connection with this custom, there were some other Easter beliefs:

• Bread will grow as fast as the owner runs with Easter
• Whoever overtakes everyone will have the strongest horse and will overtake others in work for a whole year.

Weather signs for Easter were of great importance for our ancestors, because it was from them that one could find out how fruitful and successful the whole next year would be.

• If a thunderstorm breaks out on this day, it means that autumn will come late and will be dry. Rain without a thunderstorm portends a rainy spring.
• If it is cloudy, then the summer will be cold and cloudy.
• Frost on Easter predicts a good harvest.
• Cold, but not minus weather - to dry summer. All the snow melts completely by the harvest year. E
• If the weather is clear on Tuesday after Easter, it will rain all summer.
• And if it is warm and clear on Sunday, then the summer will be sunny and fruitful.
• A starry, clear night for Easter promises frosts and cooling.

According to Slavic beliefs, before or after Great Day, the ancestors return to earth, where they stay until the Trinity period. In the western and southern provinces of the Russian Empire, the peasants went to the cemetery immediately after the festive liturgy and took Christ with the dead. This is connected with the concept of the "Easter of the Dead", according to which on the eve of Easter the Lord opens heaven and hell (a sign of which are the royal doors open in the church) and releases the souls of the dead from the "other world" so that they can visit their homes and celebrate their Easter. .

After the morning service on the first day of Easter, they go to Christ with the dead in the cemetery, bury the egg in the grave. The commemoration of the dead on Bright Week is contrary to the church canon (as incompatible with the joy of the Resurrection of Christ) and has retained the status of a purely folk custom.

The Russians had a belief that on this day the sky opens, and during the entire Bright Week the souls of the dead freely move to the “villages of the righteous”, constantly turn between the living, visit their relatives and friends, drink, eat and rejoice with them.

According to the belief of the villagers, the evil spirits that are in the underworld live in grave silence and are very afraid of screams and noise. And when shots were fired from guns on Velikden, they knocked on wood and utensils, music and bells sounded, people believed that this drove away evil spirits and evil spirits

There was a belief that on Easter "the sun plays." According to the ideas of Russian peasants, “the rising sun will either appear from behind the edge of heaven, then hide behind it again, then look up, then descend downwards, then it will sparkle with scarlet, white, azure flowers, then it will shine in all its glory so that no eye it's impossible to look at it"

On the Great Day week, as well as on Maslenitsa, the main attention was paid to youth and newlyweds. So, for example, in youth Easter round dances, future married couples were usually called and newlyweds who got married during the last year were called.

On Easter, mass festivities were organized almost everywhere with singing, round dances and games, “bride fairs”, swings and other amusements.

Easter in Russia is celebrated with joy even by those who are indifferent to religion and the church. Easter is celebrated as the awakening beginning of spring, as a new step on the path to goodness and light. For representatives of major Christian denominations Easter is the most important holiday of the year, and even Muslims on this bright day sincerely congratulate their friends and acquaintances of Christians.

Often asked: Why is Easter celebrated at different times? The date of Easter is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar, and the rule is observed: the holiday must fall on Sunday, be celebrated after the first spring full moon and not earlier than March 21.

Another question: why don't catholic and orthodox easter coincide? Everything is considered according to the same method, but different calendars are still used: the Orthodox - Julian, the Catholics - Gregorian, and there are 13 days of difference between them. It turns out in different ways: in most cases, the celebration "disperses" for a week, but often it coincides - day to day. It also happens that Catholics celebrate Easter a month earlier. All this “confusion” began back in the 4th century, at the Council of Nicaea, but this does not affect the essence of the holiday: it remains sublime, kind and bright.

Few today remember that Easter is not a one-day holiday: it lasts for 40 days - during this period Jesus appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection, but even the first week after Easter day is no longer considered a holiday for us. And it is not surprising: on working days it is already “not before the holiday”, but it will not hurt to remember the traditions and signs.

You can visit, invite guests to your place, give each other gifts and goodies all 40 days after Easter itself, but in the first week for sure.

And here is an interesting tradition, which few people also know about - except perhaps representatives of the older generation: during the Easter week - Bright Week, anyone can come to the temple and ring the bells. In most existing churches, it is allowed to climb the bell tower together with the bell ringer, and rightly so: without training, ordinary people who do not know the basics of bell ringing should hardly be allowed there. By the way, in some churches, parishioners are specially trained in this: so far, there are most such examples in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Calling is allowed at any time of the day when there is no worship, and no later than 10 pm; the details depend on the decision of the abbot.

On Easter Day, it was customary to leave the doors open, and hang bright towels embroidered with a cross on the windows: it was believed that this would help the souls of departed relatives “come to visit”. Therefore, on Easter it was impossible to sew and wash, so as not to sew up the eyes of souls or muddy the waters in front of them. Many modern priests say that there are no strict bans on homework on Easter: rather, the call to refuse such activities is aimed at giving people the opportunity, at least for a while, to move away from worldly fuss, to think about love for God and neighbor.

One more appeal is worthy of attention: do not cry on the Easter day at the graves of departed loved ones, and do not prevent their souls from rejoicing at the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Moreover, visiting cemeteries on this day is generally not worth it: the priests directly explain that this tradition, which arose during the Soviet era, has nothing to do with the church. It arose because the state did not welcome visiting churches - and then there were few of them, and it was possible to pray without interference only at the cemetery - this habit was fixed.

In the old days, the whole Easter week was spent in observance of various rites and in peculiar entertainments, including very funny ones. So, Monday and Tuesday were considered the days of "bathing" or "watering": it was customary to pour water on those who overslept and were late for church service. Among the people, this tradition acquired an even more cheerful form: the young men waited for the girls in secluded places to pour water on them, and said that it was “for beauty”. Especially got the girls who were going to woo, and everyone knew about it - they were "bathed in full".

Also from Monday it was customary to visit grandparents and godparents, taking with them colored eggs, Easter cakes and other goodies.

Thursday was considered a memorial day, Friday - a forgiveness day, and the real fun began on Saturday, called the "Round Dance". The youth really had fun all day long, played and danced, and on the first Sunday after Easter, spring weddings began to play - this day was called "Red Hill".

Easter signs

If you meet the dawn on Easter day, the whole year will be successful and happy.

The remains of food from the festive table should not be thrown away: in the old days they were used as a kind of fertilizer, mixed with grain sown in the ground - it was believed that this would protect the crop. In our time, you can bury the remains in the ground in the gardens or in the country; the same applies to the shells of dyed and especially consecrated Easter eggs, which many people throw into garbage containers without hesitation.

The seedlings were watered with water consecrated on Easter day, which ensured a rich harvest - now this can also come in handy.

In Bright Week, it was customary to generously give gifts to the poor and the poor: the people believed that at this time Jesus and his disciples take on their image and check how merciful people are - the kind and generous could be rewarded, and the greedy - heavenly punishment.

Easter divination

It is worth recalling that the church does not welcome any fortune-telling, and on Holy Week - the time of preparation for the holiday, it was strictly forbidden to guess. On Easter day - Sunday, guessing is also impossible, but fortune telling on eggs and Easter cakes was allowed. Perhaps the church authorities understood: here is the case when it is better to allow a little bit than to be adamant.

Of course, first of all, fortune-telling was of interest to girls of marriageable age. Girlfriends got together and guessed in turn: one of the girls was blindfolded, and then they put salt, sugar, bread and a ring in different corners of the room. The blindfolded girl spun the egg strongly, and it rolled around the room: if it stopped closer to the sugar, it promised a sweet life; if to bread - the husband will be economic and hardworking; near the ring - the girl will soon get married; the girls were afraid of salt - she promised disappointment and tears.

On the eggs, they also guessed in a different way: after cleaning the egg, the girl cut it and looked at what yolk was in it and how it was located. Close to the edge - get married soon; bright - a happy family life, pale - not too much; undercooked or irregularly shaped yolk - the wedding will have to wait a long time.

They also told fortunes on Easter cakes, on all family members: everyone designated or memorized “his” Easter cake before they were put in the oven, and then the “results” were considered. Smooth and beautiful Easter cake - success and luck; oblique - trouble is possible; not risen or fallen - serious problems and dangers.

The Monk Theodore the Studite, who lived in Byzantium in the 8th-9th centuries, was sure that Easter should not only be celebrated with joy and reverence, but also always carry it in your heart: live in purity, with bright thoughts and desires, helping all your neighbors - this is his instruction to all of us and today we should not forget.