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Easter: a short history of the origin of the holiday. The meaning of the holiday of Easter. Christian holiday Easter: history and traditions

Great Lent is a time of correction, spiritual and bodily feat, and Easter is an Orthodox celebration, the triumph of the right faith.

Story

The Feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Easter, is the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians and the largest Orthodox holiday. The word "Passover" came to us from the Greek language and means "passage", "deliverance". On this day, we celebrate the deliverance through Christ the Savior of all mankind from slavery to the devil and the gift of life and eternal bliss to us. As Christ's death on the cross accomplished our redemption, so His Resurrection granted us eternal life.

Canons

Long before midnight, believers, in light robes, flock to the temple and reverently await the upcoming Easter Celebration. The priests put on the full dignity. Just before midnight itself, the solemn evangelism heralds the arrival of the great moment of the Luminous Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Priests with a cross, lamps and incense come out of the altar and together with the people, like the myrrh-bearers who went very early to the grave, walk around the church singing: “Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and grant us on earth with a pure heart. praise ". At this time, from the height of the bell tower, as if from heaven, a jubilant Easter chime is pouring. All worshipers walk with lighted candles, thus expressing the spiritual joy of the Light-Bearing Feast.

Easter customs

As mentioned above, Easter is celebrated for seven days. On the first day of the hostess - the wives stay at home, and the familiar men go home and congratulate their relatives and friends. Tables are set everywhere throughout the day. On the tables, everything is already soft (not lean). Ordinary food: herring for a snack, then soup, chicken, roast, ham, potatoes, salads, vodka, wine, etc. For sweet cheese Easter, cakes, cakes, compote, tea and coffee. They usually sit down at the table for half an hour and then say goodbye and the guest goes to other acquaintances. It is imperative to visit all relatives, then good acquaintances, especially the elders and the elderly. As a rule, gifts are not brought on this day. On the second day of Easter, wives are supposed to go home and husbands stay at home, but this is not practiced. In our time, on these holy days, many conspire and just go to visit each other.

Recipes:

EASTER is a special curd dish that is prepared only once a year. In order for the Easter to turn out delicious, it is supposed to take the freshest cottage cheese. To give Easter a traditional shape, special collapsible wooden forms - pasochnyas - were previously used. If there is no such form in the house, you can use any suitable utensils. The prepared curd mass is placed in this dish in a soft napkin and kept for some time under pressure in the cold (but not in the cold!). Then the mold is overturned, and the napkin is carefully removed. Easter is made of two types: raw and boiled. Since raw cottage cheese is not stored for a long time, it is better to make small Easter out of it. And boiled Easter can stay fresh all week.

ORDINARY EASTER
Keep the cottage cheese under pressure, rub through a sieve, add sour cream and pounded fresh butter, salt, granulated sugar, mix and put in a mold. Add vanilla, lemon zest, or raisins if desired.

cottage cheese 3 kg
butter 200 g
granulated sugar 1 cup
sour cream 1 glass
2 teaspoons salt

KULICH WITH SEA BUCKTHORN JUICE
Mix eggs, butter and milk, add granulated sugar and grind the whole mass thoroughly. Add yeast diluted in a small amount and half the flour, knead the dough and let rise. Then add the sea buckthorn juice and the remaining flour, knead well and let rise again. When the dough is good, fill the prepared baking dish with it to half the volume. After the dough laid in the forms rises, they are placed in a preheated oven. Bake until you smell of baked dough. The readiness of the cake is checked with a thin splinter, sticking it into the product. If the dough does not stick to it, then the cake is ready. The molds are taken out of the oven, cooled and only after that the cakes are taken out of them. The top of the cake can be glazed. To prepare the simplest glaze, beat one egg with four tablespoons of granulated sugar with a mixer until it is fluffy.

flour 1 kg
butter 100 g
granulated sugar 300 g
milk 250 g
eggs 5 pieces
sea ​​buckthorn juice 100 g
yeast 25 g
1/4 teaspoon salt

Easter as the original holiday of the arrival of spring and the awakening of new life. Approximately 3.5 thousand years ago, the Jews gave a new meaning to the canonical holiday of greeting spring - on this day they also began to celebrate the exodus of Jews from Egypt, described in the Old Testament. About 2 thousand years ago, Easter acquired another meaning, on this day Jesus Christ was resurrected.

On this day, it is customary to say: "Christ is Risen!"

The name Easter comes from the Hebrew word Pesach, which means deliverance, exodus, mercy.

Easter celebration date

In the Christian tradition, Easter is celebrated according to the lunisolar calendar, on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. Easter is always celebrated only on Sunday, but falls on different dates.

Great Lent precedes Easter

The celebration of Easter in Christianity is preceded by Great Lent - the longest and most severe period of abstinence from many types of food and entertainment.

Easter traditions

It is customary to celebrate the onset of Easter by putting painted cakes and Easter itself on the table - this is the name of a curd dish in the shape of a pyramid with a truncated top.

In addition, colored boiled eggs are a symbol of the holiday. According to ancient traditions, they were considered a symbol of life. The eggs are also associated with the legend of how Mary Magdalene presented the egg to Emperor Tiberius as a sign that Jesus Christ was resurrected. He said that it was impossible, just as an egg cannot suddenly turn red from white, and the egg blushed instantly.

Since then, the faithful Chrestians paint their eggs red for Easter. Although recently, among the masses, eggs are painted in any colors or stickers are molded on them.

Although Easter is celebrated by Christians (Catholics and Orthodox) and Jews. The details of the celebration vary.

On Easter, believers often visit churches, light cakes and colored eggs.

Easter holiday history briefly.

Feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Easter, - the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians and the largest Orthodox holiday. The word "Easter" came to us from the Greek language and means "passage", "deliverance."

On this day, we celebrate the deliverance through Christ the Savior of all mankind and the gift of life and eternal bliss to us.

The Easter holiday ends the seven-week Great Lent, which prepares the faithful for the proper meeting of the holiday.

During the entire Holy Week preceding the holiday, the main preparations for the holiday are made - cleaning houses, preparing special Easter bread (cakes), painting eggs. Easter dishes are consecrated in church usually on the eve of the holiday or on its first day.

Easter history

The history of Easter is rooted in antiquity. About 5 thousand years ago, the Jewish tribes celebrated it in the spring as a feast of calving, then Easter was associated with the beginning of the harvest, and later with the departure of the Jews from Egypt. Christians put a different meaning on this day and mark it in connection with the resurrection of Christ.

At the first Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches in Nicaea (325), it was decided to postpone the Orthodox holiday a week later than the Jewish one. By a decree of the same council, Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Thus, the holiday "wanders" in time and falls every year on different days in the period from March 22 to April 25, according to the old style.

Coming to Russia from Byzantium, Christianity also brought the ritual of celebrating Easter. The whole week preceding this day is usually called the Great, or Passionate. The last days of Holy Week are especially distinguished: Great Thursday - as a day of spiritual cleansing, acceptance of the sacrament, Good Friday - as another reminder of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, Great Saturday - a day of sorrow, and finally, Bright Resurrection of Christ.

The Orthodox Slavs had many customs and rituals timed to coincide with the days of the Great Week. Thus, Maundy Thursday is traditionally called "clean", and not only because on this day every Orthodox person seeks to cleanse himself spiritually, to receive communion, to receive the sacrament established by Christ. On Maundy Thursday, the popular custom of cleansing with water was widespread - bathing in an ice-hole, river, lake, or pouring in a bath before sunrise. On this day, they cleaned the hut, washed and cleaned everything thoroughly.

Starting from Maundy Thursday, they prepared for the festive table, painted and painted eggs. According to an ancient tradition, colored eggs were laid on freshly sprouted greens of oats, wheat, and sometimes on pale green tiny leaves of watercress, which were specially germinated in advance for the holiday. From Thursday they cooked Easter, baked Easter cakes, women, pancakes, small products from the best wheat flour with the image of crosses, lambs, cockerels, chickens, doves, larks, as well as honey gingerbread. Easter gingerbread cookies differed from the usual ones in that they had the silhouettes of a lamb, a bunny, a cockerel, a dove, a lark and an egg.

The Easter table was distinguished by its festive splendor, delicious, abundant and very beautiful. The well-to-do hosts served 48 different dishes - according to the number of days of the expired fast. Easter cakes and Easter were decorated with homemade flowers. Making flowers for the holiday, like painting eggs, was once a fascinating experience. Children and adults cut flowers from bright colored paper, they also decorated the table, icons, house. All candles, icon lamps, chandeliers and lamps were lit in the houses.

Among Easter entertainment, the main place was occupied by games with colored eggs, and above all - rolling eggs on the ground or from special trays, as well as beating with colored eggs. The holiday lasted throughout the entire Bright week, the table remained set, invited to the table, treated, especially those who could not or did not have such an opportunity, welcomed the poor, the poor, the sick.

Bright Sunday of Christ is the biggest holiday of Orthodox Christians. On Easter, everyone christos - they kiss each other three times on the cheeks with the words: "Christ is Risen!" - "Indeed he is risen!" They give each other colored eggs, carry them to the graves of the dead. It is believed that the holiday of Christian Easter lasts seven days, or eight, if you count all the days of continuous celebration of Easter until Fomin Monday.

The egg is the main Easter symbol of the resurrection, since a new creature is born from the egg. An egg dyed red was called "dye", a painted egg was called "pysanka", and wooden eggs were called "eggs." The red egg marks the rebirth for people by the blood of Christ. There is even a sign that if you wash your face with water, in which the dye (painted egg) was dipped, you will be healthy and beautiful.

Easter, or the Resurrection of Christ- This is the oldest and most important celebration of the year for the believing people. On this day, they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which personifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and also keeps unforgettable memories of how Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself for the salvation of all mankind.

The day of the holiday for Christians is calculated according to the lunar calendar, which is why it is considered to be rolling and does not have a constant date.

Resurrection of Christ of the dead is considered the greatest miracle, which was told about by one of his witnesses, the historian Hermidius. That night from Saturday to Sunday, he personally went to the tomb to make sure that the dead Jesus could not be resurrected. At the door he saw guards guarding the coffin. Suddenly, it became light around, and a luminous human silhouette appeared above the ground. There was a clap of thunder, from which the frightened guards fell on their backs. The stone, which closed the entrance to the cave with the coffin, rolled back, and the glow above the coffin dissolved. When Hermidius approached the burial place, he saw that the body of the deceased was not there. For a long time he did not believe in this miracle, but still claimed that it actually happened.

Easter traditions

Just before Easter, a strict Lent takes place, which lasts seven weeks. During this time, believers abstain from eating certain foods. The pre-holiday week is called Holy Week, each day of which reflects the events that happened to Jesus in the last days of his life.

On Holy Saturday, before the holiday, Christian believers gather in churches for prayer. They bring with them Easter food, which it is customary to cook only on this holiday - these are Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter, colored eggs. She is necessarily consecrated in temples. At midnight, the procession begins, and Holy Saturday is replaced by Bright Sunday. During the service, all celebrations were prohibited. But on Easter it is customary not only to pray. After their end, folk Easter festivities began.

Easter entertainment

During the celebration of a bright holiday Easter lush feasts are arranged. Now you can eat any food again, because the seven-week fast is over. In addition to the dishes that are usually prepared for Easter, the table is replete with various Russian dishes that your soul can only wish for.

Also, various fun with Easter eggs, round dances, swings are arranged. An obligatory action on this day is to christen, which means exchanging colored eggs and kissing each other three times. This is the congratulation on this bright holiday, and the egg was considered a symbol of the sun and life, the fertility of the earth. People paint eggs to convey their respect.

Easter signs

Orthodox Christians believed that wishes come true on Easter. That is why at this time you can ask the Lord for the fulfillment of everything that has been planned. Since the days of paganism, there has been and remains the custom of pouring water from a well or a river.

The old people had a sign of combing their hair, wishing that they had the same number of grandchildren as there were hairs on their heads. The old women washed their faces with water with silver, gold and a red egg, hoping to become rich. Slavic ancestors believed that at dawn on Easter "the sun plays", so young people climbed onto the roof to see this miracle.

A wonderful spring holiday that bears the name International Women's Day, or, simply and briefly " March 8", are noted in many countries of the world.

In Russia, March 8 is an official holiday, an additional day off .

In general, in our country, this date was declared a festive one from the moment of the widespread establishment of Soviet power, and after half a century it also became a day off. In the USSR, the celebration was largely political, since historically the event in honor of which the holiday was established was an important day in the struggle of workers for their rights. And also it was on March 8, 1917 (according to the old style, according to the new - February 23, 1917) from the strike of workers of St. Petersburg factories, into which the celebration of International Women's Day grew, the February Revolution began.

International Women's Day on March 8 is a memorable date for the United Nations, and the organization includes 193 states. The memorable dates announced by the General Assembly are intended to stimulate UN members to show increased interest in these events. However, at the moment, not all member states of the United Nations have approved the celebration of Women's Day in their territories on that date.

Below is a list of countries celebrating International Women's Day. Countries are grouped into groups: in a number of states, the holiday is an official day off (day off) for all citizens, somewhere on March 8 only women have a rest, and there are states where they work on March 8.

In which countries is March 8 a day off (for everyone):

* In Russia- March 8 is one of the most beloved holidays when men congratulate all women without exception.

* In Ukraine- International Women's Day continues to be an additional day off, despite regular proposals to exclude the event from the number of non-working days and replace it, for example, with Shevchenko's Day, which will be celebrated on March 9.
* In Abkhazia.
* In Azerbaijan.
* In Algeria.
* In Angola.
* In Armenia.
* In Afghanistan.
* In Belarus.
* In Burkina Faso.
* In vietnam.
* In Guinea-Bissau.
* In Georgia.
* In Zambia.
* In Kazakhstan.
* In Cambodia.
* In Kenya.
* In Kyrgyzstan.
* In the DPRK.
* In Cuba.
* In Laos.
* In Latvia.
* In Madagascar.
* In Moldova.
* In Mongolia.
* In Nepal.
* In Tajikistan- since 2009, the holiday has been renamed Mother's Day.
* In Turkmenistan.
* In Uganda.
* In Uzbekistan.
* In Eritrea.
* In South Ossetia.

Countries in which March 8 is a day off only for women:

There are countries where only women are exempted from work on International Women's Day. This rule is approved:

* In China.
* In Madagascar.

Which countries celebrate March 8, but this is a working day:

In some countries, International Women's Day is widely observed, but it is a working day. This:

* Austria.
* Bulgaria.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina.
* Germany- in Berlin, since 2019, March 8 is a day off, in the whole country it is a worker.
* Denmark.
* Italy.
* Cameroon.
* Romania.
* Croatia.
* Chile.
* Switzerland.

In which countries March 8 is NOT celebrated:

* In Brazil - the majority of the inhabitants of which have not even heard of the "international" holiday on March 8. The main event of late February - early March for Brazilians and Brazilian women is not Women's Day at all, but the world's largest Brazilian Festival according to the Guinness Book of Records, also called the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. In honor of the festival, the inhabitants of Brazil rest for several days in a row, from Friday to noon on Catholic Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent (which for Catholics has a flexible date and begins 40 days before Catholic Easter).

* In the United States, a holiday is not a public holiday. In 1994, an attempt by activists to validate the celebration in Congress was unsuccessful.

* In the Czech Republic (Czech Republic) - most of the country's population considers the holiday as a relic of the communist past and the main symbol of the old regime.