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Good Friday: is it possible to bake Easter cakes? We bake kulich correctly (advice from bakers)



There are no strict rules regarding the preparation of any Easter dishes on Good Friday. And also there are no church prescriptions.

Beliefs about prohibitions came from the fact that it was customary to complete all household and culinary affairs on Maundy Thursday, when that day they washed in the baths, cleaned the garden, barnyard and put things in order in the house.

And kitchen chores can be done on Saturday. Remember that the holiday itself is important, not its attributes. Household chores should not distract from church attendance and prayer.

  • Arguments for"
  • Arguments against"

The essence of the holiday Good Friday




On this day, the Temple commemorates the Suffering of Christ and His death on the cross. And we must not forget about the Passion of Christ and when he sacrificed himself. In the evening, on Thursday, the 12 Passionate Gospels are read, which tells about His Suffering. Once in the Garden of Gethsemane, down to bloody sweat, He read them Himself. And also, when he was led by the guards and at the very crucifixion. After reading each prayer, a bell is usually struck.

Also, the Tsar's Clock is read on this day. And at 3 o'clock the priests take out the shroud and put it in the center of the temple - this is considered a symbol of the fact that Christ was in the tomb for 3 days and for the same time it is left in the middle of the temple. Time is a reminder of when the death of Christ came.

Arguments for and against cooking Easter cakes



Arguments for"

On Holy Saturday or Bright Sunday, many may simply not have time to prepare festive dishes.

It's too late to do culinary work on Easter. Still, I want to start celebrating it in the morning, gathering the whole family at the table.

It is more pleasant to eat fresh baked goods, if the cakes stand from Maundy Thursday, they can wind up. Although, in this case, there are many tricks that will save baking.

Arguments against"

Everyone has a personal relationship with Christ, so turn to your state of mind more often in this matter.




- Lent ends on Saturday, and on Friday, pleasant aromas from freshly baked cakes may tempt you to break it.

On such a day, it is better to pay attention to heavenly, and not to earthly whims.


Thus, we can conclude that it is possible to deal with Easter paraphernalia on this day. The main thing is to understand that this is secondary. Primary - sincere empathy for the suffering of our Savior, prayer, church attendance. And all the baked goods can always be bought in stores.

This year Easter is so early (April 8) that another great Christian holiday - the Annunciation (April 7) - falls on Holy Saturday, a day of especially strict fasting, a day of sadness and silence. Such a coincidence of the holiday and the time of sorrow raises many questions. Fearful: isn't this a sign of the "end times", a sign of the approaching end of the world? Utilitarian: should we fast now on the eve of Easter, or should the table be festive? After all, Passionate, it is Great, Saturday is the day of the strictest fasting, but on the Annunciation, on the contrary, is the fast weakened?

Is it possible on this day to bake cakes, paint eggs, cook Easter cottage cheese: housewives often do this on Saturday, but on the Annunciation, as you know, "it's a sin to work"? Let's sort it out in order, I hope at the same time we will understand why we need intermediate stages at all - Great Lent, Passionate, and is it possible to celebrate Easter if you have canceled all these preludes for yourself

1. To exclude any speculation on the topic of the apocalypse, I will answer right away: there is no mystical component in the combination of Holy (Great) Saturday with the holiday of the Annunciation. Although this event is rare, it still happens, the last time it happened in 2007, and nothing, we live. The fact is that Easter, the holiday of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, has a rolling date, that is, every year these are different days between April 4 and May 8 according to the new style, but the Annunciation is always celebrated on April 7, here the date is unchanged and is separated from the holiday The Nativity of Christ for exactly nine months (the ancient Christians called the feast of the Annunciation "the Conception of Christ"). If Easter is early (from April 4 to 13), then the Annunciation can fall both a week before the celebration of Easter, that is, on Passion, and a week after - on Bright. And this only means that the divine service on this day will have features associated with the double meaning of the day. Although most often the celebration of the Annunciation falls on Great Lent. I deliberately opened Easter - the calendar of Easter dates and looked how many times and when the holiday of the Bright Resurrection of Christ fell on April 8th. Since 1700, this has happened ten times, each such year was absolutely ordinary, not distinguished in any way by any kind of disaster that was overlooked. So let's not whip up the atmosphere in 2018 either.

2. The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos is a holiday dedicated to the Good News (hence the name), which the young Virgin Mary received from the Archangel Gabriel. Good news that she will become the Mother of God. "Rejoice, Blessed One! The Lord is with You, blessed are You between wives," - these words, which later became a prayer, the Archangel Gabriel turns to the future Mother of Christ. The church established a holiday in honor of the joyful event, because it was good news not only for Mary, but for all mankind. The news that the Savior will soon come to our world. The Annunciation is one of the twelve great holidays, on this day of jubilant joy fasting is canceled and no one works - "the maiden does not weave a braid, the bird does not build a nest."

Preparing an Easter meal should not replace prayer in church

Passionate, or as they say, to emphasize the greatness of this day, Great Saturday, on the contrary, is a day of silent sorrow. Behind the betrayal of Judas, the arrest of Christ, His unrighteous condemnation, the way to Golgotha, the Crucifixion, suffering on the Cross and death. Great Saturday is the day of remembrance of that terrible moment when the Body of Christ was in the Tomb, and He Himself descended into hell. That is why the Church tells us: "Let all flesh be silent" - death is strong, it causes fear and trembling. Maybe a minute of silence came from here, with which the dead are remembered? Let's forget about the earthly, temporal, and peer into eternity.

3. And here we come to a question that is not just curious, extremely important. On one day, they converged, two opposites collided: the joy of a new life and the bitterness of death. Glee and silence. What does the Church choose? What does he prefer? What do we have on April 7, 2018? Fasting or holiday? "If the Annunciation falls on Great Saturday, the eating of fish and oil (vegetable oil) is not blessed, permission for the sake of the holiday is given only for wine," we read in the liturgical charter. That is, after all, a strict fast, and the wine is here only to strengthen one's strength: behind the most intense services of the Holy Week, the service of Great Saturday is long, and the All-night Vigil of Easter is still ahead.

The story is the same with worship. Even such a significant holiday as the Annunciation cannot change the setting to serve on Holy Saturday the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and not the liturgy of John Chrysostom, which sounds on the holiday of the Good News. What does this mean? About how carefully the Church treats the soul of man. Look, behind the difficult forty-day Great Lent, the path of repentance and cleansing ourselves of passions, the path that we entered not just like that, on the fly, but asking for forgiveness and forgiving everyone on Forgiveness Sunday. After Lent, a two-day respite: on Lazarev Saturday we think about what life and death are, on Palm, rejoicing, we greet Christ, remembering that He is going to suffer. And we follow him, step by step, to the best of our ability, trying to go through the Holy Week, engaging in the Gospel events, realizing what the feat of love is ... So is it possible now, on the day of maximum stress, on the day of Christ's burial, on the day, when in churches it sounds "Don't cry, Mene Mati, seeing Me in the grave ..." The Church educates the soul, gradually cultivating the best in it, and not crippling it with shock therapy according to the principle from fire to wormwood.

4. But what about those who have failed to fast? Who missed services? Forgot the last time you received communion? Is he really excommunicated from the Paschal joy of the Resurrection of Christ? Oddly enough, no. Yes, when we do not come to the Divine Liturgy, do not accept the Body and Blood of Christ, we ourselves excommunicate ourselves from God. But surprising as it may seem, no matter how unfair it may seem to some devout believers, the Lord does not reject even those who appeared to Him at the last moment. During the Easter Vigil in churches, the famous "Word for Easter of St. John Chrysostom" is read, the following consoling message sounds: "For the love of the living Master: he accepts the latter, like the first, rests at the eleventh hour who came, just as he did from the first hour: and he has mercy on the last, and pleases the first, ... and accepts deeds, and kisses intentions ... Therefore, all enter into the joy of your Lord ... Rich and poor, ... rejoice. Diligent and lazy, honor the day. non-fasting, rejoice ... "

Why We Hallow Eggs

According to legend, Mary from Magdala, one of the disciples of Jesus, whom He healed of obsession by expelling seven demons from her, after the Resurrection of Christ fearlessly came to the Roman emperor Tiberius and presented him with a red egg with the words of the most important message in this and the next world: "Christ is Risen!" Why an egg? The symbol of life, which for the time being is hidden under the shell - whether the tombs, our sinfulness, theologians interpret the image in different ways. Why red? Symbol of the Blood of Christ shed for us. And a symbol of royal power. It was a bold step: Tiberius knew how to suppress troubles, he knew what to do with those who disagree. Therefore, the act of Mary Magdalene meant a courageous confession of faith: "Christ is Risen!" Let us emphasize that according to legend, historians are silent about the event. But here is confirmation that in the V-VI centuries. eggs for Easter have already been painted, there are. Moreover, they did this during the years of persecution against Christians. Why did the soul of the people so willingly pick up the tradition and carry it through the centuries? Maybe because he longs to sanctify the good news "Christ is Risen!" the whole space of your life - and the table, and the house, and communication with loved ones.

People are often interested in whether it is possible to bake Easter cakes and Easter on Good Friday, because there are many beliefs and prohibitions associated with Good Friday.

A detailed answer to this question, as well as the comments of the priests, are given in the article.

Is it possible to bake Easter cakes on Good Friday: the pros

Looking ahead, it should be noted that there are no specific prohibitions on the preparation of Easter cakes or other Easter dishes on Good Friday. This is the main argument in favor of the fact that cooking can be done on this day.

In addition, there are some considerations:

  1. On Great Saturday, and even more so on Bright Sunday, a person may simply not have enough time to prepare festive dishes.
  2. It's already quite late to cook on the day of Easter itself - it is customary to celebrate the holiday in the morning, having gathered at the table with the whole family.
  3. It is best if the cakes are relatively fresh. And if you cook them on Maundy Thursday (as is customary among the people), then it will be more difficult to keep the cakes fresh. Although there are some tricks here as well.

Thus, if we say specifically about whether it is possible to bake cakes on the Friday before Easter, the answer will be: "Yes, you can."

It is possible to do these things on Saturday. It is only important to understand that the holiday itself is of paramount importance, and not its material attributes. That is, the household routine should not distract from reading the Bible, saying a prayer, and even more so - visiting the temple.

Is it possible to bake Easter on Good Friday: the arguments "against"

Traditionally in Russia, all preparations for Easter were completed in.

And other clergymen give a more detailed commentary. In general, they also answer positively to the question of whether it is possible to bake Easter cakes or prepare any other dishes on Good Friday.

At the same time, they add that in the Orthodox Church this issue is not regulated in any way, i.e. there are no special written instructions. However, a believer should understand that baking pies should not interfere with attending a service. On such a mournful day, attention should be paid first of all to the heavenly, and only then to the earthly.

Here, for example, is the first-hand answer - another comment from the priest:

Thus, we can answer positively the question of whether it is possible to bake Easter or even paint eggs and prepare other dishes on Good Friday. Of course, if there is time on Thursday or Saturday, then you can take up the culinary business these days.

One thing is clear: the holiday itself is primary. Table, food, drinks and other indispensable attributes are important, but they are secondary. Sincere involvement with the suffering of the deceased Savior, reverent prayer and attendance at the service are of paramount importance on Good Friday.

And as a last resort, Easter cakes and even colored eggs can be bought in the store.



The Annunciation is an important religious holiday. Many believers are interested in whether it is possible to bake cakes on this religious holiday. In addition, sometimes the Annunciation precedes or coincides with Easter.

Is it allowed to bake cakes for the Annunciation

The question of when it is possible and necessary to bake cakes is one of the most important for believers. However, the clarification of whether it is allowed to bake cakes for the Annunciation is considered one of the most significant just before Easter.

Note! As you know, on Great Saturday, which precedes Easter, the consecration of Easter and Easter cakes is already taking place. For this reason, if the Annunciation falls on the day before Easter and on Saturday, it is undesirable to bake cakes. The best solution would be the consecration of Easter baked goods and a visit to the temple, since you need to observe traditions and take care of your state of mind.




On Great Saturday, on which the Blagovest falls, you need to go to the temple for a festive church service. Only after visiting the temple is measured and light work at home allowed, since the Lord did not forbid doing work. Thus, you can bake a couple of Easter cakes if, due to serious circumstances, it was not possible to do this earlier.

Baking cakes for the Annunciation even before Easter should be an exception, not a tradition.

When is the best time to bake Easter cakes

Each believer decides on his own when it is best to bake cakes. Many priests advise preparing Easter cakes on Saturday. The ancestors prepared the dough in the early morning, realizing that it would take up to 10 hours to infuse the dough. In addition, today many women work and cannot allocate time on weekdays to prepare Easter cakes.




In some cases, Great (Passionate) Saturday and Annunciation coincide. On this day, it is advisable to give up hard work in the house and from culinary preparations. Thus, it is advisable to plan a complex and lengthy preparation of cakes for Clean Thursday, because this day is associated with homework and cleaning, preparations for the upcoming Easter.

Fact! Quick cakes and Easter cottage cheese can be prepared on Saturday evenings. The priests note: Easter baked goods prepared by the hostess during the Blagovest gain healing properties.




It is undesirable to cook Easter cakes a week before Easter. In situations where it is impossible to start cooking Easter cakes on Friday - Saturday, it is advisable to plan preparation for Easter lunch on Maundy Thursday.

Easter cakes can be bought or baked in advance. / 1zoom.ru

As already explained by "Glavred", according to the canon,. But this canon is not strict, that is, it is quite allowed to buy or bake a cake in advance. But when do they finish cooking the main Easter meal?

Is it possible to bake cakes for the Annunciation?

The question of whether it is possible to bake cakes on the Annunciation arises quite infrequently, especially in the years when this holiday falls on the last days before Easter.

In 2018, the Annunciation fell on April 7, that is, at the same time it coincided with Holy Saturday - another most important day of the church calendar.

On Great Saturday, the consecration of Easter and Easter cakes is already underway in churches. In addition, it is generally not recommended to work for the Annunciation (read more in the material :). The fact is that on any religious holiday, worldly affairs should recede into the background, and first of all, one should think and take care of the soul. For example, the hymn on Great Saturday reads: "All human flesh is silent, and let it stand with fear and trembling," because the Lord Himself is buried.

Thus, on Holy Saturday, first of all, you should try to go to the church for the festive service. But after a person has taken care of his soul, unhurried, light housework is also allowed.

"The Lord has never forbidden anyone to work. On holidays it is allowed to work if there is no other way out, but first of all it must be dedicated to the Lord. For this, they go to church, it is also worth taking communion if possible. But after the festive service on Saturday, you can bake a cake. or paint the Easter eggs - since the circumstances were so, and the person did not have time before, "Father Sergei explained to Glavred.

From ourselves, we add that, for example, it takes a lot of time - and the hostess may simply not have time to cook it at the last moment, so much so that the dish turns out to be successful. Therefore, it is better not to delay the preparation of Easter cakes and Easter.

Annunciation: signs and superstitions

According to popular belief, the Annunciation is not accepted:

  • to work and comb: there is even a saying "On the Annunciation, a bird does not build a nest, and a maiden does not weave braids." As for the hair, it is also not recommended to cut it - so as not to confuse your fate;
  • to sew and knit - so that fate does not get confused, like a thread in the fingers,
  • borrow money and give away some things from home - so as not to give away your well-being and health;
  • put on new clothes - otherwise it will deteriorate, tear or get dirty;
  • sow seeds and plant seedlings - so as not to lose the harvest. But on this day, the seeds were consecrated in order to get a rich harvest;
  • to burn candles - so as not to miss the blessed light of the Angel.

It is believed that the Proskurs consecrated on the Annunciation have the same healing properties as holy water.

What can you do on the Annunciation

Many believe that it is at the Annunciation that you can ask God for glory, happiness and wealth. To do this, in the evening on the Annunciation, you need to find the largest star in the sky and make a wish, after which you say: "God, give me great glory!"

Annunciation-2018: what you can eat

Since this year the Annunciation falls on Great Lent, you cannot eat fast food on this day.