EASTER EGGS

Easter Egg decoration has been inherited over each generation of Ukraine. It is now famous all over the world as a colorful Easter egg which appears at Easter now.
The Ukrainian Easter egg is called Pysanka (=singular number) or Pysanky (= plurality) in Ukraine language.
People believed "Big power exists in an egg", and had stuck and ornamented the color and the picture a long time ago before Christ appears of 2000 or more at the egg.

For the people of those days, the egg released the earth from long restraint of winter, and symbolized the starting of spring which promises a new hope, a new life, and prosperity.
In the present age, Easter egg is mainly exchanged as an intimate friend and a present, or is used as a decoration.

If pysanka is a simplest design, the work is completed in 2 - 3 hours by the wax-resist processing method (how to stick bees wax to an egg using stylus (referred to as kistka), and to dip an egg in dye of various colors) told from ancient times.

In Ukraine on Easter holidays while you enjoy Sunday meal, kids will surely involve you in their favorite Easter game: knocking the eggs – if you knock somebody’s egg and your egg is not broken – you are the winner.

EASTER BASKET

The Easter basket is the pride and joy of the family. People judge the mistress of the house according to the way her Easter basket looks, what it contains, and how it is decorated.
The basket should be lined with a newly embroidered serviette or with a white napkin. An embroidered serviette should be used to cover the basket.

Very ambitious housewives have two embroidered serviettes - one for lining the basket and one for covering it.
The basket should contain only a sampling of the foods you are going to eat at Eastertime not the entire contents of the refrigerator.
Easter basket should contain traditional Easter dishes such as:
Easter bread; eggs; salt; butter; cheese; horseradish; sausage or ham; and candle.

After priest blesses Easter basket, families go home to share Easter Bread, that is the pride and joy of the family.

EASTER BREAD

On Good Friday women bake Ukrainian Easter bread “Paska”. They place it into the oven saying:
“Holy Paska, be as grand and beautiful as the sun, because we are baking you for the sun. Let all members of our family be healthy. Let our children grow up as quickly as you grow. Come out as beautiful as you go in!"
People believe that:
When preparing Easter bread think only good thoughts.
Don’t let any strangers come into the house, they might put an evil eye on your Easter bread.
If you follow all of the instructions, the Easter Bread will be airy and tasty.

Paska is an Easter bread served at Easter in many Slavic countries. Paska is an enriched bread, made using butter, eggs, and sugar; an egg/water mixture is used as a glaze.
The inside of paska can be a swirl of yellow and white. The yellow represents the risen Christ in Christian faith, and the white represents the Holy Spirit. The Christian faithful in many Slavic countries honor this bread during Easter.

On Holy Saturday people decorate Easter eggs, basket and go to church for the Easter mass which lasts all night. When Saturday turns into Sunday people use traditional Easter greeting: “Christ has risen”, “Indeed, He has risen”

GOOD/BLESSED FRIDAY

The Friday before Easter is called Good or Blessed Friday.
On Friday morning family members get together and colors egg. They blend color in warm water, deep boiled eggs into the color and let them dry for an hour. Sometimes people paint ornaments on them later. Decorated eggs are called “Pysanky”.
In the afternoon “paska“, traditional Easter bread that is baked in special forms. The rest of the time is devoted to cooking a holiday meal.

CLEAN THURSDAY

First of all, by last Thursday before Easter which is called Clean Thursday, the following should be accomplished: all the major shopping should be done, the house should be carefully cleaned, pets and children should be washed, and the refrigerator should be filled up with food.

It is very important to go to bed after you take a long bath and get clean from head to toes.

WILLOW SUNDAY

Willow Sunday is the last Sunday before Easter. The first necessary item for this Sunday is Willow branches.
The willow is the first plant to get back to life after winter. The willows (used instead of palms) represent the scourging of Christ. One can get willow branches in any flower-shop in Ukraine. But always make sure the willows are fresh and fuzzy before you get them.
Next, by tradition you may take these branches to church, where willows are blessed during the special ceremony.
People used to tap each other with blessed willows and say
“Be as healthy as the Willow and as rich as the Earth; the willow is hitting,
I’m not hitting, a week from today, it will be Easter.”

According to old popular beliefs the week before Willow Sunday (Palm Sunday) "one should not either sow or plant anything which grows in the soil: potatoes, beetroots, carrots, radishes, onions and garlic because all these plants would
grow tough as willow.

EASTER in UKRAINE

In Ukraine Easter is celebrated on the 19th of April this year.

In Ukrainian, Easter is called Velykden (The Great Day), a term used in early Rus’ translations of John Damascene.

In Ukraine Easter has been celebrated over a long period of history and has had many rich folk traditions that are no longer fully preserved.

We would like to introduce some Ukrainian traditions connected with Easter.