What is Easter for a secular post-Soviet person? In the old days, the country greeted this day with an all-Union subbotnik, and Sunday was an ordinary day off, except for the detachments of Komsomol and DND-shniki on duty at the churches. Then, with the fall of the regime, everyone rushed en masse to eat festive cakes, paint eggs and drag all kinds of food, including vodka, to the church for consecration. But the period of purification preceding the holiday, and the very meaning of the Resurrection of Christ, remains for many “outside the brackets”.
Cultural tradition, another reason to drink, or is it still a feast for the soul - what is Easter? In fact, the Passover holiday was celebrated by the ancient Jews in memory of the great exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. The meaning of this day can be found in the biblical book Exodus. Religious Jews on this holiday eat the sacrificial lamb - the lamb, whose blood smeared the doorposts. But our Lord also honored this day: “Jewish Passover was approaching, and Christ came to Jerusalem ... He sent disciples and said:“ Find where we can prepare Easter, ”we read in the New Testament. However, He put a new meaning into this concept.
What is Easter for Christians? This is, first of all, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for all mankind. He came to this world to give us his commandments, and so that everyone who believes will be saved. He showed, by his death, death is corrected, that it is possible for all people to resurrect to eternal life. But Easter is preceded by Lent: Believers, like Christ in the wilderness, must fast for 40 days. The entire week preceding the coming of the Resurrection is called the Holy Week in honor of the Passion of the Lord.
If we are preparing for Easter “for the soul,” we must go through all the stages of preparation. In the beginning - a restriction in food in order to cleanse your body and thoughts. Orthodox Great Lent is quite severe. It starts on Monday, and ends on Good Saturday. Orthodox during this period do not eat not only meat, but also dairy products, and on some days clergy and especially religious believers consume only bread and water. Sunday the week before Easter is called Palm (in the Russian tradition - Palm). On this day, our Lord entered Jerusalem, and the people honored Him, laying palm branches on the path of the procession. Since palm trees do not grow in our area to honor the coming of Christ, willow branches are cut and placed in water so that fluffy “cats” hatch in the heat.
A special date for those who know what Easter is, Holy (Holy Russian) Holy Thursday. On this day the Last Supper of the Lord took place with the apostles, when He, breaking bread, gave them, saying: "This is My body." Christ later retired to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed that the cup of suffering would circumvent him, was arrested by the betrayal of Judas, and brought to Pilate. On Good Thursday, it is customary to receive communion, as well as bathe in cold water, purifying our body from sins. For Protestants, the key day is Good Friday, when Jesus Christ was crucified at Calvary and died on the cross. On this day, Orthodox and Catholics fast especially severely. Saturday is a day of sorrow and expectation.
And finally, Sunday comes - not just the day of the week, but the Resurrection of the Lord. The all-night liturgy is ruled all night in the temples, believers sanctify Easter cakes and colored eggs. It is customary to give presents for Easter: in the Russian tradition, these are dyes (eggs boiled with food colors or just with onion husks to give them red - in color of the shed blood of Christ). In Ukraine, Easter eggs are exchanged - beautifully painted eggs, as well as pasquas - round Easter cakes symbolizing the sun. It is also customary to make sweet dough with raisins in the shape of a lamb. But in Germany in the sixteenth century a sweet custom was born, which later spread to other countries. It is believed that on Easter night magic hares come to the kindergarten in front of the house, which leave gifts for the children under the bushes - chocolate marzipan eggs. The morning begins with a bunch of kids scouring under the bushes in search of a little bag left by “hares” (dads and moms, of course).