Monday, May 2, 2016

Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter



May 1, 2016 (UNIAN News agency) This year Orthodox Christians are celebrating Easter on May 1, they greet each other with the words: 'Christ is risen!' and the traditional response: 'Truly He is risen!' The Resurrection of Christ, in relation to the Crucifixion, constitutes the essence of the Christian Easter, which is the center of the celebrations of worship of God in the Orthodox Church. In Ukraine, Easter, which is the most important religious holiday of the year, is known as Velykden (The Great Day) and always takes place on Sunday. Special Easter services are held in c hurches across the country. On Saturday night, Orthodox Christians go to church for the Easter service which lasts until morning. In the morning, priests bless the food baskets brought by believers.

Traditionally, many families celebrate the day with a special Easter meal consisting of the Paskha, or Paska (a type of Easter bread), and eggs colored mainly in red. Red is believed to represent the blood of Christ. The Paska is a baked cake decorated with glaze and sprinkles. The Ukrainian traditions say that one must necessarily eat at least one piece of it. The egg tapping game, or egg knocking, is also common in Ukraine.

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