How do Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter? Easter of Christ: the history and traditions of the holiday

The Sunday of Christ is over, but for some reason the believers continue to greet: “Christ is Risen!”

Great Orthodox holidays have days of pre-feast and after-feast - the period before and after the holiday itself, when its echoes sound in the service.

Afterfeast of Easter, the main Christian holiday, is the longest - 38 days.

Taking into account the day of the holiday itself and the day of giving, the Orthodox celebrate Easter for 40 days.
So much the Savior stayed on earth before His ascension.

Of this period, the first week after Easter, Bright Week, stands out.

On all days of this holiday, we greet each other with the words “Rise!” - “Truly He is risen!”, with which we confess our faith in the resurrection of the Lord, we exchange red eggs, which symbolize new life.

The word "Passover" in Hebrew means "deliverance".

The Christian New Testament Easter is the day on which our transition from death to incorruptible life, from earth to Heaven, took place.

By His resurrection, the Lord opened the gates of paradise to people, gave them great joy and hope.

The Savior resurrected on the night of the third day after death on the Cross, Himself, by the power of His Divinity. At night the earth shook, an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone from the door of the coffin-cave.

At dawn, the women, taking with them fragrant myrrh, went to the tomb to anoint the body of the deceased Savior. They saw the stone rolled away from the door of the tomb, and the angels who announced to them about the resurrection of Christ.

The myrrh-bearing women hurriedly told the apostles about this, but they did not believe.
However, John and Peter nevertheless ran to the tomb and saw in empty coffin folded burial clothes.
When weeping Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, the resurrected Christ appeared to her.
On the same day, other myrrh-bearing women, Peter, the Evangelist Luke, other apostles, except for Thomas, saw Him.
But first of all, according to Sacred Tradition, the resurrected Jesus appeared to His Most Pure Mother.

And so the celebration continues:

*at the end of the Paschal week, the Church continues to celebrate Easter, but with less solemnity, until the Ascension of the Lord, i.e. another 32 days;

*the total number of days of the celebration of Easter is 40 - exactly as much as Christ appeared to His disciples after the Resurrection.

DO'S AND DO'S FOR EASTER:

When can I break the fast at Easter?

Breaking the fast (the first fast meal after the end of the fast) on Easter is usually performed after the Liturgy and Communion. If you were at the Liturgy at night, then after the night service you can start the festive meal. If you came to the Liturgy in the morning, then in the same way - after Communion - you can break the fast. The main thing is to approach everything with a sense of proportion. Don't overeat.

If for some reason you cannot celebrate Easter in the temple, you can start breaking the fast at about the time when the festive Liturgy ends in the temples. How good is the Church in this respect? We fast together and break the fast together. That is, we do everything together. This is what the modern world lacks so much - commonality.

How to spend Easter day?

Are there things that cannot be done?

On this day, you can not be sad, walk gloomy and swear with your neighbors. But just remember that Easter is not 24 hours, but at least a whole week - Bright Week. In the liturgical plan, the Resurrection of Christ is celebrated for seven days.

Let this week be an example of how we should always behave in society, among people.

How should you spend Easter? Rejoice, treat others, invite them to visit you, visit the suffering. In a word, everything that brings joy to your neighbor, and therefore to you.

What can you eat on Easter and can you drink alcohol on Easter?

On Easter you can eat and drink everything, the main thing is to do it in moderation. If you know how to stop in time, you can treat yourself to all the dishes, drink wine or some strong drinks - not to the point of being very intoxicated, of course. But if you find it difficult to limit yourself, it is better not to touch alcohol. Rejoice in spiritual joy.

Can I work on Easter?

Most often, the question of whether to work or not does not depend on us. If you have a day off on Easter Sunday, this is, of course, very good. You can visit the temple, and meet with loved ones, and congratulate everyone.

But it often happens that we turn out to be forced people and, according to the work schedule, are forced to work on Easter. There is nothing wrong if you work hard. Maybe you can be sad about this, but no more than five minutes! Obedience is obedience. Do your work on this day in good faith. If you fulfill your duties in simplicity and truth, the Lord will surely touch your heart.

Is it possible to do homework on Easter? Cleaning, knitting, sewing?

When we read somewhere that there is a ban on homework on a holiday, we should understand that it is not just a ban, but a blessing that we spend this time in attention to the Lord, the holiday and our neighbors. So that we do not get hung up on worldly fuss. The ban on working on Easter is not canonical, but rather a pious tradition.

Household chores are an integral part of our lives. You can do them on a holiday, but only by approaching this wisely. In order not to spend Easter doing general cleaning until the very night. Sometimes it is better, for example, to leave unwashed dishes in the sink than to be annoyed at household members who have not washed their dishes.

What does it mean if a person dies on Easter?

Is this a sign of God's special mercy or a punishment?

If a believer dies on Pascha or Bright Week, for us this is indeed a sign of God's mercy towards this person. folk tradition He even says that the one who died on Pascha enters the Kingdom of Heaven without ordeals, that is, bypassing the Last Judgment. But this is “folk theology”, dogmatically, after all, every person will be judged and will answer for his sins before the face of God.

If an unbeliever dies these days, then, I think, it means absolutely nothing. After all, even during his lifetime, the Resurrection of Christ was not for him a sign of deliverance from death...

Can I go to the cemetery on Easter?

There has never been such a tradition in the Church. She was born among people during the Soviet Union, when a person was deprived spiritual communication and removed from the Church. Where else to meet afterlife, about which the Church speaks and with faith in the existence of which the authorities fought so cruelly? Only in the cemetery. No one could forbid visiting relatives at the graves.

Since then, it has been customary to go to the cemetery on Easter. But now, when the churches are open and we can go to the Easter service, it is better to go to the cemetery to visit relatives on other days. For example, on Radonitsa - on the day when, according to tradition, the Church commemorates the dead. Arrive there early, put the graves in order, sit quietly nearby and pray.

How should we greet each other at Easter?

Easter greeting - angelic. When the Myrrh-Bearing Women came to the Holy Sepulcher to anoint the body of the crucified Christ with spices, they saw an Angel there. He announced to them: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” That is, he told that the Savior had risen.

We greet our brothers and sisters in faith at Easter with the words "Christ is Risen!" and we answer the greeting: “Truly He is risen!”. Thus, we tell the whole world that for us the Resurrection of Christ is the basis of life.

What is customary to give for Easter?

On Easter, you can give your neighbor any pleasant and necessary gifts. And it will be good if any gift has an Easter egg, decorated or red. The testicle as a symbol of evidence of new life - the Resurrection of Christ.

The red color of the Easter egg is a memory of the tradition according to which Mary Magdalene gave the emperor Tiberius an egg for Easter. The emperor told her that he did not believe that a person could be resurrected, that it was as incredible as if this white egg suddenly turned red. And, according to legend, a miracle happened - in front of everyone, the egg turned red, like the blood of Christ. Now the painted egg is a symbol of Easter, the Resurrection of the Savior.

What to do with the shells of consecrated eggs and stale Easter cake?

A pious tradition tells us not to throw away with the garbage what is consecrated in the temple. All this can be burned, for example, on a personal plot, and bury the ashes where people and animals will not trample on it with their feet. Or put it in the river. Or, having agreed in advance with the attendant in the temple, bring the shells there: in every temple there is a so-called "impregnable place."

COMmemoration of the dead on the days of EASTER

Easter is a time of special and exceptional joy, a celebration of victory over death and over all sorrow and sorrow.

The Church, taking into account the psychology of people, separates the days of celebration and the days of sorrow. That joyful exultation that the Church communicates to the faithful at Easter is separated from the mood of sadness that accompanies the commemoration of the departed.

And the current custom to visit cemeteries on the first day of Easter contradicts the most ancient institutions of the Church: until the ninth day after Easter, the remembrance of the dead is never performed.

On Easter and throughout Bright Week, for the sake of the great joy of the Resurrection of Christ, all funeral services and memorial services are canceled in the Temples.

The first commemoration of the dead and the first memorial service is performed on the second week, after Fomin Sunday, on Tuesday - Radonitsa (from the word joy - after all, the celebration of Easter continues). On this day, a memorial service is served and believers visit the cemetery to pray for the departed, so that Easter joy is passed on to them.

Is it possible to go to the cemetery after Easter and clean up the graves until memorial days?

After the Wednesday of Bright Week, you can already go to the cemetery to clean the graves of your loved ones after the winter before the Radonitsa holiday.

In the event of the death of a person, and death on Easter is traditionally considered a sign of God's mercy, then the funeral service is performed according to the Easter rite, which includes many Easter hymns.

You can commemorate at home, you can also submit notes, but a public commemoration on Easter days in the form of a memorial service is not held.

If the anniversary of death falls during Easter and Bright Week, the commemoration is postponed for the period starting from Radonitsa.

Easter is the most important holiday of Christians and is dedicated to one of the main events in biblical history- Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is celebrated in both Orthodox and Catholic and Jewish temples, however, in each religion, the celebration falls on different numbers and months. Moreover, the annual dates of the celebration also differ, which makes it a passing holiday. The only thing that remains the same from year to year is the celebration in the spring and only on Sundays.

Word "Easter" derived from the Greek πάσχα , which means in translation "deliverance". In the Orthodox and Catholic churches, it is believed that by his atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ delivered people from the power of sin and managed to show that it is possible for every person to rise in eternal life. Easter has a completely different meaning in Judaism.

In this religion, its celebration is associated with biblical tradition about the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt and their subsequent exodus from the country under the leadership of the prophet Moses. Thus, the various tribes of Israel were able to get rid of the Egyptian yoke and unite into a single people.


According to the Gospel, Jesus Christ was executed and resurrected during the celebration of the Jewish Passover, so many Christian communities initially celebrated their event at the same time as the Jewish one. Some christian churches had their own practice, different from the generally accepted.

Only in 325, at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, convened by Emperor Constantine the Great, it was decided to abandon the focus on the Jewish date and start celebrating Easter for all communities at the same time. The day of the celebration was chosen the first Sunday after the first full moon, coming.

For an accurate calculation, a special technique was created (paschalia), which allows you to determine the day of the Old Testament Easter in the solar calendar (Julian, Alexandrian or Gregorian).

By decision of the Pan-Orthodox Conference, held in Moscow in 1948, the date of Easter in Russia is calculated according to the Julian calendar and falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the day of the spring equinox (March 21).


Moreover, if the equinox falls on a Sunday, then Easter is celebrated on the next day off. In 2015, Orthodox Russians will celebrate this event on April 12, in 2016 Easter will fall on May 1.

As in Russia, the majority of residents in Ukraine profess Orthodox religion, so the Ukrainian Easter falls on the same day as the Russian one. Celebrations begin on the night from Saturday to Sunday.

Believers take Easter baskets with food and go to temples, where priests sprinkle everything brought with holy water and hold festive services.

In calculating the date of the celebration of Easter in Catholic churches the Gregorian paschal, compiled back in the 16th century by the German mathematician Christopher Clavius ​​and the astronomer Aloysius Lily from Italy, is used.

As in Orthodoxy, the Catholics take the first Sunday following the spring equinox as the starting point, but March 21 in this case is determined not according to the Julian, but according to the Gregorian calendar. In 2015, Easter will be celebrated on April 5, and in 2016 on March 27.

In Judaism, Passover is called Pesach. Synagogues in their calculations are guided by the Jewish lunisolar calendar, according to which all dates fall on the same moon phase. Passover begins on the 14th day of Nisan (the first month of the biblical year) and is celebrated for 7 days in Israel and 8 days outside of it.


In 2015, Jews around the world will celebrate the event from the evening of April 3rd to the evening of April 10th. During this period, the Torah forbids its adherents from eating bread and other products containing grains that were leavened during cooking.

1. Purpose of this study

Our goal is to find all the truthful information about the religious holiday Easter. Analysis of this information will help to find out whose holiday it is; who celebrates it and why; what does Christianity and other religions have to do with it; what are the real reasons for introducing and forcing this and other religious holidays.
Why did Easter attract our attention, and not some other holidays?
Because this holiday is considered the most important among Christians, because a holiday with this name exists in several religions; and because between that and what the priests say about this holiday, there are obvious and fundamental contradictions. So we decided to find out this question once and for all.
In our research, we will rely on the text of the Bible and on our analysis of this text.

2. Christian definition of Easter

In the Christian religion, the Easter holiday is defined as follows:
« Easter , the day of the Resurrection of Christ is the most main holiday Orthodox Church. That is the main meaning Orthodox faith- God himself became a man, died for us and, having resurrected, delivered people from the power of death and sin. Easter is a holiday of holidays! .. " (site "Easter").
"Feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, Easter , is the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians and the biggest Orthodox holiday. The word "Easter" came to us from the Greek language and means "transition", "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. Just as our redemption was accomplished by Christ's death on the cross, so eternal life is granted to us by His Resurrection. The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation and crown of our faith, it is the first and most great truth which the apostles began to proclaim…” (site "Testament").
« Easter (Greek πάσχα, from Hebrew פסח‎ - Passover, lit. from Hebrew “passing by”); in Christianity also the Resurrection of Christ (Greek Η Ανάστασις του Ιησού Χριστού) - the most ancient Christian holiday; the most important feast of the liturgical year. Established in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At present, its date in each particular year is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar (movable holiday) ... " (Wikipedia).
If you do not take into account the frank verbiage that religious sites sin, then it is written here that this an ancient Christian holiday» established in honor of resurrection of jesus christ. However, this is lies. The Easter holiday was set much earlier and for a completely different reason! And it was originally established not for Christians, but for Jews. And if Easter were the feast of the resurrection of Jesus, and not his murder, then the living Jesus Christ would have to be depicted everywhere, and not dying in agony on the cross. Our priests lie to us and when they claim that the resurrection of Jesus is "the main event of the year for Orthodox Christians"! The Bible clearly states that the Passover feast still existed. BEFORE crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ! A little later we will show and prove it ...
In addition, it is necessary to clearly and unambiguously understand the term.
Orthodoxy never had anything to do with any religion. Orthodoxy - is a part Vedic worldview, the Vedic way of life of our Ancestors of the Slavic-Aryans. But not a religion . There has never been a religion in Russia. Orthodoxy is life according to the Law, according to the rules, the observance of which ensured continuous evolutionary development. This is the fundamental difference between Orthodoxy and any religion: Orthodoxy leads people up, along the path of development and knowledge; and religion pushes people down, to fanaticism and degradation - to prayers and endless begging for everything they need from the next God.
The first religion to appear in Russia was Cult of Dionysius(Greek religion), which was called Christianity only in the Middle Ages, or rather, in the 16th century. And Orthodoxy has existed for over 10,000 years. It was created to help in the development of people who survived the world nuclear war and followed it, which occurred about 13 thousand years ago. Then there was a turn of the earth's axis, and the "great flood", and "nuclear winter", and the almost complete savagery of all who survived after this horror. Almost everything was destroyed, and the task was at least to survive.
Knowledge was quickly forgotten and lost as unnecessary. And then those of our Ancestors who managed to evacuate the planet in time on the Whitemans, Whitemars and through the Gates of the Interworld came up with a set of simple Rules for the survivors, the observance of which allowed them not to descend to the level of intelligent animals, but to gradually return to their high level of evolutionary development, which was with the Slavic-Aryans before the Catastrophe. This is what it is Orthodoxy . It has nothing to do with Christianity or any other religion...
And the fact that the clergy began to call themselves "Orthodox Christians"- this cunning, but it's easier to say - deception . They diligently destroyed the truthful information about Orthodoxy, and hoped that the flock would always stupidly and obediently follow the shepherds of the Jewish god Jehovah. And for a while it was. But now everything has changed radically. The adverse effect on Humanity has ended, and people have begun to wake up from the mental sleep in which they have been immersed for the last thousand years.
In addition, other important events took place that were of decisive importance not only for our planet, but also for millions of other inhabited planets and civilizations in the Universe.

3. Jewish definition of Passover (Pesach)

In the Jewish religion (Judaism), the holiday of Passover (Pesach) is defined as follows:
« Pesach (Hebrew פֶּסַח‎, lit. “passed, walked around”, in Ashkenazi pronunciation - Passover / Peisoch; Aram. פִּסְחָא‎, Pischa; in Greek and Russian - Easter ) - central jewish holiday in memory of the Exodus from Egypt. It begins on the 15th day of the spring month of Nisan and is celebrated for 7 days in Israel and 8 outside of Israel ... In memory of these events in Jerusalem, it was prescribed to perform a ritual slaughter of a one-year-old male lamb, without blemish, which should be baked on fire and eaten completely ... " (Wikipedia).
As can be seen from this definition, the Jews appointed the Passover holiday in order to thank their God Jehovah with sacrifices for allegedly sparing the Jewish firstborn when he killed everyone else in Egypt (the so-called 10th plague). The Bible says this about it: Jewish slaves it was ordered by God to slaughter them lambs and anoint the doors with their blood their homes so that the angels when they will commit mass executions, could distinguish the houses of "their own" from the houses of the Egyptians. And so, allegedly for this service, the Jews to this day thank their God with sacrifices and call it the word “Pesach” ...

4. Where did the Christian holiday Easter come from?

5. Why was Jesus Christ killed?

6. Why are we forced to celebrate religious holidays?

Indeed, why? Why are we encouraged in one way or another to celebrate many religious holidays? Are the churchmen really concerned that we have a good rest, that we good mood to be healthy and happy? To have healthy, smart and happy children? ..
In no case!
Neither churchmen, diligently ministering, are interested in this. Dark Forces several millennia, nor these Forces themselves, which have been at war for millions of years with everyone who does not want to be their slaves. And what is the matter here? There are several answers to this question, and these answers complement each other.

2. Accustoming to despair and hopelessness
Oddly enough, churchmen try to keep their flocks in blackness, despair and hopelessness. And they need it in order to break the will people, the natural desire for Light and Life. People with a broken will cannot resist anything, but can only ask And beg. This is exactly what our implacable enemies - the Dark Forces - and the church miners who have been working for them for centuries need. They zombify the flock with religious intoxication, accustom them to passivity and freebies (you just need to pray well and ask), and simply cynically set everyone up. This is well illustrated by gloomy church paraphernalia and widespread advertising of the crucified and bloodied Jesus Christ.
It would seem, why should everyone go in cycles in the process of torment during the ritual murder of the beloved and revered God? But this is the whole point of the Jewish religion of Christianity. By this they support their hatred for Radomir, and at the same time teach the goyim (non-Jews) to suffering, long-suffering (“Jesus endured and commanded us…”), despair and hopelessness, like the goy God - Jesus Christ, who was martyred by the Jews.

7. Conclusions

* * *

These simple conclusions can be easily drawn from the information found and analyzed.
A lot of pictures can be found if you search pictures upon request with the words "SEMANA SANTA". You will be amazed at the results! You will see not only huge, maddening crowds of people who annually in a frenzy repeat the suffering of Radomir during the ritual execution. You will see that, and understand all of it mortal danger for each of us and for all Humanity…

“If in this life alone we hope in Christ,
then we are the most miserable of all people!” (1 Cor. 15:19).

It would seem that the meaning of Easter - as we usually call our main holiday - is quite transparent. Alas! Experience tells a different story. Here are just two of the most typical examples.
Lesson in one "Orthodox gymnasium". Wanting to reveal the level of knowledge of children, I ask: “How did Christ and the apostles celebrate Easter?” - A reasonable answer follows: “They ate Easter cakes and colored eggs”! There is nothing to object to! How about adults?

Easter night breaking fast in one church. Indeed, we eat eggs and Easter cakes (and not only). "Suddenly" one no longer young singer comes to mind important thought, and he perplexedly turns to the priest (with a theological education). “Father! Here we all sing and sing "Christ is Risen!" And we call the holiday "Easter"! So after all, the Jews celebrate Easter, but they do not believe in Christ at all! Why is that?!"
This is no exception: that what since childhood, we perceive at the household level, as a kind of beautiful ritual, it seems to us for granted and does not require study.
Let's arrange an "Easter lesson" for ourselves and ask: what associations does the Easter greeting "Christ is Risen!" give rise to in our minds? - "Truly Risen!"
Night procession with candles, - everyone will immediately answer, - joyful singing and mutual kisses. Food familiar from childhood appears on the home table - red and painted eggs, ruddy Easter cakes, vanilla-scented curd Easter.
Yes, but this is only the external paraphernalia of the holiday, a thoughtful Christian will object. - And I want to know why our feast of the Resurrection of Christ is usually called the Hebrew word "Easter"? What is the connection between Jewish and Christian Passover? Why is the Savior of the world, from whose birthday mankind counts new era, was bound to die and be resurrected? Could not the all-good God establish New Union (Covenant) with people differently? What is the symbolism of our Easter service and holiday ceremonies?

The historical and symbolic basis of the Jewish Passover is the epic events of the book of Exodus. It tells about the four-century period of Egyptian slavery, in which the Jewish people, oppressed by the pharaohs, lived, and the wonderful drama of their liberation. Nine punishments (“Egyptian executions”) were brought down on the country by the prophet Moses, but only the tenth made the cruel heart of the pharaoh soften, who did not want to lose the slaves who built new cities for him. It was the defeat of the Egyptian firstborn, followed by the "exodus" from the House of Slavery. At night, in anticipation of the beginning of the exodus, the Israelites make the first Easter meal. The head of each family, after slaughtering a one-year-old lamb (lamb or kid), anoints the doorposts with its blood (Ex. 12:11), and the animal baked on fire is eaten, but so that its bones are not broken.
“So eat it like this: let your loins be girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staffs in your hands, and eat it with haste: this is the Passover of the Lord. And this very night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to cattle, and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And your blood will be a sign on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood and pass over you, and there will be no destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:11-13).
So on the night of the first spring full moon (from 14/15 of the month of Aviv, or Nisan) in the 2nd half of the 13th century BC, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt took place, which became major event Old Testament history. And Easter, which coincided with deliverance, became an annual holiday - a memory of the exodus. The very name "Easter" (Heb. P e sakh- “passage”, “mercy”) indicates that dramatic moment (“the tenth plague”), when the angel of the Lord who struck Egypt, seeing the blood of the Paschal lamb on the doorposts of Jewish houses, passed by And spared the firstborn of Israel (Ex. 12:13).
Subsequently, the historical character of Easter began to express special prayers and a story about its events, as well as a ritual meal consisting of lamb meat, bitter herbs and sweet lettuce, which symbolizes the bitterness of Egyptian slavery and the sweetness of newfound freedom. Unleavened bread reminds of hasty gathering. Accompanying the Easter homemade meal are four cups of wine.

The night of the exodus was the second birth of the Israeli people, the beginning of its independent history. The final salvation of the world and the victory over the "spiritual slavery of Egypt" will be accomplished in the future by God's Anointed One from the family of King David - the Messiah, or, in Greek, Christ. So at first all the biblical kings were called, and the question of who in their row will be the last remained open. Therefore, every Easter night, the Israelites waited for the appearance of the Messiah.

Performance: "Heavenly Easter"

“With all my heart I wished to eat this Passover with you
before my suffering! I tell you, don't eat it for me anymore,
until it is accomplished in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15-16)

The Messiah-Christ, who came to deliver all people from the spiritual "Egyptian slavery", takes part in the Jewish "Passover of expectation". He completes it with the fulfillment of the Divine plan inherent in it, and thereby abolishes it. At the same time, the nature of the relationship between God and man is radically changing: having fulfilled its destiny temporary Union God with one people becomes "old" ("obsolete"), and Christ replaces them new - And eternal! –Union-Covenant co everyone humanity. During his last Easter at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ utters words and performs actions that change the meaning of the holiday. He Himself takes the place of the Paschal sacrifice, and the old Pascha becomes the Passover of the new Lamb, slain for the cleansing of people once and for all. Christ establishes a new Paschal meal - the sacrament of the Eucharist - and tells the disciples about His imminent death as about the Passover sacrifice, in which He is the New Lamb slain "from the foundation of the world." Soon He will descend into the gloomy Sheol (Hades) and, together with all the people who were waiting for Him there, will make a great Exodus out of the kingdom of death into the shining kingdom of His Father. It is not surprising that the main prototypes of the Calvary sacrifice are found in the ritual of the Old Testament Passover.

The Passover lamb (lamb) of the Jews was "male, without blemish" and was sacrificed on the afternoon of Nisan 14. It was at this time that the Savior's death on the cross followed. The executed should have been buried before dark, so the Roman soldiers, in order to hasten their death, broke the legs of two robbers who were crucified with the Lord. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he had already died, and they did not break his legs.<...>. For this happened in fulfillment (of the words) of Scripture: "Let not his bone be broken" (John 19:33, 36). At the same time, the very preparation of the Paschal lamb was a prototype of the death of the Savior on the cross: the animal was “crucified” on two cross-shaped stakes, one of which ran along the ridge, and the front legs were tied to the other.
This deepest relationship between the old and the new Pascha, their concentration (the abolition of one and the beginning of the other) in the person of Jesus Christ explain why His feast Sunday retains the Old Testament name Easter. “Our Passover is the sacrificed Christ,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 5:7). Thus, in the new Easter, the final completion of the Divine plan for the restoration of the fallen ("old") man in his original, "heavenly" dignity took place - his salvation. “The Old Passover is celebrated because of the salvation of the short life of the Jewish firstborn, and new Easter- because of the gift of eternal life to all people," St. John Chrysostom so succinctly defines the relationship between these two celebrations of the Old and New Testaments.

Easter is a forty-day holiday

Day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ - as "holidays, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations" ( Easter chant) - requires special preparation from Christians and therefore is preceded by Great Lent. The modern Orthodox Easter (night) service begins with the Lenten Midnight Office in the church, then turning into a solemn procession of the cross, symbolizing the myrrh-bearing women, marching to the Savior’s Tomb in the pre-dawn darkness (Luke 24: 1; John 20: 1) and informed of His resurrection in front of the entrance to the tomb. Therefore, the festive Easter Matins begins before closed doors temple, and the bishop or priest leading the service symbolizes the angel who rolled away the stone from the doors of the Sepulcher.
Joyful Easter greetings end for many already on the third day, or with the end of the Easter week. At the same time, people are surprised to accept Easter greetings and embarrassedly clarify: “Happy Easter?” This is a common misconception in the non-church environment.
It should be remembered that the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ does not end with Bright Week. The celebration of this greatest event for us in world history continues for forty days (in memory of the forty-day stay on earth of the Risen Lord) and ends with the “Pascha Giveaway” - a solemn Easter service on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension. Here is another indication of the superiority of Easter over other Christian celebrations, none of which is celebrated by the Church for more than fourteen days. “Easter rises above other holidays, like the Sun above the stars,” St. Gregory the Theologian reminds us (Conversation 19).
"Christ is Risen!" - "Truly Risen!" We greet each other for forty days.

Lit.:Men A., prot. Son of Man. M., 1991 (Part III, ch. 15: "Easter of the New Testament"); Ruban Yu. Easter (Holy Resurrection of Christ). L., 1991; Ruban Yu. Easter. Bright Resurrection of Christ (History, worship, traditions) / Nauch. ed. prof. Archimandrite Jannuary (Ivliev). Ed. 2nd, corrected and supplemented. SPb.: Ed. temple icons Mother of God"Joy of All Who Sorrow" on Shpalernaya St., 2014.
Y. Ruban

Questions about Easter

What does the word "Easter" mean?

The word "Passover" (Pesach) literally translated from Hebrew means: "passing by", "transition".

At times Old Testament this name was associated with the exodus of the sons from Egypt. Since the ruling pharaoh resisted God's plan to leave Egypt, God, admonishing him, began to consistently bring down a series of disasters on the country of the pyramids (later these disasters were called "Egyptian plagues").

The last, most terrifying disaster, according to God's plan, was to break the stubbornness of the pharaoh, finally crush the resistance, induce him, finally, to submit to the Divine will.

The essence of this last execution was that among the Egyptians all the first-born were to die, starting from the first-born of cattle and ending with the first-born of the ruler himself ().

This execution was to be carried out by a special angel. In order that he, striking the first-born, would not strike along with the Egyptian and Israeli, the Jews had to anoint the jambs and crossbars of the doors of their dwellings with the blood of the sacrificial lamb (). And so they did. The angel, seeing houses marked with sacrificial blood, bypassed them "side", "passed by." Hence the name of the event: Easter (Pesach) - passing by.

In a broader interpretation, the Easter holiday is associated with the Exodus in general. This event was preceded by the offering and consumption by the entire society of Israel of Easter sacrificial lambs (at the rate of one lamb per family; in case this or that family was not numerous, it had to unite with its neighbors ()).

The Old Testament Paschal lamb represented the New Testament, Christ. Saint John the Baptist () called Christ the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. The apostles also called the Lamb, by whose blood we are redeemed.

After the Resurrection christian easter, in the environment of Christianity, began to be called the Holiday dedicated to this event. IN this case the philological meaning of the word "Easter" (transition, passage) received a different interpretation: the transition from death to life (and if we extend it to Christians, then it is also a transition from sin to holiness, from life outside of God to life in the Lord).

Little Easter is sometimes called Sunday.

In addition, the Lord Himself is also called Easter ().

Why is Easter celebrated if Easter was celebrated even before the birth of Jesus Christ?

In the days of the Old Testament, the Jews, following the Divine will (), celebrated Easter in remembrance of their exit from Egypt. Egyptian slavery was one of the darkest pages in the history of the Chosen People. Celebrating Easter, the Jews thanked the Lord for the great mercies, good deeds, associated with the events of the period of the Exodus ().

Christians, celebrating the Easter of Christ, remember and sing of the Resurrection, who crushed, trampled death, gave all people the hope of a future resurrection into eternal blessed life.

Despite the fact that the content of the Jewish Passover is different from the content of the Passover of Christ, the similarity in names is not the only thing that connects and unites them. As is known, many things, events, persons of the time of the Old Testament served as prototypes of New Testament things, events and persons. The Old Testament Easter lamb served as a type of the New Testament Lamb, Christ (), and Old Testament Easter- a type of the Easter of Christ.

We can say that the symbolism of the Jewish Passover was realized on the Passover of Christ. The most important features of this figurative connection are the following: just as through the blood of the Passover lamb the Jews were saved from the damaging effect of the destroying angel (), so we are saved by the Blood (); just as the Old Testament Easter contributed to the liberation of the Jews from captivity and slavery to the pharaoh (), so the Sacrifice of the Cross of the New Testament Lamb contributed to the liberation of man from slavery to demons, from the captivity of sin; just as the blood of the Old Testament lamb contributed to the closest unity of the Jews (), so the Communion of the Blood and Body of Christ contributes to the unity of believers in one Body of the Lord (); just as the consumption of the ancient lamb was accompanied by the eating of bitter herbs (), so Christian life filled with the bitterness of hardships, suffering, deprivation.

How is the date of Easter calculated? Why is it celebrated on different days?

According to Jewish religious tradition, in the days of the Old Testament, the Passover of the Lord was celebrated annually on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (). On this day, the slaughter of Easter sacrificial lambs took place ().

From the Gospel narrative it follows convincingly that the date of the Cross suffering and death chronologically corresponded to the time of the Jewish Passover ().

From then until the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ, all people, dying, descended in souls into. The path to the Kingdom of Heaven was closed to man.

From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is known that there was a special area- the bosom of Abraham (). The souls of those Old Testament people who especially pleased the Lord and fell into this area. How contrasting was the difference between their state and the state of sinners, we see from the content of the same parable ().

Sometimes the concept of "Abraham's bosom" is also referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven. And, for example, in iconography Doomsday the image of the "bosom ..." is used as one of the most common and significant symbols of Paradise dwellings.

But this, of course, does not mean that even before the Savior's crushing, the righteous were in Paradise (Christ's victory over hell took place after His Cross Suffering and death, when He, being in the tomb with His body, descended by Soul to the underworld places of the earth ()).

Although the righteous did not experience those grave sufferings and torments that fierce villains experienced, they were not involved in the indescribable bliss that they began to experience after being released from hell and elevated to Glorious Heavenly villages.

We can say that in some sense the bosom of Abraham served as a type of Paradise. Hence the tradition to use this image in relation to the Heavenly Paradise opened by Christ. Now everyone who seeks can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

At what point in the service on Saturday does Holy Week end and Easter begin?

On Saturday evening, usually an hour or half an hour before midnight, as the rector decides, a celebration is celebrated in the churches. Despite the fact that in separate manuals the following of this service is printed together with the following of Holy Pascha, according to the Charter, it still belongs to the Lenten Triodion.

The Vigil before the Pascha of Christ emphasizes the importance and significance of the expectations of the coming Triumph. At the same time, it recalls the vigil of the people of God (sons) on the night before their departure from Egypt (we emphasize that it was with this event that the Old Testament Easter was associated, which represented the Cross Sacrifice of Christ).

In the continuation of the midnight office, censing is carried out around, after which the priest, raising it on his head, takes it (Facing to the east) into (through the Royal Doors). The shroud is laid on, after which censing is performed around it.

At the end of this service, it happens (in commemoration of how they went, with aromas, to the Sepulcher of the Savior), and then Paschal is already performed.

At the end of the procession, the faithful stop with reverence in front of the gates of the temple, as if before the Sepulcher of Christ.

Here the rector initiates Matins: "Glory to the Saints...". After that, the air is filled with the sounds of the festive troparion: "Christ is risen from the dead" ...

In the Orthodox environment, there is an opinion that if a person died on the day of Easter, then his ordeals are alleviated. Is this a popular belief or church practice, tradition?

We believe that in different cases such a "coincidence" can have a different interpretation.

On the one hand, we understand well that God is always open to man with His () and (); it is only important that the person himself strive for unity with God and the Church.

On the other hand, we cannot deny that on the days of the Main Feasts of the Church, and, of course, during the Easter Celebrations, the unity of believers with God is manifested in a special way. Let us note that on such days churches are (often) filled even with those Christians who are very far from regular participation in church services.

We think that sometimes death on Easter can testify to a special mercy for a person (for example, if a saint of God dies on this day); However, such considerations cannot be elevated to the rank absolute rule(this can lead to superstition).

Why is it customary to paint eggs at Easter? What colors are allowed? Is it possible to decorate Easter eggs with icon stickers? How to deal with the shell from the consecrated eggs?

The custom of believers to greet each other with the words "Christ is risen!" and giving each other colored eggs dates back to ancient times.

Tradition firmly connects this tradition with the name of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Marina Magdalene, who, by the way, went to Rome, where, having met with Emperor Tiberius, she began Her own with the words “Christ is Risen!”, Giving him, at the same time, a red egg.

Why did she give the egg? The egg is a symbol of life. Just as from under a seemingly dead shell life is born, which is hidden until time, so from the tomb, a symbol of corruption and death, the Life-giver Christ arose, and someday all the dead will rise.

Why was the egg given to the Emperor by Marina Magdalene red? On the one hand, red symbolizes joy and triumph. On the other hand, red is a symbol of blood. We are all redeemed from a vain life by the Blood of the Savior shed on the Cross ().

Thus, giving eggs to each other and greeting one another with the words “Christ is risen!”, Orthodox Christians profess faith in the Crucified and Risen One, in the triumph of Life over death, the victory of Truth over evil.

It is assumed that in addition to the above reason, the first Christians dyed eggs the color of blood, not without the intention of imitating the Old Testament Easter rite of the Jews, who smeared the jambs and crossbars of the doors of their houses with the blood of sacrificial lambs (doing this according to the word of God, in order to avoid the defeat of the firstborn from the destroying angel) () .

Over time, other colors became established in the practice of dyeing Easter eggs, for example, blue (blue), reminiscent of, or green, symbolizing rebirth to eternal blissful life (spiritual spring).

Nowadays, the color for dyeing eggs is often chosen not on the basis of its symbolic meaning, but on the basis of personal aesthetic preferences, personal fantasy. Hence and so a large number of colors, up to unpredictable.

It is important to remember here: the color of Easter eggs should not be mournful, gloomy (after all, Easter is a great Holiday); in addition, it should not be too defiant, pretentious.

It happens that Easter eggs are decorated with stickers with icons. Is such a "tradition" appropriate? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to take into account: an icon is not a picture; this - christian shrine. And it should be treated exactly like a shrine.

Before the icons it is customary to pray to God and His saints. However, if the sacred image is applied to the egg shell, which will be peeled off and then, perhaps, thrown into the garbage pit, then it is obvious that the “icon” can also get into the trash along with the shell. It seems that it is not long before blasphemy and sacrilege.

True, some, fearing to anger God, try not to throw away the shells from the consecrated eggs into the trash: they either burn it or bury it in the ground. Such a practice is permissible, but how appropriate is it to burn or bury the faces of saints in the ground?

How and when is Easter celebrated?

Easter is the oldest church holiday. It was established back in . So, Paul, inspiring the brothers in faith to a worthy, reverent celebration of the Day of the Resurrection of Christ, rivers: “cleanse the old leaven to be a new test for you, since you are unleavened, for our Pascha, Christ, was slain for us” ().

It is known that the early Christian united under the name of Easter two adjoining weeks: the previous day of the Resurrection of the Lord and the next. At the same time, the first of the indicated weeks corresponded to the name "Easter of Suffering" ("Easter of the Cross"), while the second - to the name "Easter of the Resurrection".

After the First Ecumenical Council(held in 325, in Nicaea), these names were forced out of church use. For the week preceding the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, the name "Passion" was fixed, and for the next - "Light". The name "Easter" was established behind the Day of the Resurrection of the Redeemer.

Worship on days bright week filled with solemnity. Sometimes the whole week is called, as it were, one Bright Holiday of Easter.

In this Christian tradition, one can see a connection with the Old Testament, according to which the feast of (Jewish) Passover was connected with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted from the 15th to the 21st day of the month of Nisan (on the one hand, this holiday, celebrated annually, was supposed to remind the sons of the events of the exodus of their people from Egypt; on the other hand, he was associated with the beginning of the harvest).

In the continuation of Bright Week, worship is carried out with the open - in commemoration of the fact that, through the Resurrection, victory over and death, he opened the gates of Heaven to people.

The giving of Pascha takes place on Wednesday of the 6th week, in accordance with the fact that before His Day, the Lord Risen from the Sepulcher, walking the earth, showed himself to people, testifying to His Resurrection.

In total, until the day of giving Easter - there are six Weeks: the first - Easter; the second is Fomina; the third - holy myrrh-bearing women; the fourth is about the relaxed; the fifth is about the Samaritan woman; the sixth is about the blind.

During this period, the Divine dignity of Christ is especially sung, the miracles performed by Him are remembered (see:), confirming that He is not just a Righteous Man, but the Incarnate God, Who Resurrected Himself, correcting death, crushing the gates of the kingdom of death, - for our sake .

Is it possible to congratulate people of other faiths on Easter?

Pascha of Christ is the most solemn and great Feast of the Ecumenical Church (according to the metaphorical statement of the holy fathers, it surpasses all others by the same church holidays how much the brilliance of the sun surpasses the brilliance of the stars).

So, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, visiting Rome, greeted the pagan emperor Tiberius with this proclamation. “Christ is risen!” she told him, and presented a red egg as a gift.

Another thing is that not every non-believer (or atheist) is ready to respond to Easter greetings (if not with joy, then at least) calmly. In some cases, this kind of greeting can provoke irritation, rage, violence and anger.

Therefore, sometimes, instead of an Easter greeting of this or that person, it is appropriate to literally fulfill the words of Jesus Christ: “Do not give shrines to dogs and do not throw your pearls in front of swine, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces” ().

Here it is not bad to take into account the experience of the Apostle Paul, who, by his own admission, while preaching the faith of Christ, tried to adapt to the circumstances and the psychological state of people, being for the Jews - like a Jew, for the sake of gaining the Jews; for those under the law - as under the law, for the sake of acquiring the under the law; for those who are strangers to the law - as a stranger to the law (without being, however, himself a stranger God's law) - to acquire alien law; for the weak - as the weak, for the sake of gaining the weak. For everyone, he became everything in order to save at least some of them ().

Is it possible to work and clean on Easter days?

It is customary to prepare for the Easter holiday in advance. This means that the work that can be done in advance is better done in advance. Work that is not connected with the Holiday and does not require immediate execution, it is better (for the duration of the Holiday) to postpone.

So, for example, the ancient Christian monument "The Apostolic Ordinances" gives a firm indication that neither in Holy Week, nor in the Paschal (Bright) week following it, “let the slaves not work” (Apostolic Decrees, Book 8, ch. 33)

However, there is no unconditional ban on any kind of work at all during the Easter period, regardless of the circumstances.

Suppose there are many types of professional, official and social activities that require the indispensable participation of one or another person, regardless of his desire and from.

This kind of activity includes: law enforcement, military, medical, transport, fire fighting, etc. Sometimes, in relation to this kind of work on the Feast Day, it is not superfluous to recall the words of Christ: God's God» ().

On the other hand, exceptions to work can occur even when it comes to such daily tasks as cleaning the house, washing dishes.

Indeed, if during the Easter holiday the table is filled with dirty plates, spoons, cups, forks, food waste, and the floor is suddenly flooded inappropriately with some kind of drink, all this will need to be left as is until the end of the Easter celebrations?

What is the tradition of consecrating bread - artos?

On the Bright Day of Easter, at the end of the Divine (after the ambo prayer), a solemn consecration of a special one takes place - a (literally translated from Greek, “artos” means “bread”; in accordance with the meaning of the name Easter (Pesach - transition) as the transition from death to life , in accordance with the consequence of the Resurrection as the Victory of Christ over and death, the Cross crowned with thorns is imprinted on the artos, a sign of victory over death, or an image).

As a rule, artos relies on opposite the icon of the Savior, where, then, it remains in the continuation of Bright Week.

On Bright Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, the artos is shattered; at the end of the Liturgy, on Saturday, it is distributed for consumption by the faithful.

As in continuation Happy Holiday believers eat Easter in their homes, so in the days of Bright Week in the houses of God - the temples of the Lord - this consecrated bread is presented.

In a symbolic sense, artos is compared with the Old Testament unleavened bread, which was to be eaten, in the continuation of the Paschal week, by the Israel people, after they were freed by the right hand of God from Egyptian slavery ().

In addition, the practice of consecrating and preserving the artos serves as a reminder of the apostolic practice. Accustomed to eating bread with the Savior, during His earthly ministry, they, according to Him, gave Him a part of the bread and laid it down at the meal. This symbolized the presence of Christ among them.

This symbolic line can be strengthened: serving as an image of Heavenly Bread, that is, Christ (), the artos serves as a reminder to all believers that the Risen One, despite the Ascension, is constantly present in, in accordance with the promise: “I am with you all the days until the end of the age »().

Ends great post and the feast of Passover is approaching. And this means that festive festivities will take place throughout the country, believers will bake, cook Easter, paint eggs and just enjoy the holiday. But very few of those who celebrate Easter actually know what this holiday means, when it appeared and what all the Easter attributes symbolize. And to help figure it out, we will talk about the history and essence of the Easter holiday and its significance for believers.

Easter in ancient times

Initially, the tradition of celebrating Easter came from Jewish people and was associated with the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery by the prophet Moses. Then the name of this holiday sounded like P e sah - "to pass", in the meaning of "to deliver", "to spare". The Jews celebrated Easter for 7 days, which every orthodox Jew had to spend in Jerusalem. In memory of the Exodus from Egypt, on the day of Passover, the Jews practiced a ritual slaughter in the Temple of a one-year-old male lamb, without blemish, which was then baked on fire, and eaten completely, without breaking the bones, with unleavened bread (unleavened bread - matzah) and bitter herbs in the family circle on Easter evening. This lamb was called that - Easter - and served as a prototype of the Savior and a reminder of his coming coming. Bitter herbs symbolized the bitterness of Egyptian slavery. Also on Easter evening, the family ate gruel from fruits and nuts and four glasses of wine, and the father of the family told the story of the exodus of Jews from Egyptian slavery at the festive table. Bread, as already mentioned, was used only unleavened - in memory of the fact that the Jews with great haste left Egypt and did not have time to leaven the bread.

Easter in early Christianity

After the coming of Jesus Christ Easter was rethought and acquired a completely different meaning. Now Easter was a type of death and Resurrection of Christ. In Scripture, these changes were described as follows: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). “Our Passover, Christ, was slain for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

Now it is already impossible to determine exactly what date (in our chronology) the event of the Resurrection took place. For example, in 2011 Easter falls on April 24th. The word "drops out" is not chosen by chance. As you know, the date of the celebration of Easter is not fixed, like most holidays. And the calculation of this date is quite complicated.

The fact is that the Jews lived according to the lunar calendar, and not according to the solar calendar, as we are now. These calendars differ from each other by 11 days: in solar year, as you know, 365 days, and in the lunar - 354 days. In addition, in lunar calendar errors accumulate very quickly, which cannot be corrected. That is why it is now difficult to calculate the day on which the Easter holiday will fall.

The Gospel records that Christ was crucified on Friday the 14th day, and on Sunday the 16th day of the month of Nisan, “on the first day of the week” (after Saturday). In early Christianity, this day was called the Lord's, later, among the Slavs, it began to be called Sunday. The month of Nisan itself corresponded to the modern March-April.

The acute question of the choice of the day and the solemn celebration of Easter once a year arose only by the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, because it happened that Christians living in different territories had different calendars - and therefore the date of the celebration of Easter varied more and more stronger. Besides, Jewish Passover and Easter of the Christians of Asia Minor continued to exist as separate holidays. Based on the current situation, in the IV century. The Church has decided that Easter will be celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. The period for which this day can fall was determined as April 4 - May 8. The obligation to notify the chosen day of Pascha each year lay with the Bishop of Alexandria, who, guided by special astronomical calculations, by special Paschal epistles informed all churches of the day of Pascha in the current year.

How did the external paraphernalia of the holiday change during the period early christianity? In the writings about Easter by various Christian writers (Apollinaris of Hierapolis, St. Hippolytus of Rome, etc.), it is said that Great Lent before Easter symbolized the suffering and death of Christ, and Easter was now called "The Cross". Fasting continued until Sunday night, after which the Resurrection of Christ was celebrated as Pascha of Joy, or "Sunday Easter". Until now, many of the festive elements of Easter, which were formed in early Christian times, have been preserved in the services of Maundy Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in the special structure of the night service in the week of Easter, in the celebration of Sunday Easter until the Ascension.

Easter in the Middle Ages and Modern Times

Since the 8th century, when Rome adopted the eastern Paschalia, and for 500 years, Easter has been celebrated by agreement between the Churches of the East and West.

But in 1582 the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Roman Catholic Church Gregory XIII). Since 1583 Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new Easter, called the Gregorian, as a result of which there was a transition to more accurate astronomical dates - and the Catholic Easter, depending on the year, began to be celebrated earlier than the Jewish one or coincide with it and be ahead by an average of a month.

Easter in the modern world

In the first third of the X century. attempts were made to create a new Julian calendar, even more accurate than the Gregorian, but these aspirations were unsuccessful, and at the Moscow meeting it was decided that Easter and all rolling holidays are celebrated by all Orthodox Churches according to the Julian calendar, and non-transitional ones - according to the calendar by which this Church lives.

Today julian calendar only the Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian and Serbian Orthodox Churches, as well as Athos, are fully used. Finnish Orthodox Church switched completely to Gregorian calendar. The rest of the Churches celebrate Easter and other movable holidays in the old style, and Christmas and other non-moving holidays in the new style.

Easter celebration and Easter traditions in the modern world

IN modern world Easter is preceded by a seven-week fast - as a time of repentance and spiritual cleansing. After Lent, on festive Sunday, the Easter service begins, which differs from the usual church services and structure, and the words that are pronounced on it.

All believers during the Easter service make sure to take communion, and after the end of the service, the believers “Christen,” that is, they kiss when they meet and exchange the words: “Christ is Risen!” and "Truly Risen!"

The celebration of Easter lasts forty days - according to the number of days that Christ appeared to His disciples, after which he ascended to God the Father. During this time, and especially in the first week, the most solemn, people go to visit each other, exchange Easter cakes and.

What do the Easter attributes used in the celebration of Easter mean? Why do we bake Easter cakes, paint eggs, “Christify” and wait for the blessed fire? Now we will look at the most basic Easter attributes and try to answer all these questions.

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It is a symbol of church artos, that is, a large bread, on which a wreath of thorns and a cross or the image of the Resurrection are depicted. Since ancient times, this bread has been considered a symbol of Christ's victory over death; during the meal, the apostles always left an empty place at the table in the middle and put the bread intended for Christ on it. Even the church Paschal rite is associated with the artos, which is expressed in the fact that the artos is carried around the temple with a procession and left on a special table following the example of the apostles, and at the end of the Easter week, on Saturday, after blessing, it is distributed to believers.

colored eggs

First of all, it is worth saying why the egg. According to legend, Mary Magdalene, having arrived in Rome to preach the Gospel, presented an egg to Emperor Tiberius as a gift, since she simply did not have enough money for more. During the offering, the preacher told the emperor that Christ had risen from the dead, like a chicken that would hatch from this egg.

Why is it dyed? The fact is that the emperor, in response to such words of Magdalene, asked: “How can a person rise from the dead? It's like an egg now turning from white to red." And then a miracle happened - the egg turned from white to red, symbolizing the shed blood of Christ.

In Russia, it is also customary to roll Easter eggs on the ground to make it fertile.

Easter fire

Easter fire, symbolizing the Light of God, enlightening all nations after Christ's resurrection, plays an important role in the Easter service. There is an Easter tradition according to which Great Saturday, on the eve of Easter, the Holy Fire appears in the Holy Sepulcher, which subsequently spreads throughout Orthodox churches so that believers can light their candles from it. After the service, many take the lamp with the fire with them and try to keep this fire going all year round.

IN pre-revolutionary Russia existed, and in the West there is still a tradition of kindling a large fire on the temple grounds. This fire is a symbol of Light and Renewal, and is also sometimes understood as a symbol of the burning of Judas. In addition, the Easter bonfire has another meaning - those who left the church or did not reach it can warm themselves near it, so it can be understood as the bonfire near which Peter warmed himself.

Easter greeting ("christening")

Starting from Easter night and for the next forty days, it is customary for believers to "Christify", greeting each other with the words: "Christ is Risen!" - “Truly Risen!”, And kiss three times. This Easter tradition comes from apostolic times: "Greet one another with a holy kiss."

And finally, I would like to say that Easter is another great occasion to spend the weekend in a special way. If you live near a forest or a park, you can make a small feeder, collect crumbs from the holiday cake and go to the forest to feed the birds. It will give the kid an unforgettable experience! If there are children's centers near your house or just street parties, it would be a very good idea to participate in this together with your little one. And, of course, if you live in the capital, you should not forget the annual Easter festivities in the center of Moscow - on Red Square, Vasilyevsky Spusk, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The main thing on this day is not to sit at home, but to take advantage of the additional opportunity to arrange a holiday for yourself and your child!