This article will introduce you to the main moments of the celebration of Orthodox Easter.
How to celebrate Easter
Even in pre -revolutionary times, Easter was considered almost the main holiday of Orthodox Russia. She was continued to celebrate in the Soviet period, however, not with such a scale. So many traditions of ancient Easter became forgotten, but thank God they began to revive in our time.
How to celebrate Easter correctly
They begin to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the spring full moon comes, and the constant change of date of Easter celebration is associated with this. In 2014, Easter will be celebrated on April 20, and she will be preceded by 7 weeks of Lent. By tradition, all this time before Easter is unacceptable to eat meat.
Another of the main components of the preparation for the celebration of the Great Easter is a day called pure Thursday. It is on Thursday that it is customary to put things in order in the house and wash your body with clean water. Following the pure Thursday, two no less important days follow: passionate Friday and Great Saturday – this is the name of the days that precede the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. These days (Friday and Saturday) are devoted to the understanding of the death of Christ, who attended it the sins of people and discovered the way to save souls.
The beginning of Easter celebration
You should start with the passage at the festive table, the dominant place where Easter eggs and Easter cakes should take.
How to celebrate Easter
It is necessary to prepare these dishes before the net Thursday in order to have time to consecrate in the church on Great Saturday during the worship.
But the tradition – “paint eggs” came to us from the Roman emperor Tiberius. From the moment Maria Magdalene appeared before him and reported the news of the resurrection of Christ. She brought an egg with her as a gift (earlier the egg was the personification of life). The emperor exclaimed: “I will believe in the Resurrection of Christ only when a white egg, as if by magic, will become red.”. And at the same moment the egg miraculously turned red. From that time, it became customary to paint the eggs in red on Easter, the same could be achieved with the help of onion husks.
Although eggs and cakes were not the only dishes of the festive Easter table. In addition, it is customary to treat guests with a jacket baked by a bird, Buzhenina, Easter with cottage cheese.
How to celebrate Easter
Easter celebration at the home table does not end. Do not forget about the church worship, which will begin on the night of Sunday. In this case, the presence of a procession is mandatory in Easter service. So they call the moment when the clergyman with the flock will bypass the temple, singing Christ under the ringing of bells. The procession ends with the performance of Easter troparia by the clergy and believers. Then the abbot of the temple open the door so that everyone will enter the church again for the Easter Canon. Only after that can you begin to Christ (say: “Christ is risen” and answer “in truth risen”) and exchange eggs and cakes.
Easter continues to celebrate all 40 days. It was such a number of days that Christ and His disciples spent on earth after the resurrection. The holiday is particularly violently through the whole bright seven – a week after Easter. These days in the temples there are processions, solemn services sprinkling with holy water.
How to celebrate Easter
In these 40 days, it is also customary to visit each other, to Christ and give gifts: homemade painted eggs, small beautiful rations or Easter souvenirs: bunnies, baskets, birds, candles.
How to decorate the house for Easter
Easter is a symbol of the revival of life and awakening. And the flowers, as you know, is a symbol of the Renaissance. They then need to decorate the festive table, wreaths and icons. At the time of Easter on Easter, such floral arrangements can please: violets, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, lily of the valley or snowdrops.
