Easter for Russians is one of the most beloved holidays, second only to the New Year in its popularity. On the Bright Sunday of Christ, almost everyone breaks the fast, takes Christ and eats Easter cakes - regardless of how strictly a person observed all the Orthodox canons preceding this day, and whether they observed them at all. According to Secretary of the Kursk Diocesan Administration Father Oleg Chebanov, the reason for such popular love lies in the fact that "there are things that we understand with the mind, but there are those that we reach with the heart." “It is no coincidence that Easter is called the Feast of Feasts and the Triumph of Triumphs. In spirit, we always strive upward - to God, therefore, in the soul, any person feels that Easter is the most important holiday, evidence of the victory of life over death, ”said the priest.

True, opinions on how to properly celebrate this holiday differ greatly. Some, for example, argue that on this day in no case should you go to the cemetery, while others - every year, despite all these conversations, they go there. Someone believes that only those who fasted can break the fast on Easter morning. Others, not observing fasting, nevertheless arrange real feasts. So what can and cannot be done on Easter? Father Oleg Chebanov told about this.

Is it necessary to visit the cemetery on Easter?

Here it is necessary to turn to history. For almost a millennium, our country has lived in complete harmony between the Church and the state, and the Church has always had a special meaning for an Orthodox person. After the October Revolution, these ties, unfortunately, were destroyed. They tried to roll up the church in asphalt, at Christmas, Easter, entire police cordons were put up to prevent people from getting into the church. But the fact is that any Orthodox Christian, praying for health, also prays for the repose of the dead. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition in Russia: when coming to a cemetery, where there was always a cemetery church, a person turned to a priest who came to the grave and served lithium.

But in the Soviet years, people went to the cemetery on Holy Sunday of Christ, knowing full well that if they were forbidden to go to the temple and perform divine services there, then no one could forbid them to go to the cemetery. Therefore, a huge number of people went to the cemetery that day. This tradition is wrong, although it is not worth condemning people who follow it. You just need to remember that the Easter holiday is the triumph of life over death, so the whole Easter week should be rejoicing, not mourning. In the temples these days there are no funeral services and requiem services at all. This period, in its emotional mood, corresponds to life and joy about life, rather than sadness about the death of a loved one.

Moreover, the Saturdays of the second, third and fourth weeks of Lent are the so-called parental Saturdays, when the dead are commemorated. If a person lives according to the church charter, he knows all these things, and therefore he does everything right - on parental Saturday he commemorates the dead, on Easter he rejoices in life.

Do I need to carry food to the cemetery - eggs, Easter cake, etc.?

This is completely redundant. We still commemorate the deceased with prayer, and the place of remembrance should not be a cemetery, but a house where relatives and friends of the deceased gather. Going to the cemetery and arranging various reckless feasts there is a pagan tradition and it has been preserved mainly in the villages, there is practically no such thing in the city. Moreover, after an egg or Easter cake is crushed on the grave, it becomes a haven for flocks of crows, often dogs. It's completely useless.

Should everyone break the fast at Easter?

Still, the one who started talking should still talk. In a spiritual sense, what is fasting? This is the preparation of the soul for the experience of the passions of Christ and the preparation for the meeting of the risen Christ. How do we prepare to welcome some precious guest? We try to put things in order in the house, prepare a magnificent, solemn meal, put ourselves in order, But it turns out that if I didn’t talk too much and didn’t keep the fast, then a great, precious guest comes to me, and I have a dirty rag under the threshold, the remains of food where - something in the kitchen, the bed is not made. And then what is the point of meeting this guest and how then to break the fast if we did not observe this fast. As a family tradition, there is a place to break the fast for those who do not fast, but in a spiritual sense, this is pure profanity. Without fasting, there is no point in breaking the fast.

How and at what time should you break the fast?

You can break the fast on Sunday, only after the end of the festive service. It usually ends at 3-4 am. But Easter is an unusual day, so getting up at 7 in the morning is not necessary at all. When all family members wake up, put themselves in order - you can sit down at the festive table. And it's not scary if this happens, for example, at 11 o'clock in the morning.

As for how this should be done, the Church does not prescribe a clear sequence of actions.

What products for Easter can be consecrated in the church?

In general, what we started talking about in a post, so we should break our fast. Therefore, in the church it is possible to illuminate “thickened milk”, that is, cottage cheese, cheese, meat products, lard, eggs. Sometimes parishioners bring salt for lighting - but the Bible does not say anything about this. And of course, the obligatory product is Easter cake.

Does Easter cake have to be prepared according to some special recipe?

Kulich is a festive Easter bread, it should be more solemn, magnificent, expensive compared to the bread that we usually eat. However, the recipe can be very different - as they say, for an amateur. At the same time, one should not focus too much on the recipe: food should not distract from the most important thing - prayer.

Does an Easter egg have to be red?

The tradition of red Easter eggs is associated with the legend of Mary Magdalene. According to legend, when Mary came to the emperor Tiberius and announced the Resurrection of Christ, the emperor said that it was as impossible as a chicken egg being red. And after these words, the chicken egg that he was holding turned red.

Of course, to a greater extent, the red color should prevail, because on the one hand, it is the color of triumph (even the vestments of the priests during the Easter service are red), and on the other hand, it is the color of the martyrdom of Christ. However, today people have a huge choice - you can paint an egg in almost any color you like. The Church does not allow it.

Another issue is the various stickers that are now also offered as decorations for Easter eggs. If they depict, for example, a chicken, flowers, even the letters "ХВ" - this is allowed, but if the face of Christ, the Virgin, other saints - this is already unacceptable. After all, after we clean the egg, these stickers with faces, along with the shell, will go to the trash can.

Shouldn't the leftovers of consecrated Easter food be thrown away?

It is better, of course, not to do this - after all, drops of holy water fall on the products. You can, for example, collect leftover food - shells, sausage skins, etc. - and bury them somewhere at the end of the week.

At Easter, everyone must greet each other with the phrase “Christ is Risen!” and exchange eggs?

Christening is a ritual in the church Easter service and the congratulation of believers to each other on the Easter holiday, in which one says "Christ is risen", and the other answers - "Truly risen". According to church tradition, the custom of such a greeting goes back to the apostles, who, when they met, told each other the good news.

Easter greetings were by no means limited to christening in church. The words "Christ is Risen!" and the answer to them with kisses and the mutual gifting of colored eggs was the usual greeting to each guest throughout the entire Easter week. However, kissing should only be with people of the same sex.

There is a tradition - to beat Easter eggs against each other. Is this not sacrilege?

No. In order to eat an egg, it must be broken in any case. So break, eat and rejoice in the resurrection of the Savior! The Church does not allow it.

Central Federal District, Kursk (Kursk region)

The Holy Apostle Paul says that if Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain. But since Christ is risen, we rejoice. This is the main dogma of our faith, our life, because the Lord suffered, was crucified, died for us and rose again, that is, he opened the doors to eternity, to the kingdom of heaven for everyone and gave us this joy. This is a great joy, on the eve of which the apostles, the mother of God and the myrrh-bearing women were in sorrow. But the Lord said that joy would soon come, and no one would take this joy away from people. Indeed, when the Lord resurrected, everyone began to say to each other: "Christ is risen" . And they answered: "Truly Risen" . And this expression spread all over the world. This is how we greet each other at Easter ever since.

This joy is special, and the soul of every person is joyful on this day, because people are sent down such grace from God that a person cannot express - this is an internal state. Blessed Augustine said that the soul is by nature a Christian. This feeling of Christianity is renewed at Easter, just like flowers awaken and bloom in spring. They willy-nilly go to the sun, because it is time to flourish. So the soul of man awakened, because Easter came.
/ Photo: Irina Domoratskaya

– How should Easter be celebrated according to the Orthodox tradition?
- First of all, you need to go to the temple. Pray, be in the service. On this day, the parishioners in the church remember the biblical events and ask that now the Lord grant his grace and help and consecrated food to our health, help, and joy. Meals are consecrated - this is like thanksgiving to God: we must always remember that the Lord sends us everything. After returning from the church, the head of the family blesses the table, the Lord's Prayer is read, and only then does everyone have breakfast. Everyone eats the consecrated Easter cake, cottage cheese Easter and painted eggs. According to the church charter, adults are allowed to drink some wine. After breakfast, children can play different games: roll eggs, play cue ball. By tradition, Christians paint eggs, which are a symbol of Easter and eternal life. Even on a holiday, you can exchange gifts and souvenirs.

How does your family celebrate Easter?
We celebrate the holiday like everyone else. We come from the temple at five in the morning and go to rest. And later we sit down with the whole family at the table, sing the troparion, give out colored eggs to the children, beat the eggs and have breakfast. During the day we participate in the Easter morning at Sunday school, which is usually held at three o'clock. After the morning we return home. Children relax, play, meet friends, congratulate each other on Easter. Then the whole family prepares for the evening service.

- It has become a tradition that people go to the cemetery on Easter and commemorate the dead. Is it correct?
- Not. The times of persecution are over... Earlier, in Soviet times, people used to go to the cemetery, because the cemetery was consecrated and considered a holy place. During the time of atheism, temples were destroyed and people went to the cemetery, because there were crosses and it was possible to pray. People have this habit, but it needs to be changed. Times have changed, and, following the tradition of the church, you have to go to churches on Easter. And in the cemetery we go to Radonitsa. The holy church establishes this day to commemorate the dead and is translated as “a procession to the cemetery” in order to share Easter joy with them.

- Is it acceptable to bring colored eggs to the cemetery and leave alcohol and various dishes there?
“Eggs are not to be carried to graves. Flowers should be brought to the grave. You can take a candle or lamp with you, light it on the grave and pray. A "table" should be arranged at home and at home to commemorate the dead. Drinking in the cemetery and spilling alcohol on the grave is prohibited.

- Tell me, how should you prepare for Easter?
- On Pure Thursday, 12 Passionate Gospels are read and the Last Supper is remembered. The Lord established the holy sacrament of the Eucharist and blessed us on this day to symbolically partake of the body and blood of Christ. Therefore, on Pure Thursday, people tried to take communion, cleanse their souls from sins and thoughts. Usually they washed and cleaned the house not on Thursday, but the day before. On Clean Thursday, they tried not to work in the field, not to plant a garden, but dedicated this day to God. Friday is a strict fast. Until the evening they do not eat food, you can only drink water. There are reliefs for the weak and children. On Saturday, a service is performed, which during the day passes from guard duty to Easter. Somewhere at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, the priests change into a festive white robe, and in the evening a festive Divine service is already held. Believers observe fasting, but after dinner, food with oil is allowed, especially for the weak and infirm.

- Before the consecration of the testicles, some parishioners partially peel the shell. Is it necessary?
- There is no need. This is a superstition by which a Christian shows his disbelief in the power of holy water. And the power of holy water is such that even one drop of it sanctifies the sea.

With the bright Resurrection of Christ!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. It is she who gives us strength, and the Lord charges us for the whole year until next Easter. Therefore, I wish everyone to forgive insults to each other, reconcile with each other and go to God's temple with faith, consecrate Easter eggs, Easter cakes, and other dishes, and that Easter joy would be with all people throughout the year.

Rector of St. Tikhon's Church in the city

Why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer to this important question amazes many believers. Oddly enough, but many do not even know that on Easter, from the point of view of the Orthodox religion, it is completely wrong to go to the cemetery.

This is even considered a great sin, because, a bright holiday, the first, in a series of subsequent forty holidays, you need to spend among your family and in the circle of close relatives who are still alive. Easter is, first of all, the feast of the living. What not to do in

Where did the ban come from

It must be said that the tradition of going to the cemetery on Easter appeared among believers in Soviet times. Then, as you know, religion was banned, traditions were not passed down from generation to generation, and often there was simply no one to turn to for advice on what to do right and when. Consequently, during this period, people who believed in God tried to somehow preserve traditions: as best they could.

In order to somehow celebrate Easter, people strove to visit the cemetery on this day, so that they could calmly share their joy there with already deceased relatives. At least they won't hand over the KGB and write a complaint. But, now, when religion is again held in high esteem and every person who reaches out to God has the opportunity to learn about everything, ask questions, and observe rituals correctly, one should remember that Easter is a bright holiday, it is a holiday of living people.

On Easter Day, the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is celebrated and on this day it is necessary
think only about something good, rejoice. Rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ has risen and thereby proved that there is no death, there is only a transition to eternal life, to the Kingdom of God. Easter is precisely the celebration of life, but not of death. Over the next few weeks, there will be a special day for this when you need to go to the cemetery with the good news. But this is not done on Easter itself.

When to go to the cemetery in honor of Easter

Why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer has already been received. Now let's look at exactly what day is specially allocated in the church calendar in order to go to Easter with the bright news of the Resurrection of Christ. Here we are talking about Tuesday, the second Tuesday after the holiday. That is, not on Easter week, but immediately after it. This is a big memorial day during the Orthodox year, it even has its own special name - Radonitsa or Radunitsa. In some countries, this day is an official holiday. options, .

We must also understand that for us the people who lie in the cemetery are dead, but for Christ every soul, regardless of whether the body lives or not, is alive. So, there is no big difference for the Lord with what a person wants to be christened: with a living relative or a dead one, in principle, does not exist.

About church canons

It should be noted about why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer is that, of course, there are no strict prohibitions according to church canons. If a person wants to think about the dead people and commemorate them on Easter, then no one will forbid it. But here it should be remembered that, if possible, it is better to postpone the commemoration until a day specially allocated for this.

In some sources today you can find information that the custom of going to the cemetery on Easter appeared long before the October Revolution. In tsarist Russia, many ancestors lived in the countryside, the roads there were bad. The temple, as a rule, was built next to the cemetery. So, in order not to go far to the same place twice, many immediately after the Easter service went to the graves of their ancestors to lay a painted egg there and congratulate the deceased relatives on the feast of Easter. Many believe that the tradition of visiting the cemetery on Easter has developed in this way.

All the same, if you read modern church literature or talk with a priest, it will be noted there that on Easter itself you should not go to the cemetery. This holiday is not a day of sorrow, you need to rejoice and have fun on Easter. Moreover, now, after a long Great Lent, this can finally be done. It is worth remembering that already on the second Tuesday after Easter, there will be Radonitsa Day. It is on this day that you need to go to the cemetery to inform the deceased relatives, friends and relatives that Christ is Risen from the dead. Excellent way.

Why you can’t go to the cemetery on Easter, the priest’s answer suggests that it’s best to postpone this trip until a special memorial day. I would like to remind you that, according to the Orthodox tradition, it is not necessary to carry food to the cemetery: dead people, in whom only the soul is alive, do not need human food. However, you can take a painted egg with you to the cemetery as a symbol of Easter and eternal life after death.

On Tuesday of the second week after Easter Sunday, Orthodox people celebrate a special day of remembrance - parental, called Radonitsa. Since Easter has already passed nine days, many people have reasonable questions: do they paint eggs for Radonitsa and bake Easter cakes for Radonitsa? On the one hand, if a lot of food was prepared for the holiday, then something else may remain, and when the expiration date allows, then why not take them to the cemetery. On the other hand, if there are no blanks left, is it necessary to specially prepare these symbolic products in order to arrange a memorial meal on parental day?

And if necessary, what exactly is customary to cook on this day? And is it necessary to additionally consecrate this food before going to the resting place of relatives? We have collected the most detailed answers to these and other burning topics to help you understand the intricacies of ancient Slavic traditions and religious rules.

According to church traditions, on this day it is necessary to commemorate the dead relatives and friends, and this should be done with Easter eggs and Easter cakes. Moreover, an important condition is that these symbolic products must be consecrated in the church. Therefore, if you do not have any consecrated painted eggs left from the great holiday, then you will have to paint them in advance before the memorial day and go to church to consecrate them. and directly on Radonitsa, since on this day it is not forbidden to work. Then do this before going to church, after the service, bless the food and then go to the cemetery. Actually, the clergy say that, regardless of whether you need to consecrate food or not, a visit to the temple on Radonitsa is a must before going to the churchyard.

We figured out the question of whether eggs are painted on parent's day, now let's find out what colors are best for doing this. It is believed that eggs should be dyed red and brown for Easter, which echoes the biblical story. But on Radonitsa it is preferable to use green and yellow colors. People attribute this to the fact that Radonitsa falls on the so-called "green" week, which is why such a color scheme is chosen. In addition, in the Slavic tradition, shades of green were considered the color of the world of the dead and sadness. That's why it is recommended to paint eggs separately on Radonitsa - to guess with the color.

In order to get the desired shade of eggs, it is not necessary to resort to modern dyes. Everything you need for coloring is literally at hand. To do this, you will need to go to the market or take a walk to the nearest park to get the ingredients.

To get a green gamut, you can choose from:

• birch leaves;
• nettle;
• sorrel;
• spinach.

With the help of the leaves of these plants, shades from light green to yellowish can be obtained. To prepare a coloring broth, pour any amount of foliage with a liter of water and boil them for fifteen minutes. The more greens you put in, the richer the color will be. After the broth boils, leave it to brew for an hour.

In the meantime, you need to prepare the eggs for painting.

1. Cool boiled eggs to room temperature.
2. Dry them thoroughly.
3. Degrease the surface by wiping with a cotton swab dipped in vodka.
4. Check that the shell is intact, without cracks.

After an hour, dip the eggs into the infused broth, bring to a boil and cook them on low heat for ten minutes. After that, pull out on a napkin and let the eggs cool.

How to lay a funeral table

It is equally important to take Easter cakes to the cemetery, and it would be better if you take freshly baked Easter cakes. If the hostess has absolutely no time for the long process of kneading yeast dough and baking, then you can get by with Easter cakes bought in the store. During this period, they are still sold in sufficient quantities in bakeries and supermarkets, knowing that many people will need them for Radonitsa. The main thing is that you have time to take the Easter cakes to the church in order to consecrate, since this is a key condition for the parental memorial day.

But not only painted eggs and Easter cakes consisted of traditional memorial meals for Radonitsa among our ancestors. In different parts of a large country, people prepared numerous dishes. Yes, in terms of wealth they were inferior to the Easter feasts, but still no one left the table hungry.

Traditional dishes for Radonitsa

People brought some of the various dishes to the church so that the beggars, who were looked after by the parish, had a good dinner. In our time, this charitable tradition is also met with gratitude. And from the generally accepted dishes, each housewife is free to choose what she cooks to her liking and according to culinary possibilities. But the key dishes that must be present at the meal on Radonitsa will be colored eggs, Easter cakes and kutia.

Many traditions of how our ancestors commemorated the dead on Radonitsa have migrated to modern life, but the Orthodox Church has a clearly negative attitude towards them. In particular, we are talking about what people did in the churchyard with colored eggs. Trying to "treat" the deceased relatives with festive food, people put several eggs on the grave, buried them in the ground right on the grave, or broke the shell right on the cross. Often a glass of vodka was placed on the tombstone, and in some regions of the country, vodka was even poured onto the ground at the grave. Large feasts were arranged near the resting place of relatives. All such actions in the modern world are considered unacceptable by the clergy, since these are signs of a Slavic funeral feast, and not of Orthodox traditions.

Painted eggs and Easter cakes are brought to the cemetery not to leave them on the graves, but to treat them to people begging at the churchyard gates.

You have found on the grave of a deceased relative something that looks like a magical lining: coins, candles, parcels, bags, a bottle, a handkerchief on a fence, or something else. What does this mean and how should we respond?

The lining on the grave is a fairly common thing. Alarming letters are constantly written to me about some finds found on the graves of deceased relatives. Here is a standard example: "Hello, Vladimir Petrovich! We were at the cemetery, and on a birch tree next to the grave of the father-in-law, they found a white cotton scarf tied in a knot (grandmothers like to wear such). Tell me, please, is this a cause for concern?"

There is no reason for the author of the letter to worry. If the appearance of this scarf on the grave was of witchcraft origin (and, for sure, it is), the grave was simply chosen, suitable for a number of signs (gender, name, age of the deceased, etc.). For example, in some magical ritual it could be said that after certain manipulations, a scarf tied to a knot should be left on the grave of a man with a name that matches the name of the object of witchcraft. Your father-in-law's grave met those criteria, that's all.

The vast majority of strange finds on the graves have just such an origin. With the help of cemetery magic, they induce and remove damage, make love spells and lapels, provoke or treat ailments, solve the problem of alcoholism, etc. But, in any case, such things usually have nothing to do with the relatives of the deceased, on whose grave a magical lining was found. The grave was simply chosen, suitable for some conditions of the ritual. For example, sometimes you need to do something on a grave located on the edge; on the grave where a man of such and such age is buried; on the grave where a woman with such and such a name is buried, etc. etc. In order for my readers to better understand the essence of such phenomena, I will give specific examples.

One of the methods of causing damage to epilepsy is as follows: the attacker takes a certain number of chicken eggs to the grave, where a person is buried who had the same name as the victim of damage. A special conspiracy is pronounced, then the eggs remain on the grave for a certain time. Subject to special rules, eggs are taken from the grave and later given as food to a person destined for spoilage. Soon the first epileptic seizure occurs with the unfortunate. When the disease enters the chronic phase, the attacks intensify precisely by the day of the month when the described cemetery manipulations were performed. At the same time, the attacker, of course, is not at all interested in the relatives of the person buried in that very grave.

One of the love rituals is performed in a somewhat similar way. A photograph of a beloved person refers to the grave where a person of close age who had the same name is buried. A series of manipulations are performed, special conspiracies are pronounced, and the victim of the love spell begins to experience mortal anguish without the object of his passion. If the relatives of the deceased "at the wrong time" visit his grave, they, of course, will find an extraneous photograph, remove it from the grave and, thus, this time frustrate the intruder's plan, but they themselves will not suffer.

It should be noted that rituals of various directions are performed in cemeteries; knowledgeable people are not limited to black magic. Graves can be used in the treatment of various diseases (including the same epilepsy), to rid a person of alcohol addiction, to relieve love languor, etc. If you, having visited the grave of some of your relatives, suddenly find a bottle of vodka on it, this may mean that someone is being spoiled for alcoholism, or, conversely, they are trying to save someone from drunkenness.

Thus, if you find any foreign objects (coins, chicken eggs, photographs, etc.) on the grave where your relative was buried, you should not panic. Most likely, this witchcraft has nothing to do with you. Why do I write "probably"? The fact is that sometimes some kind of witchcraft pads on the graves are still addressed specifically to the relatives of the deceased. Such linings are usually found not at any arbitrary time, but on the eve of the memorial day, celebrated a week after Easter (the so-called "Red Hill"). Or on some anniversary of death. That is, exactly when it is reasonable to expect relatives to visit the cemetery for cleaning or commemoration. For example, you can find chicken eggs, coins, or anything else that quantitatively matches the number of members of your family.

What should be done with such finds? Without touching the thing with bare hands (use gloves, a bag, paper), you just need to remove it from the grave. But remember that direct contact with these things is highly undesirable, so do not pick them up or step on them. If, nevertheless, you have the feeling that you "hooked on something", or you reasonably assume that the lining was addressed specifically to you and your family members, click on the button below and write me a letter.

If you need to contact me personally for any clarifications, consultations or in connection with the need to solve certain problems, click on the button and write me a letter: