Until 1917, Easter was considered the most important holiday in Russia. It was a great celebration for people of all ages and all classes.
A week before Easter, on the eve of Palm Sunday, Emperor Nicholas II and his family always came to Moscow to bow to ancient shrines and participate in the solemn exit from the Palace of the Facets to the Miracle Monastery.
An important place among the series of obligatory procedural and ceremonial events of the Russian emperors was occupied by the procedure of the annual christening at Easter. This ancient tradition existed at the royal court since ancient times. Both Russian tsars and Russian emperors were christened. But in the second quarter of the XIX century. this tradition has undergone significant changes. The fact is that under Nicholas I, the practice of annual christenings included the so-called christenings “with peasants”.
Vase-basket for Easter eggs from the collection of the Hermitage, 1786 
Until the 1830s Monarchs christened only with the closest retinue. Under Nicholas I, the emphasis shifted. The tradition of christening with a retinue was preserved, but the ceremony was supplemented by christening with ordinary people who surrounded the king. This rite of Christening the king with the "muzhiks" was supposed to demonstrate the inviolability of the triad "Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality." Apparently, the tradition of "folk" Christening originated in the late 1830s - early 1840s, when the national component of the state ideology of the Nikolaev era was clearly identified. It can be assumed that the celebration of Easter in 1839 prompted the tsar to change the existing traditions.
The celebration of Easter in 1839 was especially solemn. The fact is that in the spring of 1839, on the Bright Sunday of Christ, the consecration of the restored Winter Palace took place. Before Matins, a religious procession was held through the front halls. Craftsmen gathered in the White Hall, and during the year they restored the palace. The solemn procession moved between long rows of craftsmen, mostly bearded men in caftans. After the procession for the artisans, rich "breaking the fast" for 3,000 people was arranged. But the usual christening of the king and his retinue that night did not take place. Why, we can only speculate...
But a few days later, during the divorce of the guards in the Mikhailovsky Manege, Nicholas I, according to tradition, kissed all the generals and guards officers. During the evening prayer, the Empress kissed, as usual, with the ladies. Perhaps it was then that the idea of christening “with the peasants” arose in the tsar. At least it is known for certain that in the 1840s. he christened with hundreds of people. Not only with his retinue, but also with his servants and Cossack guards. After such mass christenings, his cheek turned black. Moreover, Nikolai Pavlovich not only christened himself, but also taught his children to do so. The precedent has been set. And over time, the precedent turned into a tradition that survived until 1917.
Christening of Nicholas I with the Cadets
During the "folk" Christening, there were also scandals. The French artist O. Vernet conveys one of the palace stories from the time of Nicholas I, associated with the practice of christening.
Easter eggs with monograms of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1880-1890s Easter and eggs on a platter. Porcelain. IFZ. 1880s
The tradition of Christening with servants and guards was preserved under Alexander II. One of the memoirists mentions that “the rite of Christening, which had long been strictly observed at the Court, was extremely tiring for Their Majesties. However, on the fourth day of the holiday (the 15th), the Sovereign felt so relieved that he christened with the sergeants, sergeants and some other lower ranks of those parts of the guard, of which His Majesty was considered the chief.
Sketch by K. Krasovsky, 1882
Under Alexander III, the practice of "folk" christening expanded. Along with servants and guards, the tsar began to christenate with the volost elders and the Old Believers. This fit in well with the emphatically folk image of the king-peacemaker.
Easter was one of the favorite holidays in the family of Emperor Nicholas II. Here is what Robert Massey writes about Russian Easter in his book Nicholas and Alexandra:
The royal family usually met Easter in Livadia. Although this holiday in Imperial Russia was tiring for the Empress, it brought her much joy. The Empress did not spare her strength, which she collected bit by bit. Christ's Resurrection was the main event of the year, even more important than Christmas. Everywhere on the faces were visible joy and tenderness. Throughout Russia, on the holy night, churches were full of believers who, holding lit candles in their hands, listened to the Paschal service. Shortly before midnight, a religious procession began, led by a priest, bishop or metropolitan. Behind him, like a fiery river, were the parishioners. Returning to the doors of the temple, they recreated the scene when the disciples of Christ found that the stone that covered the burial cave had been rolled away. Looking inside and making sure that the temple was empty, the priest turned his face to the audience and enthusiastically exclaimed: “Christ is Risen!” And the parishioners, with eyes shining with joy, loudly answered: “Truly, He is Risen!” In different parts of Russia - in front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square, on the steps of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in small churches in the most remote villages - Russian people - both princes and commoners - laughed and cried with happiness.
The Tsar sometimes spent Easter itself in Livadia, where a parade was held on the occasion of the holiday. After the parade, Nicholas II participated in the ceremony of Christening with the lower ranks and with all the people serving the Court. The royal Christening usually lasted three days, during which the Sovereign had time to exchange kisses with 10,000 people.
This tradition continued unchanged even during the First World War. Each soldier who christened with the Tsar was sure to receive a gift - a painted porcelain egg with the royal monogram - they were stored in advance.
In 1874, by order of the Moscow Old Believers of the “priestly wing”, the Tyulin brothers, famous icon painters from Mstera, painted images on Easter eggs to greet high-ranking persons. Eggs were carved from wood. Each of them consisted of two halves, the inside was gilded with matte gold, the outer side was painted with bright crimson paint. The egg was very light, extremely delicate and polished like a mirror. The number of these eggs for each Easter for the imperial family was strictly determined: the emperor and the empress received 40-50 eggs each, the grand dukes - 3 each, and the grand duchesses - 2 each. The Moscow architect A.S. also participated in the painting. Kaminsky, who in 1890 painted the reverse sides of porcelain eggs with "paintings of saints".
Porcelain eggs were often suspended with a through hole, through which a ribbon with a bow at the bottom and a loop at the top was threaded for hanging under the icon case. Specially for this work, "bantovschiks" were hired from among the needy widows and daughters of former employees of the plant. The rather high pay for their work was considered as Easter charitable assistance. In 1799, 254 eggs were made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory, in 1802 - 960. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 30 people, including apprentices, were employed in the production of 3308 eggs per year at the same factory. By Easter 1914, 3991 porcelain eggs were produced, in 1916 - 15,365 pieces.
Papier-mâché Easter eggs were made at the end of the 19th century at the Lukutin factory near Moscow, now the famous Fedoskino factory of lacquer miniature painting. Along with religious subjects, the masters of the Lukutin factory often depicted Orthodox cathedrals and churches on Easter eggs.
The details of the mass christening procedure are reconstructed during the reign of Nicholas II, who reproduced the traditions of his father's reign. In his diaries, he also recorded the “working volumes” of Christenings.
As a rule, the procedure of christening took the king from two to four days. On April 3, 1895, he recorded that in several receptions he christened "with the military authorities and lower ranks" of "his" company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, which stood on guard at the Anichkov Palace on Easter night. It took an hour of precious royal time. The next day, he christened with the huntsmen, and on April 5, he christened with the Old Believers.
Since 1896, Nicholas II clearly records the "volume of the work done." March 23 - 288 people. It does not indicate the social status of the people, but, apparently, it was a retinue, since the christening took place after the Grand Entrance ceremony in the Winter Palace. On March 24, he christened “with all the people” in the Malachite Hall, and “almost 500 people received eggs.” By "all people" the king meant the court servants. On March 26, a "big christening" took place in the Concert Hall with bodyguards - "with all sergeants, sergeants and Easter guards."
The Empress also took part in the Christening. It should be noted that this was a physically demanding procedure. The soldiers of the guard were specifically warned not to cut their mustaches and beards, so as not to prick the king during kisses. However, after the christening, the king's cheek and the queen's hand swelled from countless "pricks" with mustaches and beards. But that is the peculiarity of the "profession" ... On March 27, the last christening took place with the volost foremen and schismatics, that is, representatives of the people. Thus, in 1896, in three days, the king christened with at least a thousand subjects.
Nicholas II congratulates the ranks of the L.-Gv. Preobrazhensky Regiment on the holiday of Bright Easter. 1900s.
Over time, the number of people with whom the king christened increased. March 28, 1904 Nicholas II in the Great Church of the Winter Palace was christened with 280 ranks of the retinue. On the same day, the first "big Christening" (730 people) took place with the court servants. The next day, the second "big Christening" took place in the Concert Hall with the lower ranks of the guard (720 people). Thus, on Easter 1904, Nicholas II was christened three times from 1730 people.
Great Church of the Winter Palace, watercolor by E. Hau
In 1905, the Christening took three days. On April 17, Nicholas II was christened for an hour with court servants (almost 600 people). The next day, in the Great Gallery of the Winter Palace, “Christening took place with the retinue, the military authorities and the military. textbook wound up." On the same day, the king was christened with the guards (960 people in total). On April 19, Christening with the Old Believers took place. That is, at least the king kissed 1,600 people three times.
In 1906, the ceremony of Christening took place in the Great Catherine Palace. By this time there was a certain order of Christosovanie. The first "big christening" took place with the court servants and officials of the Ministry of the Imperial Court (April 2, 1906 - "more than 600 people"). It should be noted that the king "worked" like an automaton: in 1 hour 45 minutes more than 600 people. Consequently, the procedure of individual christening (a triple kiss and an exchange of Easter eggs) took just over twenty seconds.
Eggs with monograms v.kn. Elizabeth Feodorovna
The second "big Christening" took place with the retinue, the authorities and the lower ranks of the guard (April 3, 1906 - 850 people). A feature of this year, when the fire of the first Russian revolution was blazing all over the country, was that the christening with the people did not take place for reasons of personal safety of the tsar, since at that time terrorists began a targeted hunt for him.
However, when the situation began to stabilize, there was a return to the traditional practice of christening. In 1907, Nicholas II took Christ for four days. On the first day - with servants (April 22 - 700 people); on the second day - with the retinue and officers of the Ulansky Life Guards Regiment sponsored by the Empress (Empress Alexandra Fedorovna also participated in this ceremony, she distributed Easter eggs).
On the third day, the king christened "with the military authorities and with the lower ranks" of the guard (April 24 - almost 700 people). And on April 25, the final Christening took place with the schismatics and volost foremen. It is noteworthy that Nicholas II noted the numbers only of mass christenings and never once indicated the number of Old Believers and volost elders. It is safe to assume that there were no more than two or three dozen of them. But Christening with them is a very important part of the holiday, because it symbolized the unity of the king and the people, as well as the religious unity of the country.
Christening of Emperor Nicholas II with members of the crew of the Shtandart yacht. Livadia. After 1909
In 1913, the three-day christening took place according to the standard scheme. With servants - 720 people; with retinue, bosses and lower ranks - 915 people and with the Old Believers and volost foremen of the "three local counties". The last sentence is also remarkable. Consequently, the volost foremen were "selected" near the imperial residence, and, apparently, they are the same people who have been repeatedly tested.
Christening of Emperor Nicholas II with officers of the Convoy
The royal family spent the spring of 1914 in the Crimea, in Livadia. Despite being isolated from the capital, the procedure for christening at Easter remained unchanged. On April 6, after Matins, the tsar "Christened with everyone in the church." With everyone - this is with a retinue. After lunch we went to the dining room to break our fast. Went to bed at 3 am. In the afternoon, the first "big christening" began - 512 people.
Tsar's children at the "White Flower" festival, Livadia 1912
The next day, the second big christening with guards took place - 920 people. The procedure lasted an hour, i.e. it took no more than 15 seconds for each person. In order to ensure such speed, the lower ranks stood close to each other in formation, and the tsar worked like clockwork with learned movements. It was hard work for him.
Person: Jesus Christ
In 1915, the Easter service was served in the Fedorovsky Cathedral of Tsarskoe Selo, during the procession the cathedral was beautifully lit with sparklers. On the morning of March 22, Christening began in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo with all the courtiers, it lasted an hour and a half.
Interior decoration of the church of the Alexander Palace, photograph, 1930s
The next day, March 23, Nicholas II christened in the Grand Palace of Tsarskoe Selo with his retinue, the district authorities and the lower ranks of the reserve battalions of patronage units. Among them were many wounded and recovered from their wounds. On March 24, the last christening took place at the tsar with the Old Believers and the volost foremen.
In April 1916, Nicholas II celebrated Pascha for the first time outside the family. Since he had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army since August 1915 and many cases fell upon him, by Easter at Headquarters he did not have traditional gift eggs for his wife and children. Enough was found for a retinue of porcelain eggs. The king informed his wife about the problem, and she immediately replied that she was sending Easter cards and the eggs she had selected, and even “painted” who should get which egg.
Even after the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917, the tradition of christening was preserved. In April 1917, the royal family lived under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. On the morning after the celebration of Easter, before breakfast, citizen Romanov christened with all the employees of the Alexander Palace (135 people), and Alexandra Fedorovna handed out porcelain eggs that had been preserved from the previous stocks. That was the last christening of the last imperial family.
Easter comes from the 19th century
The oldest Easter in the world has been preserved since 1821. She is a contender for getting into the Guinness Book of Records.
Maybe this culinary product does not look appetizing, but it is a real record holder, because it has been preserved for 189 years.
Easter was baked on Good Friday 1821 by the ancestors of 91-year-old Nancy Titman from London. What is interesting and surprising: there are no traces of mold on the family heirloom.
Englishwoman Nancy Titman says that Easter is passed down in her family from generation to generation, because her ancestors who worked in the bakery, or rather, her great-great-great-grandfather William Skinner, baked it.
Despite the fact that Easter looks unsightly and hard as a stone, there are still traces of a cross on it, and, as the owner of an unusual Easter, the cake still smells like fresh and is stored in a special box in her own house.
multi-ton egg
The world's largest chocolate egg, according to the Guinness Book of Records, was made in 2012 in Argentina.
In April last year, in the Argentine city of San Carlos de Bariloche, at the closing of the chocolate festival, the world was presented with the largest chocolate egg. The masterpiece was of incredible size - its weight reached about 7500 kilograms (of which 4 tons of chocolate), height - 8.5 meters.
Over the course of two weeks, 27 bakeries worked on the chocolate miracle. Thus, Argentine chefs broke the previous world record set in Belgium: the height of sweetness was 8.32 meters. Because of the heat, the chocolate began to melt, so they were treated to all the guests of the festival.
giant cakeIn Greece, on the island of Lesbos on the eve of Easter, a giant Easter cake - tsoureki - 70 meters long was baked. Tsureki is a traditional Easter bread, similar to Russian Easter cake.
Previously, the longest bun-record-shift was a copy 50.4 meters long.
It took 150 kilograms of dough to prepare a 70-meter tsoureki bun (more than a hundred eggs, 75 kilograms of flour, 22 kilograms of sugar, 20 liters of milk, 10 kilograms of brewer's yeast, three kilograms of butter).
After fixing the record, the authorities of Lesvos, together with the locals, distributed a piece of the "Kulich" to the poor, and part of it was sold to raise money for those in need. So the whole island was full of one cake.
Non-Working Leadership
Russia ranked first in the world in terms of the number of non-working days in 2013, according to Hotels.com experts, comparing the number of days of official leave and days off associated with public holidays in the 40 largest countries of the world.
According to researchers, in addition to weekly days off, Russians are entitled to a total of 40 non-working days each year, which consists of 28 days of working leave and 12 days off associated with public holidays.
The second place in the ranking for this indicator is shared by Italy and Sweden (36 days). This is followed by Finland, France, Norway and Brazil (35 days each). In last place in the ranking is Mexico, where people, in addition to weekly holidays, have only 13 days of rest.
In terms of the number of vacation days, our country is second only to Brazil, where it is customary to rest for 30 days. In last place in this category is China, where the official working holiday does not exceed five days. One more day in Thailand (6), two more in Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong (7 each).
But in terms of the number of weekends associated with public holidays, Russia is far from being at the forefront. In first place is Argentina, where they celebrate 19 days a year, in second place is Colombia (18), followed by Japan and Hong Kong (16 days each), Thailand (15), Malaysia (14). Least of all do not work on holidays in Canada and Brazil (only 5 days).
The first Easter was celebrated by the ancient Jews one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ, when the Jews, led by the prophet Moses, left Egypt.
Translated from Hebrew, the word "Passover" means "liberation", "passage", "deliverance" and symbolizes the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian slavery.
The word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Eostre" which means the name of the goddess of spring.
Easter in Russia.
In Russia, Easter has always been the most solemn holiday. Girls and young women dressed up in white dresses, men put on strict black suits.
In the 19th century in Russia, preparations for Easter began in the winter. Every year, two months were devoted to the celebration of the resurrection of Christ and the arrival of spring. First they celebrated Shrovetide. Every day on Shrovetide before the upcoming long fast, when butter was forbidden, Russians ate pancakes with butter. Pancakes were sold in all restaurants and taverns, which were baked right there and served hot.
Aslenitsa was celebrated on Sunday 8 weeks before Easter, usually in February.
Moscow, St. Petersburg, provincial towns and small villages held carnival processions. People dressed in masks walked the streets, visiting actors entertained the peasants, trained bears were driven along the streets, ice slides and swings were built. After the festival, the squares were strewn with nutshells and orange peels. Then the swings were taken apart, the ice slides were broken. The seven-week Great Lent preceding Easter was the most important fast of the year and was observed by all. It was forbidden to eat any meat of animals and poultry. It was also not allowed to consume butter, milk, eggs, sugar. Instead, they ate mushrooms, cabbage, vegetable oil, fish, potatoes, coffee with almond milk. In the 18th century, the sale of caviar during Lent was forbidden, as Muscovites used caviar instead of butter for all dishes.
The first, fourth, seventh weeks of Lent were the most severe. The most devout people excluded even fish during the first and last week of Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays in these weeks.
When Lent began, some people caught birds and then released them into the wild, which symbolized that God gave us hope, delivering us from sins.
For seven weeks all kinds of public entertainments were forbidden or they took place and were carried out with great care. Operas were replaced by concerts. Wealthy ladies took off their diamonds and put on simpler pearls and coral jewelry or a few modest turquoise jewelry that adorned their hair like forget-me-nots. Dancing was replaced by singing - it was a golden time for musicians and singers who came from Paris to Russia.
Those whose name day fell during Lent were especially happy, as everyone went to visit them. This brought variety to the monotonously flowing days. The only holiday preceding Lent was Palm Sunday.
First of all, Palm Sunday was a joyful event for the children in the villages. The peasants went to the forest, where they plucked a large number of willow branches, which were then sold in the city. Sometimes the branches were a whole young tree, and sometimes the branches were very small, which were tied into a bunch of 100 pieces. An Orthodox priest could buy a whole tree, which he illuminated, and then planted in front of???
On the Thursday before Palm Sunday, a fair was held in the cities, where toys or flowers were put up for sale. The palm fair in St. Petersburg offered for sale a huge number of willow branches. They were bought for children who carried willow through the streets. Russians attached flowers made of paper to bare branches, on some branches they attached different types of fruits molded from wax, as well as birds, a small wax angel was tied with a blue ribbon to a branch. On Palm Sunday, servants made toys to give to children, and cooks made sweets from sugar. Wealthy uncles and godfathers often sent rich Easter gifts to their nephews and godfathers. For example, the angel was made of gold, the leaves were made of silver, and the fruit was usually made of wax.
In addition to willow branches, huge markets were opened where fresh flowers from the rich greenhouses of St. Petersburg were sold. The stalls were filled with roses, violets, hyacinths, orange and lemon trees. And some merchants offered to buy miniature houses with furniture, churches with domes, turrets and crosses.
Karetniki sold miniature Russian cards made of wood and tin. Glaziers offered miniature plates.
All classes of society participated in a fun palm fair.
On the eve of Palm Sunday, in memory of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, processions were held in cities and towns, in which all residents of the settlements participated. Singing hymns, people carried willow branches, plain or decorated, after lighting in the church.
Peasants attached particular importance and considered the illumination of willow branches a blessing. The next morning, the children usually got up early and with a joyful look whipped willow branches to all those who sleep a lot. They were so excited by what was happening that they could not sleep all night. Sneaking at dawn in night pajamas, they walked around the rooms, joyfully hitting all those who were in bed and shouting with delight: “The rod beats, beats to tears, it’s not me who beats you!”
Millions of painted eggs were sold at the Palm Fair and during several days of Easter, as eggs played an important role in the celebration of Easter. The egg was the main attribute of the Russian Easter. The egg was not only put into the hand of everyone they met along the way, but people played games with eggs, ate them, and also used eggs in large quantities to make traditional Easter bread and Easter dessert. Moscow was supplied with eggs by the surrounding villages, and before Easter, large quantities of eggs were sent to St. Petersburg. Caravan after caravan of eggs followed into the city, they were hard-boiled and painted red. Short sentences were written on many eggs: “Christ is Risen!”, “I give this gift to the one I love”, “Take it, eat it and think of me” and many others.
Easter eggs were produced at the imperial glass factory, as well as at the porcelain factory. The eggs were big and small, golden and
In the 19th century in Russia, preparations for Easter began in the winter.
Every year, two months were devoted to the celebration of the resurrection of Christ and the arrival of spring. First they celebrated Shrovetide. Every day on Maslenitsa before the upcoming long fast, when butter was forbidden, Russians ate pancakes with butter every day.
Pancakes were sold in all restaurants and taverns, which were baked right there and served hot.
Maslenitsa was celebrated on Sunday 8 weeks before Easter, usually in February. Carnival processions were held in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, in provincial towns and small villages. People dressed in masks walked the streets, visiting actors entertained the peasants, trained bears were driven along the streets, ice slides and swings were built.
After the festival, the squares were strewn with nutshells and orange peels.
Then the swings were taken apart, the ice slides were broken.
During the entire Great Lent, shops and trading stalls were overflowing with beautiful boxes with wax and sugar eggs of all sizes. The smallest eggs were the size of a wren egg, and the largest were the size of a swan and ostrich egg. There were also huge egg-shaped boxes covered with gold-colored paper and filled with chocolate bars, which were intended for ladies. Transparent eggs also appeared on sale, in which one could see a bouquet of flowers, small wax trees or icons of saints.
Currently, the most famous of the Easter eggs are the beautiful imperial eggs, made by order of the last two Russian tsars - Alexander 3 and Nicholas 2. These eggs were made by the world famous jeweler Peter Carl Faberge.
The custom of dyeing eggs is associated with Mary Magdalene.
The red color is a memory of the blood of Jesus Christ, which he shed for us on the Cross.
Easter services were held in all cities, towns and villages. Closer to midnight, the churches were overflowing with people. Greetings to each other and Christening began in the altar between the priests, who then went out to the flock and proclaimed: “Christ is Risen!”.
Temples on this day were cleaned as richly and beautifully as ever. At the first evangelism, candles were lit and the procession around the temple began.
During the procession, the clergy, dressed in the “most luminous dignity”, having performed the censing of the throne, left the temple with singing. The parishioners followed. Banners, candles, bell ringing and singing at this time symbolize the victory of Christ over death.
Arriving at the narthex, incense was again made, and Paschal matins began in front of the closed doors of the temple as a sign that the news of the resurrection had been received before the doors of the Holy Sepulcher.
After the chants and the exclamation: “Christ is Risen!” the gates opened, - so the angel rolled off the stone from the doors of the Holy Sepulcher. After that, Christening began.
As a sign of special joy on this day, chants in the church did not stop. Church bells also chimed throughout the day.
After the end of the service, no one was in a hurry to go to bed. Everyone went to taverns or home to eat heartily. Dinner began at 3 or 4 in the morning and the table was all night and all the next day. The festive tables were decorated with white lilies and hyacinths. In the center of the table were lambs carved from butter, in addition, there were also many dishes with salads, hams, veal and fried poultry. You could also try different types of pies, rum women and mazurkas, and of course, traditional Russian Easter dishes - Easter cake and Easter. Each family had its own special recipes for these dishes, passed down from generation to generation. Before serving, Easter cakes and Easter were lit in the church. Hard-boiled eggs were an indispensable attribute of the Easter table.
Starting from Easter night, throughout the next day, it was customary to visit and eat. Everyone greeted each other with traditional phrases: “Christ is Risen!” “Truly Risen!”, and then kissed each other three times. The emperor had a particularly hard time - not only his household and visitors who came to him on Sunday morning, but he honored each guard with his imperial kiss and, with the words “Christ is Risen!” , and at the people passing on Easter Sunday, he kissed all the officers and privates. In 1904, Nicholas 2 wrote in his diary that he exchanged Easter kisses with the participants in the midnight mass and with 730 of his soldiers.
Easter ends with the remembrance of all the dead, the Russians celebrated the memorial day or Radonitsa. They went to the graves of their ancestors and left food there illuminated in the church, and gave part of the food to the cemetery to the poor.
Easter in the UK and USA
Easter for many people in the UK and the US is a more religious holiday than Christmas. Most Britons and Americans attend the Easter service, which begins on Saturday evening and lasts about two hours, starting at 9:30 pm and ending at midnight. After the service, everyone congratulates each other on the end of Lent. To show the beginning of a new life, many churches are decorated with tree branches with swollen buds, daffodils and painted eggs.
After the service, everyone returns home and eats the Easter Simnel cake. It is a cake similar to Christmas, but decorated with marzipans symbolizing the 12 apostles and Jesus Christ.
Good Sunday is known as Carling Sunday - pea Sunday in parts of the north of England. Carlings are small dry peas that are soaked in water overnight and then fried in a nearly dry frying pan. When they start to burn, they are ready. They are also sold in pubs, and people eat them out of a cup with a little butter and a generous helping of pepper and salt.
In Britain and the United States, it is customary to give decorated eggs on the day of the Resurrection of Christ.
Hollow eggs are covered with small pieces of damp tissue paper to give a beautiful marbled effect, or the eggs are painted with acrylics or thick watercolors. Another decorative style involves sticking lace or paper patterns onto the eggs. Ready eggs are hung on a thread or string to a branch and placed in a vase of water. It turns out an Easter tree.
The symbol of Easter in English-speaking countries is the Easter Bunny or Hare. On Easter Sunday, children wake up in the morning to find that the Easter Bunny has left baskets of sweets for them. He also hides the eggs that the children have been coloring the week before. They are looking for these eggs all over the house. Local organizations hold competitions to find Easter eggs. The child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.
Sweet dough rabbits can also decorate the Easter table in the UK and the USA. These chic rabbits are a lot of fun to cook and disappear from the table in seconds.
In England, children roll eggs down hills on Easter Sunday. This game is connected with the rolling of the rock from the tomb of Jesus Christ on the day when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World.
One unusual tradition can be seen on Easter Sunday at Radley near Oxford, where the parishioners join hands and form a human chain around the church.
Easter Monday sees a wide variety of traditional celebrations across the country. Suffice it to name, for example, the Morris dances in many towns, including demonstrations at Tucksteady, Essex; orange rolling in Bunstable Downs in Bedfordshire and food distribution in the village of Kent in Biddenden 10 miles from Ashford.
On the eve of Easter, the British and Americans create the so-called Easter garden in their homes. It can be placed in the niche of the fireplace or on a large plate or tray. Bright moss or a piece of green fabric creates a base on which an Easter tree is set, as well as a white candle, a special crystal or stone, small children's treasures, primroses or violets can be placed here.
On Easter morning, the breakfast table is set with great care: it is lit by a special candle, spring flowers are placed on bread and cookies.
Thus, all three components inherent in Easter are presented here: food that nourishes the physical body, plants for nourishing the soul, and a candle for uplifting the spirit.
Traditional Easter games and entertainment
Easter starts with Easter week and this is the time of traditional games. Football was once the most popular game, but it was very different from the game we know today. Perhaps it was introduced by the Romans and played right on the streets without any rules, and in some cases the gates were a mile away from the players, and sometimes there were none at all.
The flight of the ball had no definite limits, and sometimes hundreds of players participated in a game that could last all day.
Pancake races are held in many parts of Britain; the most famous of them are in Olney, in Buckinghamshire. It is assumed that these races began when the housewife, who was baking pancakes, heard the church bells ringing. Thinking that she was late for the service, she ran out of the house and ran to the church, still holding the frying pan in her hand. In modern times, on Shrove Thursday, housewives who live in the area race from the market square to the parish church. They must toss the pancakes three times and are allowed to pick up the pancakes if they have fallen. The winner receives a kiss and a prayer book from the vicar. The church minister or bell ringer receives two rewards: a kiss from the winner and her pancakes. After that, all the frying pans are taken to the church, and all the women attend a short service.
About 30 years ago, the people of Liberal, Kansas, USA showed an interest in racing at Olney, and now they also run pancake races, but the competitor who completes the distance in the least amount of time wins.
Other customs associated with the Easter week are also observed. Fat Pancake Day is held at Westminster School in London every year. The original cook had to throw the pancake over the long metal ledge that separated the older boys from the younger ones in the assembly hall. When he did this, all the boys rushed forward to see who could catch the pancake. The winner receives a guinea from the dean. Currently, only 1 boy per class can take part in the competition. Two minutes after the pancake is thrown over the beam, which is called "time", the winner is the boy who managed to grab the largest piece of pancake.
Similarities and differences in the celebration of Easter in these countries
The celebration of Easter in Russia and English-speaking countries has some similarities.
On Palm Sunday, the last Sunday before Easter, the people of Russia, as well as the people of Great Britain and the United States, illuminate willow branches in the church. But sometimes in English-speaking countries, willow branches are replaced with walnut branches. In Russia, people pat each other with willows, saying wishes: "Be as tall as a willow, as healthy as water, and as rich as earth."
Easter Sunday is one of the most important Christian holidays, as it symbolizes the miracle of Christ overcoming death.
Currently, Easter services are held in churches in Russia and English-speaking countries. All churches are filled with people. Temples on this day are cleaned as never before, richly and beautifully. At the first evangelism, candles are lit, and the procession around the temple begins.
During the procession, the clergy leave the temple with singing. The parishioners follow them. Banners, candles, bell ringing and singing at this time symbolize the Victory of Christ over death.
Meeting on this day, Christians greet each other with the words:
"Christ is Risen!" - "Truly Risen!"
The custom of dyeing eggs is associated with Mary Magdalene. According to legend, she went to the emperor Tiberius and, with an exclamation: “Christ is risen!”, she gave him an egg. But the emperor doubted: "It's as hard to believe as it is that this white egg can turn red."
At the same moment, the white egg turned crimson.
The tradition of painting eggs has been around for over 5,000 years.
There is a custom to cook Easter eggs. This is an ordinary hard-boiled egg, dyed in different colors, and sometimes painted.
There are many ways to dye and color eggs, some of them are quite simple, while others require a lot of skill. They can be dipped in ready-made paint or they are usually boiled in paint, they can also be boiled in onion skins.
In Russia, 2 types of Easter eggs are mainly common:
"Easter eggs" - Easter eggs painted with paint of two, three or four colors with drawings, and "painting eggs" - Easter eggs painted in one color without any drawings.
Russians celebrate Easter by giving colored eggs to each other.
This tradition was also popular among the ruling elite of Russia; tiny eggs were presented to the boyars and the Russian nobility.
In addition to natural eggs, eggs made from various materials and richly decorated were widely used.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the production of Easter eggs had become an independent branch of Russian decorative applied art.
A special place is occupied by porcelain eggs, which were specially ordered by the Russian tsars at the imperial porcelain manufactory.
They are of great artistic value and are now antiques and Russian souvenirs.
Faberge eggs were made specially for members of the imperial family. Faberge's works are shown in the museums of the Moscow Kremlin, in the Forbe Gallery in New York and many other museums.
In English-speaking countries and in Russia today, Easter eggs imitate real ones: they are made of wood, metal, porcelain, plastic, wax, from two pieces of painted and decorated cardboard that are connected to each other and form an egg-shaped box containing a small gift. In addition, edible Easter eggs are made from chocolate, marzipan, and sugar.
During the Easter week, a common tradition for Russia, Great Britain and the United States is egg rolling.
Easter ends with the remembrance of all the dead, the Russians celebrate memorial Thursday or Radonitsa. They go to the graves of their ancestors and leave food there, and some of the food is usually given to children.
In Britain, on Easter Thursday, it is customary for the monarch to give men and women a certain amount of money. On odd years, the ceremony usually takes place in Westminster Abbey, and on even years, in any church or cathedral in the country.
But there are certain differences in the celebration of Easter in Russia and English-speaking countries.
So, on Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion of Christ on the Cross, the British always eat hot Easter buns with the image of Christ on them as a sign of remembrance. Some bakeries and supermarkets start selling them a few weeks before Good Friday, such a national tradition does not exist in Russia.
English modern traditions of celebrating Easter are very cheerful, bright, colorful and joyful, especially for children. According to legend, on Easter night, the Easter Bunny hides chocolate eggs in shiny wrappers everywhere. On Easter, the so-called "Egstravaganza" is arranged when everyone, both adults and children, go in search of hidden eggs. Such holidays are held in parks and restaurants; You can arrange such a hunt at home.
The children's table is usually decorated with sweet crunchy chocolate egg nests, chocolate eggs and cute dough bunnies. Rabbits and eggs on Easter - absolutely everywhere even for breakfast they prepare a classic toast, cut out with a cookie cutter, and an omelette on top.
There is no such symbol in Russia.
Traditional Easter dishes in Russia are Easter cake and Easter.
Easter cake is a cylindrical bun covered with sugar icing.
Easter is a pyramid of cottage cheese with the addition of various ingredients: sour cream, sugar, butter, eggs, etc. The cottage cheese is placed under a press, then all these ingredients are added to it, everything is mixed, placed in a mold and put in the refrigerator.
Residents of Great Britain do not eat Easter cake on Easter morning, but Easter cake, it is similar to Christmas, but decorated with marzipans symbolizing the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
In the old days, in Russia, various games and fun were arranged on Holy Week: swings, rolling eggs, etc. At present, games and fun are held mainly on Shrovetide, but lately Easter traditions and customs have been revived in Russia more and more.
Unlike our country, in the UK and the USA, this is the time of traditional games and entertainment: pancake races, jump rope games, ball games, ball games, egg rolling and many others.
Easter is an amazing holiday rich in its traditions and customs. The Resurrection of the Savior from the dead is a triumph of faith and virtue, therefore this holiday is the brightest, the triumph of celebrations.
Natalya Alekseevna Vasilyeva Buslov Anatoly Efimovich tells how Easter was celebrated in his childhood.
Memoirs of Anatoly Buslov
You know, more than sixty years ago, the holidays were days more prominent and meaningful, at least for the children, than now (1947 ... ..JV). Any present holiday differs little from the usual Sunday. At the same time, Easter, for example, was, as they said, a celebration of holidays, a celebration of celebrations.Spring has changed our way of life. A calf was expelled from the hut, chickens were expelled from under the stove. The hut was ventilated and preparations for Easter began.
The female part was taken by the scrapers. All the dirt and soot that had accumulated over the winter was scraped off with bitterness, with boiling water. There was a total beating of cockroaches, Prussians, bedbugs, crickets and all other evil spirits.
Everything was scraped, washed, erased. God save that something dirty is lying around for Easter. From the middle of the last week, cooking began. Mother was a great hospitable person, she loved to celebrate the holiday properly, so all means were used. True, they, apparently, did not need much. Well, the ham had its own, the pig too, the fried and jellied fish, its own chicken, and sometimes the goose. Well, testicles, sausage, cottage cheese, sour cream were also not bought. Oil, lard - your own. Here, white flour, raisins, various spices, except for horseradish, which we overgrown with vegetable gardens, had to be bought. Vodka and wine had to be bought, sugar too. Be that as it may, if there is no money, then a lot of work was required. It was necessary to start saving testicles, cottage cheese, butter, sour cream, etc. long before. It was necessary to cook, and fry, and season, like good people. But on the other hand, our Easter table presented a wonderful picture.
Well, can I, who now receive about one and a half thousand rubles a month, serve such a table? No way. First of all, the whitest, patterned tablecloth covered an unusually large table. And it was big because they nailed another plank to it from one side and the other. Then, along the bottom of the tablecloth, along the edge of the table, dereza curled between all the dishes. I don’t know what this early creeping green plant is really called, but it really adorned the table. On the table in the center, of course, is Easter cake. Kulich is tall, tanned, with a yellow crumb, with raisins - beautiful, tasty! Here is a cheese Easter - sweet with raisins and a pile, on a large dish, of colored eggs. There are also bottles of two vodka and the same amount of wine. If this scripture of mine will be read by the grandchildren, then do not think that this is the table of a rich man. No, this is the festive table of a hardworking and intelligent peasant woman with a very small plot of land. Nekrasov spoke and wrote very well about such workers.
Then they showed off: a ruddy pig stuffed with buckwheat porridge, a chicken, a duck, and, sometimes, a goose, importantly, shining with fat, took their place. Jellied stuffed pike, full-length in a wooden trough, was swimming in the jelly, slices of fried bream pleasantly beckoned, homemade sausage, cut into large pieces, meat jelly and something else.
It must be borne in mind that the mother had three daughters - girls (two came for Easter). And she knew how to receive visitors in such a way that they did not cross the line of restraint and decency of behavior.
Of course, we had a lot of relatives, both from the side of the father and from the side of the mother. Therefore, there was no end to the visitors. My mother alone had more than fifteen godchildren.
Easter day began at three or four o'clock in the morning, when one of the elders set off to celebrate Easter. Children often became attached to these elders. About an hour later they returned with sacred foods, and the whole family sat down at the table to break their fast. At this meal, one could fearlessly ask for anything and everything was given unconditionally. Of course, adults especially did not lean on the displayed dishes. Here appeared all sorts of leftovers that did not hit the table: jelly, ham trimmings, fried fish. Well, everything was necessarily eaten on a painted egg, also a piece of kulich and Easter, like consecrated gifts. In any case, everyone was full and satisfying to satiety. After that, the table was removed.
All the bones, egg shells, crumbs were buried by the father in the garden, and the mother took us out into the yard to see how the sun “rejoices”.
Subsequently, I observed this interesting phenomenon many times, but, as if it were yesterday, I remember how we admired the sun through the wattle fence, breaking away from the edge of the earth. Its colors were constantly changing: red, purple, orange, blue, yellow and, especially beautiful, green color, constantly appeared and disappeared, changing in this enchanting and magical game. The sun really rejoiced. With such a fascinating spectacle, it was impossible not to rejoice and people. “Christ is resurrecting the dead!”…Yes, it was mother nature, mother earth, who resurrected under the jubilant sun. The life of a person was renewed, his hopes for a well-fed and happy life revived. Although these peasant hopes were in vain, they called him to work, to struggle, they inspired in him faith in a better future.
After admiring the sun, the older part went to bed, and the younger, having got a couple of eggs, went outside to try their luck. Trays appeared and a game of rolling eggs began - happiness was variable: either, having lost their testicles, they ran home to grab a couple more, then, having won, they either ate them or put them in their bosoms. In general, the matter ended with the fact that almost all the guys overate. 
Why did people go to cemeteries more often in villages on Easter, and in big cities they organized festivities and fairs, what did tsars and nobles give to loved ones for the holiday, and how did religious processions take place after the Revolution?
Director of the Center for Anthropology of Religion at the European University Alexander Panchenko talks about Easter traditions in St. Petersburg in the 18th-20th centuries.
Alexander Panchenko
Doctor of Philology, Director of the Center for Anthropology of Religion at the European University, Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
How Easter was celebrated in Russia and how city festivities were held in St. Petersburg
We do not have reliable data on when Easter was first celebrated in Russia, but it is clear that we are talking about the era of the spread of Christianity, that is, the second half of the 10th - early 11th centuries. Easter customs that still exist today, including Easter bread and Easter eggs, are known among many Christian nations in Europe, so they should be considered quite ancient.
In the peasant culture of the Eastern Slavs, Holy, Easter and subsequent weeks are associated with memorial rites: this is one of the calendar periods when the boundaries between the worlds of the living dead seem to “open”.
In modern Russian Orthodoxy, Radonitsa is considered a spring memorial day - Tuesday of St. Thomas' week - however, in the villages, various memorial rites were performed on Maundy Thursday and Easter. In big cities, these traditions were not so important: festivities and fairs were a distinctive feature of the Easter week here.
In St. Petersburg, Easter began to be celebrated soon after the founding of the city. It must be said that the festive and spectacular culture of the era of Peter I was more focused on secular and partly borrowed from Europe forms of entertainment, and not on the old church ceremonial.
Easter night in Petersburg. From a painting by the artist S. Zhivotovsky engraver. for Rodina B. Luts. Photo: Rodina Magazine No. 16, 1899
In the 19th century, Easter festivities in St. Petersburg were held on the Field of Mars and Admiralteyskaya Square - where the Alexander Garden is now located. Before that, the Maslenitsa festivities were also held there: they rode down the hills, set up fair stalls and booths. On Easter, they no longer rode down the slides - instead they set up swings or carousels. During Maslenitsa and Easter festivities one could see trained bears and puppet comedies.
How Easter was celebrated by nobles, peasants and clergy and what they gave each other for the holiday
While Petersburgers went to Easter fairs and booths, the peasants arranged their own - village festivities. There they fought with eggs dyed red, the main Easter color. For both children and adults, the now forgotten, but then traditional game of rolling eggs was popular: a small area with eggs laid out was fenced off, a groove was set at an angle and the player’s egg was rolled from it - which eggs the player’s egg touches, he takes. In another variation, the player's egg had to reach a certain area [of the playing field].
In many places, the peasants had a custom of christening with the dead: after the Easter service, people went to the cemetery and, turning to the graves of their relatives, said: “Christ is risen!”. It was assumed that the dead heard this Easter greeting and could even respond to it.
The clergy, as a rule, did not participate in the festive festivities: the situation did not allow it, and the employment was great. During the Easter week, they could serve prayers in private homes, for which they were presented with various treats and money.
The nobles also attended church services and festivities. At the same time, it was customary to arrange dinner parties on Easter, and to make visits during the Easter week. Among the Easter gifts that rich and noble people made to each other, a special place was occupied by “models” of Easter eggs, made, as a rule, from porcelain.
The continuation of this particular tradition was the eggs made by the firm of Carl Faberge for the imperial family under Alexander III and Nicholas II (a total of 54 copies were made for the royal family - approx. "Paper").
What does Easter cake symbolize and why did eggs begin to be used as an Easter treat
Easter bread, called "Kulich" or "Easter", is a rather old Christian tradition known to all Slavs. Apparently, it is associated with church rituals, namely with artos - liturgical bread baked from leavened dough. It was consecrated in the church on Easter week. Artos looked like a large prosphora and symbolized the invisible presence of Christ.
Easter eggs are associated with the symbolism of death and rebirth: the egg looks like a “dead” object, but a chicken can hatch from it, that is, something alive can turn out. Ideas about death and rebirth are important both for the theological understanding of Easter and for mass religious culture.
In village traditions, the time of Easter is perceived as a period of contact with the dead people. In Christian apocrypha and folklore legends, it is said that on Easter the dead come to earth or that sinners are released from hell.
How did Easter pass after the Revolution?
After the revolution, the church was separated from the state, Easter ceased to be a public holiday, and participation in church rituals became a private affair of the believer. No one forbade officially celebrating Easter, but this was not encouraged either: in the early years, propaganda was carried out against the celebration of religious holidays, later certain details were banned - for example, bell ringing.
Easter processions during the entire Soviet period were not prohibited, but not all believers dared to participate in them. Sometimes, however, the authorities could prohibit the religious procession, but this was rare.
Gavrilov, Ivan Konstantinovich (1878-1962) [Easter procession at the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg]: an open letter. - [St. Petersburg: between 1904 and 1917. Photo: expositions
During the Stalin period, especially in the second half of the 1930s, most Orthodox churches were closed, and priests were repressed. Therefore, believers no longer had a choice - they simply could not come to their parish church for Easter.
The situation changed somewhat in the second half of the 1940s, when the state policy towards religion became more tolerant and some Orthodox churches reopened. Under Khrushchev, a new anti-religious campaign began and the Easter celebrations were once again limited. In the last decades of the Soviet era, the celebration of Easter was also not very encouraged, but on the whole it was tolerated.
In the everyday life of many Soviet people, Easter was still a holiday, though it was more private than public and associated with domestic customs, in particular, with the same Easter cakes and painted eggs.
