Easter 2025: traditions, preparation for the holiday and what not to do
Kyiv • UNN
In 2025, Easter is celebrated on April 20. This holiday symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, and preparations for it begin in Holy Week, painting Easter eggs.
This year, Easter falls on April 20. This great holiday, associated with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, has deep roots that go back to pre-Christian times. How to celebrate and spend Easter and what are the well-known, and not so well-known, traditions associated with it, folklorist, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Olena Ivanovska told the journalist of UNN.
What does Easter symbolize
Easter has deep roots even before Christian times. The celebration of this day was previously based on the vernal equinox. Later, with the advent of Christianity, Easter became identified with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. In any case, Easter symbolized the victory of Light over Darkness, Life over Death
The professor noted that in this sense, Easter was even more important than Christmas, because Christmas symbolizes the Birth of Life. Instead, Easter is the feast of his Victory.
Preparation for the holiday
"The preparatory period for Easter is Holy Week. The time of the strictest fast. At this time, it is customary to tidy up the house. Our ancestors cleaned the house, whitewashed the walls. In more modern terms, the adjoining plot was arranged," Ivanovska explained.
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From Holy Thursday, you should start painting Easter eggs. The ornament and pattern can be very diverse, and the painting process itself is a kind of meditation, when a person reflects on his life, thinks about God, about his good and bad deeds. In addition, giving Easter eggs is a kind of presentation of a greeting card.
"It is very important to understand the difference between krashanka and pysanka. Krashanka was painted in one color and it was always the first dish that was eaten at the festive table, marking the end of Lent. Instead, the pysanka was placed in the designated place and stored until the next Easter," the scientist explained.
What you should know about Easter cake
"The first breads were baked for Easter even in pre-Christian times. They were round, not sweet, but salty. They were called women and they were intended for sharing with neighbors. It was so that there was always something to share, women were baked a lot. The first Easter cakes were also not sweet. Sweet ones began to appear only in the twentieth century," Ivanovska said.
On the eve of Easter, people went to church all night with their whole family, including small children.
As for the consecration of food, now they mostly consecrate only Easter cake and eggs. Instead, various dishes used to be consecrated. The pig played a big role, from which jelly was usually made. Also, horseradish and salt were necessarily consecrated. This is important, because before that people fasted and wanted to eat well with consecrated dishes
Ivanovska added that it was strictly forbidden to consecrate vodka and other alcoholic beverages. Instead, there was a tradition of consecrating knives.
"It was believed that if you consecrate a knife seven times during the night before Easter, it will gain magical abilities and faithfully serve its owner," the scientist said.
After the consecration, the consumption of food began, and it was usually done by the whole community. In some regions of Ukraine, the tradition of eating Easter food in the cemetery has been preserved.
"In this way, people seemed to be trying to erase the line between the real world and the afterlife. A kind of mystery took place," Ivanovska explained.
Hayivky and Radonitsa
"Hayivky during Easter week were a time of joy because of the victory of spring over winter. Young people were in a dance, which also had a mystical meaning and erased the boundaries between the spiritual and reality," the folklorist said.
Hayivky was a fun for young people. Instead, Radonitsa (from the words "family", "joy") was an action for the older generation, the purpose of which was to preserve a positive, festive mood in old age, when the end of earthly life is inexorably approaching.
"It is with Radonitsa that the tradition is connected, when ordinary swings were placed in the courtyards of churches, on which old grandmothers swung, as if demonstrating their joy of life despite their advanced age," Ivanovska said.
She added that it is during Easter week that it is customary to greet each other with the words "Christ is Risen!". Also important at this time is the singing of the ancient hymn "Death has conquered death!", which also adds more mystery to this period and encourages reflection on the meaning of life and death.
What you can't do on Easter
You can't work on Easter. Of course, no one forbids you to do basic things: feed livestock, or just pets. But I can't do long-term manual work: knit, craft, chop. This is strictly prohibited
Finally, Ivanovska explained that if you still need to do something, you should act without making too much noise and not distract relatives and neighbors from the festive mood with your actions. In addition, it is unacceptable to perform any work for money on Easter Day.
