Easter is the most important holiday in Ukraine, with preparations starting seven weeks beforehand during Advent when believers avoid meat and animal products. Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week, where people bring home blessed willow branches. Ukrainians observe Clean Thursday by bathing before sunrise to cleanse themselves, and women bake paska bread on Good Friday. Ukrainians create pysanky eggs for their Easter baskets, which are blessed in the all-night Easter mass on Saturday and taken out for festive meals and egg exchanges on Easter Sunday.
2. Easter in Ukraine
Easter is the most important holiday of the
year.
Preparation for Easter starts seven weeks
ahead of time with the advent. Believers
don’t eat meat and animal products.
Palm Sunday , the week before Easter is
known in Ukraine as Willow Sunday.
People bring home willow branches
which have been blessed in church. The
week is dedicated to preparing for
Easter.
3. Easter in Ukraine
The Thursday before Easter is called Clean
Thursday. According to Ukrainian tradition
everyone should take a bath before sunrise
on this day . The house must be clean too.
Good Friday is the day that the woman of
the family bakes “paska”, Ukrainian Easter
bread.
Easter eggs are called pysanky. Pysanka
shells have been found in archaeological sites
more than 3000 years ago, and many of
those designs are still being used on pysanka
today.
4. Easter in Ukraine
On Friday
children and
grown ups
paint Easter
eggs to add to
the Easter
basket which
will be blessed
in church.
5.
6. Easter in Ukraine
Easter basket should contain pysanky,
salt, paska, butter, cheese, vine,
horseradish or garlic and sometimes
sausage and ham.
In the evening people go to church for
the Easter mass which lasts all night.
Easter Sunday is a day of singing songs
and having festive meals.
People exchange Easter eggs.
