Ukrainian Traditions: Easter Food

The root of many of today’s Ukrainian Christian traditions can be found in ancient pre-Christian times of the culture of early Ukrainians and nowhere is this more evident than in the beautiful tradition of the Easter basket.

During ancient times many Ukrainian customs were connected to the calendar, to nature and to the changing of the seasons. With the coming of Christianity in 988 AD, the colourful, pre-Christian rituals blended with and became integrated into Christian celebrations.

 Easter for Ukrainians it is a second big celebration, after Christmas. Easter Day is a public holiday across Ukraine and celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from death, as told in the Christian bible. It is a perfect reason for families and friends to get together. In Ukrainian, Easter is called Velykden (The Great Day), a term used in early Rus’ translations of John Damascene.

40 days before the Easter Ukrainians have to keep a tradition of the Great Lent – meat free, dairy free and egg free.

Meat, eggs and dairy products, according to the Greek-Catholic and Orthodox traditions (two major religions in Ukraine) you allowed to eat on an Easter day and all the days after that – till next lent.

Also, you cannot simply eat meat, eggs and dairy on an Easter Sunday without blessing your food in a church first, so you have to prepare your Easter food basket. Preparing such a basket it is really big deal for every Ukrainian, especially for the women of the house (normally in Ukraine all the cooking, baking and preserving food done by women).

So, what is has to be in a Ukrainian Easter food basket? 

Pysankas, which are nicely decorated hard boiled eggs (with shells on – otherwise, how can you decorate?)

Paska, which is sweet egg bread with raisins

Meat products – sausages (mostly garlic ones), ham, smoked bacon (whole piece)

Horseradish root or horseradish with beets (very often both)

Dairy products – butter, cottage cheese or farmer cheese
Salt

Another big deal for every Ukrainian lady preparing her Easter basket is to decorate the basket nicely – with some greenery, like vinca, myrtus or fern, and some painted wooden Easter eggs or beaded Easter eggs, a candle and an embroidered cover.

A blessing an Easter food baskets is held on Saturday night, before the Easter Sunday, or very early at the morning, on an Easter Sunday – depend on a church schedule.

The ceremony of blessing is really, really nice and festive. Ukrainians like to bring entire family, with kids and grand-kids to a ceremony. People are lining up with their Easter food baskets on the church’s front yard, waiting for a priest with Holy Water to bless the baskets.

Easter food also can be blessed inside of the Church.

So, an Easter food baskets are blessed.

                                              ( will continue)