Birthday
HydrangeasThis article was prepared with the support of UFL flower delivery. Easter is the brightest spring holiday. Homes smell of freshly baked paska (Easter bread), children dye eggs and festive decorations set the mood. Alongside church rites, Ukrainians have many folk beliefs about Easter: our ancestors believed that doing the right things on this day would bring health, prosperity and happiness to the home.
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Holy Week customs
The week before Easter is called Holy Week (Passion Week). Many customs are tied to it:
- Maundy (Clean) Thursday is for cleaning. It was believed the holiday won't come to an untidy house. People washed before dawn with "clean" water, sometimes with a silver coin in it, for health and wealth.
- Pussy willow blessed on Palm Sunday is kept all year as a charm and was used to "drive out" illness from a child's room.
- On Good Friday people didn't work, sew or do laundry, and tried to spend the day quietly.
- On Saturday they baked paska, dyed krashanky and decorated pysanky, and in the evening took the Easter basket to church to be blessed.
Signs for luck and prosperity
- When the bells ring on Easter Sunday, people cross themselves and say: "Christ is risen — health to my family, wealth to my home, a harvest to my field." At Easter anyone was allowed to ring the church bells — and make a wish.
- After the morning service, hurry home and sit down to the festive meal: the sooner you start, the better the year will go.
- The whole family starts the meal with a piece of blessed paska and an egg, to keep peace and order in the home.
- Crumbs of blessed paska are fed to birds for luck and wealth.
- Give a coin to someone in need and you won't lack money all year.
- Whoever sees the Easter sunrise first will know no trouble all year. People said that on this day "the sun dances".
- The stubs of Easter candles are kept until next Easter to protect the home from fire and the evil eye.
- A candle that burns right down in church is a good sign; one that suddenly goes out means trouble.
Signs for health and family
- Water drawn from a spring or river on Easter was considered healing.
- On a memorial evening a pot of honey (kanunchyk) was set by the icons to remember departed relatives, then taken to the cemetery with dyed eggs on Radonitsa.
- If a child was late to walk or talk, they were led barefoot across a wooden floor at Easter.
- Those born on Easter Sunday would become great people, and those born in Bright Week (the week after Easter) would enjoy strong health.
- Releasing birds at the Annunciation or Easter, people made a wish that was sure to come true.
Signs about love
- Unmarried girls rang the church bell and asked for a good groom.
- Hearing a cuckoo at Easter meant a new baby in the family, or a wedding soon for the unmarried.
- Lovers were told not to kiss on the threshold — it meant parting. For a long, happy life they kissed under a tree.
- Young people exchanged dyed eggs and Easter kisses — it was thought to help find a match.
Weather signs
- Clear weather at Easter means a hot summer; rain means a cool one.
- Lots of stars on the night before Easter — frosts are still to come.
- If all the snow has melted by Easter, the year will be fruitful.
- Rain during Bright Week promises a good harvest.
- A thunderstorm in Bright Week means a late, dry autumn.
- A colourful sunset on Easter is a sign of great luck.
What not to do at Easter
- quarrel, swear or refuse help;
- throw away shells and crumbs of blessed food — they are buried or burned;
- do housework, laundry or sewing;
- be sad or visit the cemetery — that's what Radonitsa, the 9th day after Easter, is for.
FAQ
What do you say when the Easter bells ring?
Traditionally, people cross themselves and ask for health for the family, wealth for the home and a harvest for the field.
Can you visit the cemetery on Easter?
The Church recommends visiting graves on Radonitsa, the Tuesday of the second week after Easter, and spending Easter itself in joy.
What should you do with blessed eggshells?
Don't throw them away: bury them in the garden, put them in running water or burn them.
Happy Easter and only good omens! You can greet your loved ones from afar too — order a spring bouquet with delivery from UFL.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
