Celebrating the Holiday

April 30, 2008
Christ Has Risen! Christ Has Risen! Christ Has Risen! Easter is one of the largest holidays in Ukraine. It is larger than Christmas. At midnight we visited an Orthodox Church to see some of the traditions. People line up around the church at midnight with their Easter Baskets. Inside the basket you will find eggs, bread, vodka and anything else the people want blessed for their Easter meal. There is a special Easter Cake in the bread. A large candle is stuck in the top and lit. It burns bright from midnight until about 6:00AM when the priest comes out of the church with a bucket of holy water and a large brush. The priest uses the brush and water to put the fire out. If he puts out your candle or splashes you with the Holy Water then you will have a blessed year.
While people are standing outside the church others are inside. Inside you will find people lighting candles, praying before ornate pictures of the saints, and using their hand to make a cross in front of them. People stand and listen as a choirs chant, bells ring, and priests read scripture and other traditional literature. All the women are required to have their heads covered when they enter the church.
All day, people great each other with “Christ Has Risen!”; to which one responds “Christ has Risen Indeed!” (Spoken In Russian, of course) In every religious service you will hear this proclaimed three times before anything else begins. The celebration is so huge that the children get the whole week off school. Easter in Ukraine seldom falls on the same day as Easter in the West because they follow the Orthodox calendar.
After getting a glimpse of the Orthodox celebration of Easter I took a nap and then woke again for the Sunrise service. The local Nazarene Church held the service in a beautiful park overlooking the city. We joined together in singing, hearing the word of the Lord and enjoying the gorgeous view of the city. Fortunately for me, one of the visiting missionaries, Dr. Crocker gave the message in English. This made it much easier for me to understand.
The regular Sunday service is held at 11:00AM, which I also attended. Dr. Heneke a visitor from the U.S. preached in this service. Two English sermons in one day was a blessing. To celebrate the Easter holiday the children performed during the service. They sang songs and played a song with bells. A huge candle with one of the largest flames I have ever seen was lit during the service. A table at the front of the church was decorated with traditional Ukrainian’ embroidered cloth. It held traditional Easter cakes. No one is quite sure why the table of cakes was there but as the Babooshkas came in the door the table filled up.
For those of you who are wondering, the traditional Ukrainian Easter Cake has a shape similar to a cupcake. It is much larger. They are usually between about 6” to 12” in height. It is also much dryer. Many have icing on top. The American missionaries say they make good French toast.
This is a small sample of Easter here in Ukraine. Behind all of the traditions and activities it has very deep and spiritual meaning to the people who celebrate. It is a Christian Holiday that survived the reign of Communism. Easter is indeed not just another holiday but a celebration of the resurrection of Christ and the new life Jesus offers.