Easter in Russia is celebrated as one of the main religious feast among Orthodox Christians. It’s that time of the year, when the toll of bells for the celebration of Easter can be heard all over Russia. Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Russia a special ritual of Easter celebration concerns to eggs decoration. Russian families are used to celebrate Easter holiday by painting eggs with various colors with a predominant of red as Russia’s favourite color. Another reason that explains Russians’ preference to red color relates to religious tradition: the red dye is chosen because it symbolizes the blood of Christ. Furthermore, people put the eggs open using nails, in order to remind themselves again of the death of Christ.
Another important aspect of Russia’s Easter concerns to traditional family dinner which should be held directly at the Church. Russian people used to bake Easter cakes, known as "kulich," make curd paskha, bring it to the church along with them and ask the priest to bless it before they start eating it.
Eggs painting is an important part of making bright and colorful eggs - the main eating of a festive table. The easiest way to paint eggs is to boil them together with onion husks. It is necessary to put the husks in cold water, wash the eggs and boil for about 10 minutes. When the eggs are ready, wipe them and then paint as you wish.
Kulich (made from fresh cheese) and painted eggs are traditional food cooked and eaten to celebrate the holiday of Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Below you can find the recipe how to bake Kulich.
It is better to prepare a large amount of dough for kulich, so that it can ferment better. To insure kulich stay fresh for a long of time, a lot of eggs, butter and sugar should be used. A special 1-1,5 cubic litre, a cylindrical form, made from aluminium is used for baking kulich. Forms are washed over with butter and half-filled with dough. Kulich can be decorated with candied peels, nuts and sugar powder.
Paskha is another essential dish of the holiday feast. It is prepared using fresh cheese with various ingredients. To bake paskha it is necessary to mix all ingredients and lay them in a specal form which is then put under press for a few hours to look like a form. The form is carefully opened and the paskha is laid on the plate.
This year Easter celebration in Russia is going to be held on 24 April 2011-the time prefectly matching for visiting Russia which likes a rainbow, full of colors from green trees and grass, flavour flowers, blue lakes, warm temperature about 15-18 degrees above zero. If to believe to the weather forecast and as it is usually at this time of the year, we can guarantee a warm blooming spring - an ideal time for sightseeing and guided-tours.
In case you require further information, please let us know by sending requests to our e-mail: levmar@tari.ru
We also can prepare tailor-made Easter programs matching expectations and budget both of individuals and groups!
Best wishes,
Tari Tour team
