At midnight on Saturday before Sunday, with bells ringing and candles lit, Orthodox Christians welcomed Easter, greeting each other with “Christ is Risen!” and “Verily Risen!”.
Easter is the holiest holiday for the laity all over the world. On this day, the church celebrates the Resurrection of God’s son Jesus Christ. Some of the traditions and customs date back to ancient times, and today we have accepted them as part of the sacredness of this day.
Christ will rise from the dead,
trampling death with death
and those who are in the tombs
life is a gift.
Christ rose from the dead,
as with death death trampled
and to those in the graves,
gives life.
Easter is celebrated for three days. On Sunday morning, we go to church for the solemn Easter liturgy, after which it is the turn of the festive table, around which the whole family gathers. On it, the ritual bread is first broken by the oldest person in the house into as many pieces as there are people in the family, leaving a piece of bread for God as well. Children and adults beat each other with red eggs, seeing whose egg will turn out to be the healthiest. It is believed that the one whose egg turns out to be a “fighter” will be the healthiest during the year.
On Easter everyone wears new clothes. The first dance after Sirni Zagovezni is also played. It is exuberant and cheerful and is an expression of people’s joy at the resurrection of nature for a new life, of faith in the victory of good over evil.
After lunch on Easter comes the turn of the “swings” custom. All the maidens go to a place where there is a tall tree and swing for health. This is where the boys come too and everyone looks to swing to protect themselves from snakes and disease.
On Monday, the first day of the so-called Bright (Tomina) Sunday, in some areas there is a custom called “scattering eggs”, therefore the day is also called “scattered Monday”. Standing in two groups, facing each other, girls and boys roll red eggs to each other.
Agro Plovdiv wishes everyone health, peace, love, luck and prosperity!
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