Happy Easter to anyone celebrating it today! Traditionally, people greet each other by saying ‘Christ is Risen!” with another person answering ‘Truly, He is Risen!”

Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it’s the most significant Christian Holiday. It has such a positive feeling, that people are drawn to churches on this day, even if they are not regular church goers. It’s a celebration of life and hope.

In Russian Orthodox traditions, special cakes are made for Easter, kulich and paskha, as well as painted eggs. Traditionally, the eggs were painted red, using onion shells, but nowadays you can see an array of various colours. These customary foods are brought to church to be sprinkled with holy water and then they are enjoyed as a part of the holiday feast. Friends and family give eggs to each other, kids play a game of who’s egg would break first, all warm and good natured fun.

Today, I received photos from my family along with greetings. Here’s what they had on their tables:

From my sister in Shanghai:

From my parents, who are currently in Crimea:

From my mother-in-law in Moscow:

From my brother-in-law and his family in Anapa, South of Russia by the Black Sea:

And this is how the morning went in our local Orthodox church in Pardubice, Czech Republic:

For other interesting Easter traditions, check out this post.