He came to us from ancient times. On this day, according to Christian legend, Jesus Christ rose after being crucified on the cross to atone for all the sins of mankind. The miraculous resurrection of Christ means the greatest victory of good over evil, a visible symbol that love and faith are much stronger than hatred and fear. Therefore, when people meet each other on this Sunday, they say, " Christ is risen!" What is usually answered: "He is truly risen!" Preparation for the Easter holiday takes a whole week, each day of which has a special meaning, and which is celebrated by holding certain rituals.
This year, on May 2, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter.
The service in Orthodox churches begins in the evening of the previous day and continues throughout the night. In the morning, the Holy Liturgy begins. A distinctive feature of the Easter service is that it is all sung. Churches at this time are brightly lit with candles, which the worshippers hold in their hands and place in front of the icons. The blessing after the liturgy of "brashen", i.e. cheese, meat and eggs, is given to the faithful permission from fasting. In the evening, Easter Vespers is celebrated.
After the solemn service in the church, they returned home, covered the table with a white tablecloth and laid out the ritual food brought from the church on it. The family meal began with a consecrated egg: a piece of it was given to everyone who sat at the table. After that, everyone was supposed to have a spoonful of cottage cheese Easter and a piece of cake. And only then other dishes prepared in honor of the holiday were put on the table, and a joyful feast began.
On this day, they decorated the houses with wreaths of green twigs and fresh flowers, invited friends and friends to visit, arranged lavish feasts, kissed each other, exchanged eggs.
On the 9th day after Easter, parents ' day (Radonitsa) will come, the day of special commemoration of the deceased, this year this day is May 11.
To pray for the dead on Radonitsa in the church is the sacred duty of every Christian. On this day, it is desirable:
* submit a note before the service with the names of the deceased for whom you want to pray;
* take communion after the Holy Liturgy;
* celebrate a memorial service with those present, marked by Easter hymns.
In doing all this, we take care of the souls of the dead, who cannot pray or perform God-pleasing deeds and rely on the living for this.
It is believed that on the holiday you can not grieve for the dead. On the contrary, it is necessary to believe and keep the hope for his eternal life and the resurrection of the soul in another form.
The meaning of the holiday: a special commemoration of the deceased. On this day, only joyful events associated with people who have passed away should arise in the memory.
It is recommended to spend a parent's day at the cemetery, devoting a few hours to cleaning the grave, remembering a loved one who is already in the next world. Grave graves When visiting a cemetery, the graves of the deceased, everyone tries to be the first to come to the grave of their parents, then to other relatives or close people.
You also need to distribute the gifts consecrated in the church, asking to pray for the deceased.
Victoria PASTARNAK