Easter in Russia

Easter is the day of the resurrection of Christ. The holiday came to Russia from Byzantium together with Russia’s christening in the end of the 10th century. Since then, this Christian holiday has been widely celebrated all over Russia. 

The day before Easter all churches hold night services and organize religious processions around churches. By that time, kulich, the traditional holiday baking symbolizing the body of Christ, had been already baked and Easter eggs painted. The morning starts from visiting neighbors and giving away Easter eggs. The common phrase you can hear on that day is: "Khristos voskres!" (Christ is risen!), which is to be followed by "Voistinu voskres" (Truly He is risen! This traditional greeting followed by hugging and triple kissing is called "kiss of peace". Christian Easter feast lasts seven days and is called the Holy Week or Sedmitsa.