Today is Russian Easter (Пасха, Paskha). What do we do today? Many people go to the church (some even for the whole night) and other stay at home. But many and many Russians (even atheists) greet each other with "Христос воскрес!" (Christ has risen!) and get as an answer "Воистину воскрес!" (Indeed risen!). And of course, almost all Russians have a special menu today. Well, since it's traditional. you can see all the main elements at the picture, though it was painted by Russian artist Boris Kustodiev (Борис Кустодиев) about 100 years ago. So, which are they?
First, these are painted eggs, as in many European countries. Traditionally, they're red to symbolize the Blood of Christ, but nowadays they can be of all colors you can imagine and even have some funny design. People present the eggs to each other ("Христос воскрес!" - "Воистину воскрес!") kissing each other on the cheek three times (it's called "христосоваться"). That's actually what the lady and the priest on the picture do. Egg tapping also takes place.
Behind the plate with the eggs you can see a white pyramid. It's the paskha (пасха), as we call it, a sweet dish made out of quark (sometimes with some eggs, vanilla, raisins or candied fruits). It is supposed to be eaten along with the kulich (кулич), a traditional Easter cake (normally, cylindrical, decorated with sugar glaze - and whatever). In good old times, every family used to have their own recipe of it, though now many people prefer to buy it - just to save time. I didn't cook anything this year (as I used to do), just decorated eggs. As I promised, I publish a photo here:
P.S. By the way, there is a very good page about Paskha on Wikipedia. Check it!
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