Christians all over the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Russians celebrate Easter according to the Orthodox calendar, usually a week or two later than in the West. it comes after the strict 40 days of Lent (All products that come from animals: meat, milk, eggs, cheese, etc. – are forbidden). This is the most important holiday in the Orthodox church.
On the Thursday before Easter (known as Clean Thursday) women thoroughly clean their houses preparing them for the Easter celebration. On Saturday the service starts at midnight and lasts until 3 or 4 in the morning. People come to church with Easter baskets to be blessed.
The tradition of Easter food is Easter bun (Kulich), painted eggs and a special cheesecake with raisins and nuts (Paskha).$CUT$
On Sunday morning a family gathering at the table, everybody greets each other with words ‘Jesus resurrected’ (One person says: Христос Воскресе! and the other one replies: Воистину Воскресе!), kisses 3 times on the cheek and the Easter breakfast begins.
For non-religious people, Easter is just a joyful occasion with a lot of delicious food and beautiful traditions.