Every year on the eve of Easter, thousands of believers flock to churches with Easter baskets. The baskets contain food, mainly Easter cakes and colored eggs, which the clergy bless with water. Your meal on Easter day should begin with consecrated food.
It is extremely important to know when Easter cakes and eggs are lit so as not to miss this event. First you need to remember what date Easter will be in 2019. For Orthodox believers, Easter will be on April 28, which means that Great Lent ends and I celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Easter cakes shine on the eve of Easter, that is, for 2019 - this is April 27th.

Each day of the last week before Easter is called "great" or "passionate". Each day has its own traditions, features and signs. On Thursday, you need to clean the apartment (do you know?), wash yourself, start preparing dishes for the festive table. On Friday, you should refrain from any chore work and be sure to go to church. This is the day when Jesus Christ was crucified and during the whole year Good Friday is the most mournful day. What to do on Holy Saturday?

This day is exactly the time when Easter cakes and eggs are lit in 2019 (or any other year). On this day, the last day of Lent before Easter, housewives get up early. It is necessary to complete all preparations for the holiday and prepare dishes for the Easter table. We know, among other things, Easter cakes are prepared, eggs are painted. Then an Easter basket is collected, with which they go to the temple.

What to put in the Easter basket

It is important for believers not only to know when Easter cakes and eggs are lit, but also why they do it. After Lent, you can eat animal products. This is where Easter morning begins. And the first pieces of food eaten by believers should be the consecrated food. You can’t fill your stomach with such products, you should pray before a meal, and then cut off a piece of Easter cake, eggs, and meat for each family member.

You do not need to put a lot of products in the Easter basket. After all, these products will need to be eaten during the holiday week and, if possible, start with them every morning. Consecrated food should never be thrown away. Therefore, if you are going to sanctify food on April 27 before Easter in 2019, you need to put several eggs, Easter cake, a piece of meat, cucumber and tomato, salt in the basket. This will be enough to start the Easter morning right and to have the strength to eat all the products.

What else is important to know about date and time

April 27 is the date of Holy Saturday, when the church is lit
ichi and eggs. Depending on the church, the consecration procedure may begin at different times, but always in the morning. As a rule, they begin to bless Easter cakes and other products on Saturday at about 10 am, and finish a few hours before the start of the evening service. By the way, Easter comes during the service on the night from Saturday to Sunday. If you are going to go to the service, then upon returning from it, the fast is over for you, Easter has come and you can “break the fast” with consecrated products, congratulate each other.

The consecration of food takes place on the street; in many temples there is such a tradition. Benches are set up around the church, or baskets are offered to be placed directly on the ground. The priest walks in a circle, consecrating food and people for a good and bright holiday. As a rule, on the day of the consecration of food, many beggars stand near the church, it is customary for them to give alms. Moreover, not only with money, but also with festive Easter cakes, painted eggs. By the way, do not forget that the most useful is considered

Every Orthodox Christian before the Easter holiday consecrates pre-baked Easter cakes and painted eggs. This event is important, so you need to know exactly when to bless Easter cakes for Easter 2018. The consecration of Easter cakes is in some way a symbolic process. It is necessary for the transition of a person observing Great Lent from Lenten food to fast food.

In 2018, the Resurrection of Christ falls on April 8th. It is customary to hallow Easter cakes on the eve of the holiday, i.e. on Great Saturday April 7th.

Each of the seven days before Sunday has its own special meaning. On Thursday, called Clean, it is customary to carry out a general cleaning of the home, as well as to start cooking Easter cakes and painting eggs. It is customary to spend Friday, which is called Good Friday, in humility and prayer, attend church services, and refuse all entertainment events, since on this day of the week Christ died in the name of atonement for the sins of all mankind. Good Friday is the most sorrowful and mournful day for any Orthodox Christian.

It is Holy Saturday that is the most suitable day for the consecration of festive food. On this day, it is customary to get up at sunrise, prepare to attend the morning service, and also take care of the festive table. For those who have observed Great Lent, the obligatory condition is, first of all, to make a prayer, and then eat a consecrated egg and a piece of Easter cake.

It is customary to attend a festive service with a pre-assembled basket. It should not contain many products, only the most important. Food that will be consecrated during the festive service should not be thrown away. It will be enough to put a few eggs, Easter cake, a piece of meat, salt and some vegetables in the basket. This set is enough to start the festive morning right, as well as mark the end of Lent.

Holy Saturday, which falls on April 7 in 2018, is the only day on which Easter cakes and eggs will be consecrated. The time of this procedure depends on the rules of each particular temple. It may start at a slightly different time, but always in the morning. Approximately - this is about 10 o'clock in the morning and almost before the beginning of the evening service, until about 15 o'clock in the afternoon. For those who attend church services from Saturday to Sunday, in the morning upon arrival from the church, they can make the process of breaking the fast and begin to congratulate their relatives and friends. The service lasts all night, and already at 4 am the first consecration of food is held.

Since the Easter holiday falls in the spring, the weather is most often favorable for the consecration of Easter cakes on the street under the open sky. Tables and benches are placed around the temple; somewhere it is customary to place baskets of food directly on the ground. The priest will take turns passing along the tables, and consecrate both people and food for a good start to the holiday.

Near the temple on this day you can see a large number of needy people begging for alms. They cannot be denied alms. Moreover, alms can be expressed not only in money, but also in festive products - Easter cakes and eggs.

For those people who do not observe Great Lent, do not stand at night at the festive service in the temple, but come in the morning to consecrate Easter cakes, you should ask yourself the question: should I even celebrate the feast of Christ's Resurrection, and what do I have to do with it?

In 2017, due to the coincidence of calendars, all Christian denominations celebrate Happy Easter of Christ simultaneously - March 16. On Holy Week, dedicated to the end of earthly life and the Resurrection of Christ, in Russia they traditionally prepared for the holiday - they fasted, prayed, carefully cleaned their homes and prepared traditional holiday dishes: Easter cakes, curd Easter and painted eggs.

In principle, everyone knows how to paint eggs, but the recipes for Easter cakes and Easter cakes are always in demand. At the same time, many have their own cherished family secrets on how to make these dishes tastier and please households and guests.

Easter cake recipe

The housewives usually start baking Easter cakes on Thursday, however, if the hand, as they say, is full, and not too many guests are expected, you can postpone this delicious business until Friday.

We offer one of the well-deserved family recipes for Easter cakes.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 1 kg
• Milk - 1.5 cups
• Eggs - 6 pcs.
• Butter - 300 g
• Sugar - 1.5 cups
• Fresh yeast - 40-50 g
• Salt - 3/4 teaspoon
• Raisins - 150 g
• Candied fruits (optional) - 50 g
• Almonds (optional) - 50 g
• Vanillin (optional) - to taste.

Cooking:

• Dissolve yeast in warm milk.
• Add 500 g of flour to the mixture, mix everything well. Cover the mixture with a towel and place in a warm, draft-free place for about 30 minutes. During this time, the dough should double in size.
• While the dough is being understood for the first time, sort out the raisins and pour hot water for 15 minutes.
• Almonds pour boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Then drain the boiling water, rinse the almonds with cold water, peel and dry.
• Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Grind the yolks with sugar and vanilla until white. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
• Gently add the pounded yolks to the prepared dough and mix.
• Then add strongly softened (but not spread) butter and mix again.
• Lastly, add the beaten egg whites and mix everything again gently.
• In the finished mass, add the remaining flour in small parts, kneading the dough each time and making sure that there are no lumps. The dough should not be too hard, but should be slightly sticky.
• Put the dough in a large saucepan, lightly sprinkle with flour and put it back in a warm place for about 50 minutes.
• When the dough rises again, add raisins, candied fruits and finely chopped almonds with a knife, mix everything well and let stand for 20 minutes so that the dough rises a third time.
• Turn on the oven to 100 degrees and let it warm up.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cookie cutters. Lightly grease the bottom of the molds with butter and place a circle of lightly oiled parchment there. The sides of the molds do not need to be lubricated with oil.
• Put the risen dough on the table, cut with a knife into equal parts according to the number of molds. Gently roll each piece of dough into a ball with your hands and carefully place into the mold. The dough should take up 1/3 of the mold.
• Put the molds with the dough on a baking sheet and cover with a napkin.
• After 10-15 minutes, when the dough has doubled, send it to the oven, heated to 100 degrees.
• Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
• Then increase the temperature in the oven to 180-190 degrees and bake until done. When baking, the dough should rise with a cap above the edges of the form. Readiness to check with a wooden stick or toothpick. You need to pierce the cake - if the stick is dry, then it is ready. Small molds require 25 minutes of baking, larger molds 35-40 minutes.
• Remove the finished cakes from the oven and let them stand on the table for 10 minutes.
• Top the cakes with icing or sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate.

Easter recipe

Easter is usually cooked on a Friday to keep it as fresh as possible. Diligent housewives have their cherished, inherited from grandmothers, forms for paska in the form of chests or other traditional forms.

Ingredients:

• Curd - 1600 g
• Sour cream - 800 g
• Eggs - 3 pcs.
• Sugar - 800 g (for those who do not like it to be too sweet, sugar can be less)
• Butter - 400 g
• Raisins and vanilla - to taste

Cooking:

• Pass cottage cheese with butter through a meat grinder.
• Add sugar, sour cream, eggs, raisins and vanilla, mix everything gently and thoroughly.
• Put the pan with the mixture on the stove and heat over low heat, constantly stirring and rubbing thoroughly. Never bring the mixture to a boil.
• Lay out the molds for paska with gauze, pour the finished mixture into molds, press it with a small load and refrigerate, substituting a container to drain the liquid. When Easter stops flowing, the load must be removed.

When to consecrate Easter cakes and Easter in the temple

It was customary to consecrate Easter cakes, Easter cakes, painted eggs, and in general any festive treat in the temple before the start of the Easter meal. This was especially true of Easter cakes, since it is the Easter cake that symbolizes the risen Christ. Therefore, in Russia it was not customary to put unconsecrated Easter cakes on the festive table.

Holiday dishes are consecrated, as a rule, on Holy Saturday, which this year falls on April 15th. This can be done in the morning and afternoon between services. If, due to the active preparation for the holiday, there is no time to go to church during the day, you can take the festive dishes with you to the Easter service, which is held at night, and consecrate them right before the start of the service.

On Great Saturday, streams of people flow to the temples with packages, bundles, in which there are dishes for the Easter table. When do they start consecrating Easter cakes and eggs for Easter 2017? The consecration of Easter food begins on Saturday, from 12:00 to approximately 9:00 pm. But you can do this on the following days after the services: on Sunday, and on Monday, and on Tuesday.

What can be holy for Easter?

Do not forget that you need to assemble the Easter basket correctly and there are products that are strictly forbidden to be brought to church for consecration.

The main attributes of Easter are krshenki - painted eggs, Easter cakes, Easter - and salt (it is believed that then such salt will consecrate all food), as well as Cahors and candles.

This is the set that the clergy approve of: eggs symbolize the victory of life over death, Easter cake - the body of Christ and the fullness of life, Easter - heavenly life, salt - the connection of God with the people, prosperity and the meaning of life, Cahors - the blood of Christ.

In addition to the above mandatory products, vegetables, in particular horseradish, as a symbol of strength and fortitude, as well as fruits and greens, are also placed in the Easter basket for consecration. The Church does not welcome strong alcohol in the Easter basket, but allows Cahors.

What can not be holy at Easter?

The very first ban on strong alcohol, since there is no place for drunks in the church, and getting drunk “for the health of Christ” is not the best idea, so we leave vodka with cognac at home.

It is also better not to carry money and other material values ​​for consecration. Citizens like to dedicate house and car keys, wallets or banknotes, but the church does not favor this.

Krovyanka. If in your church they agree to consecrate meat products, then this sausage is generally not recognized by Orthodox ministers as fit for consumption.

Believers should also remember that the traditional gluttony at Easter is also not welcomed by the church. Food needs to be consecrated a little - it is intended for an easier exit from Lent, and the rest is recommended to be distributed to the poor.

What should be on the Easter table?

After the Easter service, permission is given for all kinds of food. Only, of course, everything should be in moderation. If a person kept a fast, then you do not need to immediately overeat: this can be dangerous to health. Everything should be in moderation, especially when it comes to alcohol.

They sit down at the Easter table after the service - at four o'clock in the morning or already on Sunday afternoon. The whole family, including children, having prayed, sits down at the table and eats the consecrated food. The holiday lasts for forty days, especially solemnly celebrated in the first two weeks after the day of the Resurrection of Christ.

Remember, on Easter you can’t swear, swear, quarrel, fight. You can't get drunk. Evil deeds do not need to be done on ordinary days, but even more so to darken a bright holiday with them.

The time when Easter cakes are holy in different churches is different. In one temple, you can consecrate food for the festive table on Saturday, in another - early Sunday morning. In some churches, services are held in such a way that believers have the opportunity to bring food for consecration twice.

Therefore, before going to church to bless Easter cakes, it is better to ask in advance about the time and order of the Easter service. This can be done with the ministers of the church. But before you go to the church service, you need to prepare.

When is it necessary to sanctify Easter cakes according to the rules?

The church service is held according to established canons, which allow for very minor deviations. According to the canon, each service is accompanied by a prayer chant characteristic of a particular event, time of day, restrictions on the days of fasting and the memory of saints, and so on. The Easter service lasts all night, and the rite of consecration of the products prepared for the morning festive meal is held at 4 o'clock in the morning. The parishioners then carry these products home, and breakfast begins with them.

However, consecrating food on Holy Saturday is also permissible. The ceremony is held on Saturday evening, at the evening service.

After Good Friday, Great Saturday is considered a pre-holiday day, the priest is already wearing white clothes, and the chanting of the church choir becomes more joyful. The resurrection of Christ is near.

It is more convenient to sanctify Easter cakes on Great Saturday, because in order to do this on Sunday, you need to attend the end of the all-night service. Getting up early is very inconvenient, and not everyone can afford to stand vigil in church. Therefore, the tradition to consecrate products the day before, on Saturday, appeared quite a long time ago. The hostesses baked Easter cakes on the night of Friday or early Saturday morning, and took them to church in the evening. And the morning was already passing at home, because after cleaning on Maundy Thursday, the prayerful and bodily feat on Good Friday, preparations on Great Saturday, not everyone had strength for the vigil.

What food can be consecrated at Easter.

Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter, eggs, meat and wine - these are the products that, according to custom, are brought to the church for consecration. It is not necessary to bring a lot of food, since the consecration of meat and wine, fast food, is symbolic. Thus it is allowed to end the post. But breaking the fast begins either with eggs, or with a piece of Easter cake or Easter. Therefore, it is these products that must be brought to church first of all.

It is not necessary to bring all the pastries that were prepared the day before. One or two cookies are enough. The first is eaten during the morning meal, divided among family members, the second is stored for another week and even more, maybe until the next Easter. But this is very rarely done now. Even the best Easter cake gradually becomes stale, so they try to eat it as soon as possible while it is fresh. Colored eggs should bring everything, because they are given, given for exchange, more often they are kept as a keepsake of the holiday.

Other products are carried to the church, if wealth allows. At the same time, it should be remembered that not all parishioners can afford to buy good wine and meat products even for a holiday. Therefore, it would be a good deed to treat other parishioners in the church after the service with part of the food brought, or leave for those who stay for a meal specially organized at the church. You should also ask in advance what products could be brought to church along with Easter cakes. Some priests do not allow meat and wine to be placed, even if church tradition has nothing against it.

In addition to Easter cakes and curd Easter, you can exhibit other pastries: pies, buns, cookies, Easter sweet bread, pie. You can consecrate sweets and fruits.

There are few prohibited products on the list. First of all, do not try to bring vodka and other spirits other than wine. Wine, by the way, does not have to be red. But white wine is not recognized in all churches.

It is better to come to the consecration of Easter cakes in advance. On holidays, there are many more parishioners in the church than usual. It is not always possible to put your products on the table, to go to it without hindrance. In addition, the service may start a little earlier or later than expected, and the consecration time will shift. In smaller parishes, this usually happens more often.

It is more convenient if all the products are put in a basket, which is put on the table like that. It is often customary to decorate this basket with flowers. But let its shape and size be compact and convenient. In addition to her, there will be many others on the table, and there should be enough space for everyone. The basket is lined with napkins or a towel embroidered especially for the holiday. During transportation, Easter cakes and other products can be covered with a cloth.

, Rector of the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo, Moscow:

No one forces you to consecrate food for the Easter table - this is a pious tradition. But sanctification is not just something you do for yourself. A person comes to the temple with something, in this case it is traditional Easter dishes - cottage cheese Easter, painted eggs, Easter cakes, meat - with gratitude to God for having all this.

After all, everything that a person consumes is given to him from God. Therefore, we leave part of the food brought in the temple.

We remember the appeal of Christ, which will sound at the Last Judgment: “I was hungry, and you fed Me” (Matt. 25: 35), because “what you did to one of the least of My brothers, you did to Me” (Matt. 25:40).

Leaving part of the food in the temple, a person leaves it for his neighbor. Those who are in extreme need can come to the temple and receive Easter cottage cheese, Easter cake, painted Easter eggs. This is an important part of the food consecration tradition.

So this is not about magic, not about the transformation of some substance into something special, but about gratitude to God, about our sacrifice to God in the person of those people who are unable to purchase these products for themselves due to various circumstances.

The situation when we come to the store and are offered to buy Easter cakes already consecrated here is not an Orthodox tradition: a person is deprived of the opportunity to come to the temple with a thankful sacrifice. Or, for example, in a restaurant it says: “We have all the dishes consecrated.” For what? Are you talking about food offered to idols?

The tradition of charity, sincere participation in the life of one's neighbor lives in the consecration of various foods - apples, honey, Easter dishes. By the way, there is such a tradition in Islam, when on Muslim holidays every poor person receives a part of lamb meat, which was sacrificed according to an ancient tradition.

We replace it with other dishes, but this refers us to those ancient, Old Testament traditions that no longer have power in Christmas and the Resurrection of Christ, but, transformed, make it possible to participate in the life of our neighbor.

In fact, consecration on Great Saturday is not a traditional phenomenon, but a certain need of our populous parishes. Traditionally, the dishes were consecrated after the nightly Easter service. That is, for those who came to the temple to pray, and not just to sanctify.

The situation when it is necessary to consecrate on Saturday is not bad: a person has the opportunity to venerate the Shroud, pray in the temple, hear Easter hymns during the consecration.

But, on the other hand, it turns out a little strange: it’s still Great Saturday, yet Christ symbolically lies in the Shroud in the middle of the temple, and Easter hymns are already being sung. Many ignorant people then return home and begin to break their fast.

This is a relic of the Soviet era, when there were few churches, when many could not come to the nightly Easter service.

In small rural churches, even in the Moscow region, many parishioners just bless the brought food after the night service or after the liturgy in the morning.

If the consecration takes place on Saturday, and the person could not come, it's okay. The fact that he eats sanctified food or unsanctified food does nothing to bring him closer to God or further away from Him. The Apostle Paul also speaks of this.

The fact that many people who do not go to church and do not live the church life come to the consecration on Great Saturday is a wonderful opportunity for missionary service.

We are preparing for this day, issuing special leaflets, materials that are then distributed to people so that they can read and understand: sanctification is a small part of our spiritual tradition, which is based on your presence, you must give yourself to God.

So all full-time missionaries in our church are obliged to go on duty on Holy Saturday, to involve volunteers in distributing missionary leaflets, in conversations, in communicating with people.

So Holy Saturday is a holiday for missionaries, because there is such an opportunity to talk with people about the Main!

The Savior says that the fields are “white and ready for harvest” (John 4:35). When the courtyards of temples are filled with people who have come to consecrate Easter dishes, this is the field with which to work.

Everyone has their own measure of religiosity

Archpriest Maxim Pervozvansky , editor-in-chief of the Naslednik magazine:

I am surprised by the question - is it necessary to consecrate Easter dishes? You can also ask: is it necessary for a person to marry? It seems to me that such a statement of the question is incorrect.

There is nothing obligatory in the Church in this sense. The Lord, out of love for us, gave us the opportunity to live. And it is quite natural that we try to sanctify everything in this life - to dedicate it to God. Orthodox strive to sanctify everything that can be sanctified.

Every time we eat food, we consecrate it with the sign of the cross and prayer.

When Easter approaches after 49 days of fasting, it is quite natural that people strive to have food consecrated in the temple on the festive table.

Just as there is an entrance to fasting when a prayer is read at the beginning of the Holy Forty Day, so there is a way out of fasting, including food fasting, which is the consecration of eggs, Easter cakes and Easter.

It is clear that not taking communion on Easter is much worse than not consecrating Easter cakes. By the way, you can also consecrate Easter cakes in the temple after the night liturgy, if you could not do it on Holy Saturday.

The discussions of people inside the Church about how important or not at all important it is to consecrate Easter dishes did not appear yesterday. It has long existed between, very conditionally speaking, "Protestants from Orthodoxy" and those who, perhaps, even pay excessive attention to the ritual side.

This discussion has existed for more than a hundred years, and in the West since the time of the Reformation: why do we need beards and vestments of priests, why do we need temples with golden domes, and so on. Further, you can agree on why icons, holy water, prosphora are needed ...

Since we consist of a soul and a body, our body also participates in spiritual life. The same Protestants, seemingly abandoning the rites, still came up with their own, only more truncated, as if apologizing: "Forgive me, but we still have some rites."

The rite is never a value in itself. It is a certain form that expresses a certain content. Sometimes, when people stop feeling this content, leaving only the outer form, it becomes wrong.

The consecration of Easter food is also one of the forms. It is not obligatory, it is not an element of the Creed, nowhere does it say "I believe in the consecration of Easter cakes and Easter, tea on the Easter table." Although all of us, when the fast is coming to an end, we expect tea, and delicious cottage cheese Easter, and Easter cakes.

But it is quite possible to imagine Orthodox culture, where there are no Easter cakes, no curd Easter, no consecration on Great Saturday. Moreover, even purely liturgical consecration on Saturday is not entirely correct.

It is clear that according to the rite, the liturgy of Great Saturday should end somewhere in the evening, after which people do not leave the church, the consecration of wine and bread takes place so that people can refresh themselves without leaving the church. After that, people wait for the Midnight Office, the Easter Procession ... And the consecration of Easter cakes and Pasoch is supposed to be after the Easter night service.

But no one can withstand this in modern life. And therefore today it has historically turned out differently, and people consecrate Easter dishes in advance. And I think this is correct.

Yes, the tradition is changing: there were once strictly scheduled days when Easter cakes were baked, eggs were painted. This is not convenient for a modern person.

I won’t be surprised if in a hundred years there will be no Easter cakes, no Easter. And the tradition of painting eggs, I think, will remain.

When thousands of people who do not go to church during the year come to consecrate the festive food on Holy Saturday, I rejoice. Just like when I see crowds of people at the Epiphany font.

Everyone has their own measure of religiosity. The average church-going Orthodox goes to church about three Sundays out of four a month and takes communion once a month. There are believers who are surprised: “How is it possible to receive communion only once a month?! We must approach the Chalice every Sunday!”

And someone cannot help but go to church every day, and they receive communion four times a week. And they could say to those who take communion once a month: “Well, is this really a religious life?!”

Did a man come once a year and take communion on the day of the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem? Thank God! Hallelujah!!!

If we take an even lower degree of spiritual life, a person comes to consecrate Easter cakes. But he still comes to the temple, takes at least some step. And this is great!

I remember my Soviet youth, when I worked at a research institute, and my supervisor, who had nothing to do with Christianity, brought Easter cake on Bright Week and said with the meaning: “Sanctified!” - consecrated someone from his household. We all had the feeling that we were touching something so important…

When to bless Easter cakes for Easter 2017

Preparation for Easter is no less important for every Christian than the holiday itself. After all, until this moment, believers need to have time to do a lot. Forty-eight days before the Great Feast, fasting begins, during which each person must have time to repent of his sins, confess, take communion, and also cleanse himself spiritually and bodily.
The most difficult week is Holy Week, because this is a time of especially strict fasting, when almost all week you can eat only raw food without oil. In general, you can only drink water. However, at the same time, people have a lot of worries: you need to clean up on a clean Thursday, go to the temple on Friday, and also wake up early on Saturday morning, bake Easter cakes, paint eggs and prepare holiday dishes. When the housewives cope with this work, they will have to collect a basket and go with it to the temple. All these actions people perform from year to year, but many still do not know exactly when to sanctify Easter cakes for Easter, when to come to the temple and when you can eat the first egg.

Consecration of Easter cakes in churches
It so happened that recently each temple has its own rules. Therefore, it is better for parishioners to ask in advance,
when to bless Easter cakes for Easter 2017. After all, in different churches this ceremony is performed on different days. Somewhere food coverage takes place on Holy Saturday, somewhere on the night before Easter, and somewhere early on Sunday morning.
It also happens that in churches where a huge number of people come for Easter, they consecrate Easter cakes throughout the day and night. Therefore, it is best for believers to ask the clergy in the temple when it will be necessary to bring food for consecration.

Consecration of food according to church rules

All rituals in churches are performed according to certain canons, and the Easter service is no exception. True, in some cases a slight deviation is allowed.
According to the rules followed by the ministers of the church for many, many years, a service with chants begins on the night from Saturday to Sunday. And it lasts until morning. But the consecration of food brought by believers is usually carried out at four o'clock in the morning, when it is already a holiday.
But this does not mean that food cannot be blessed on Saturday evening. This day is also of great importance, the priests are already coming out to the parishioners in white robes, and the choir is singing joyful songs, because everyone anticipates the Resurrection of the Savior. That is why the consecration of Easter cakes is also allowed on Saturday. Moreover, in some temples this rule was introduced a very long time ago.
And all because our ancestors reasoned logically. If housewives have to get up early on Saturday, work all day, bake and cook, then it is understandable that it will be difficult for them to endure the all-night service. Therefore, food was taken to the temple in the evening. However, the most religious people still believe that the consecration of food should be carried out only after the person has defended the entire night service.

Tips for those who go to the temple with food
Easter is just as great a holiday as Christmas, so those who are going to go to the temple with food for the first time should prepare for a huge crowd of people. It is especially difficult for residents of large cities, near the tables for the consecration of food, a real crush often begins. Therefore, it is best to come to church as early as possible. So you can feel calm, because even if the time of consecration changes, you won’t have to run to church headlong.
Also, following the traditions, you should take care to find a good container or basket for the products. It is the baskets that are considered the most convenient, because everything that is there is in plain sight. If you do not want to show the contents of the basket to other parishioners, you can close the basket with an embroidered napkin. Now the stores sell a huge number of different containers, where you can also add an Easter set of products. But it should be borne in mind that the boxes should be compact, because you need to try to ensure that there is enough space on the table for consecration for everyone.
is celebrated on April 16, which means that it will be possible to recover with a basket to the temple on April 15 in the evening. It is believed that people who worthily pass all the trials of fasting, and also defend the vigil, will receive the blessing of the Lord for a long time.

The most significant holiday of Orthodoxy has different meanings in the Churches of the Old and New Testaments. In the New Testament Church, Easter means "transition" and is celebrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ.
Holy Easter Day is a transitional holiday and is celebrated at the end of Lent, which comes after Maslenitsa. As soon as they began to fast, believers began to wonder when to sanctify Easter cakes in 2017. Every year, the lighting of Easter products takes place on Saturday, which is listed as Great Saturday in Passion Week. In 2017, this day falls on April 15th.

In some churches, food lighting is held twice, on Saturday and Sunday after the all-night service. The exact time of the service and coverage of products is better to check with the ministers of the church. The rite of the Easter service is held throughout the night, and the process of lighting the Easter cakes and colored eggs, prepared by the housewives for the Easter table, completes the action.
Attending the all-night service is an absolutely voluntary event, if for some reason the believers cannot afford to defend the whole night service, then it is preferable to illuminate the products on Holy Saturday.
The day of the Holy Resurrection should be started with a breakfast of illuminated foods, this is a kind of cleansing.

week

The week or Holy Week precedes Easter. Each day of this week has a special meaning.

Clean Monday

It is also called terrible or great Monday. It is customary to put things in order in the house, if cosmetic repairs are carried out in the dwelling, it must be completed on that very day. In the old days, Christians tried to keep only lenten “clean” food at home this and the next day.

Clean Tuesday

Women prepared a special drink from seeds and milk, this drink was given to livestock as a warning against illness.

Passion Wednesday

The day Judas betrayed Christ. Villagers on this day douse their pets with melt water.

Pure Thursday

According to tradition, on this day, before sunrise, all family members should wash their bodies. This is done to prevent diseases and illnesses. On this day, from the evening service, you should bring a church candle and renew the “living fire” in the house with it. On a clean Thursday, they began to slowly bake Easter and Easter cakes.

Good Friday

This is a day of mourning, on Friday Christ was crucified. Peas and bread sown on this day will be resistant to frost and winds.

Holy Saturday

The second name is dyeing Saturday. This is the eve of the Great Resurrection of Christ.

Kulich at the head of the table

Integral attributes of the Easter table are painted chicken eggs, Easter cakes and cottage cheese Easter.
The hostesses prepare in advance the best products that will be used to prepare dishes for the festive table.
The tradition of baking Easter cakes for the Resurrection of Christ is rooted in distant peasant villages, in which bread has been revered at all times. The special sacrament of baking Easter cakes included the slander of a prayer when kneading the dough, it was believed that such an Easter cake enchanted by prayers had great power, capable of protecting those who ate from diseases, black slander and bad influence.
In most regions of Russia, Easter cake resembles artos in shape - church high unleavened bread, which is baked at the beginning of Passion Week, blessed with prayers, sprinkled with holy water and distributed to parishioners on Holy Saturday after a special prayer.

Unlike unleavened arthos, Easter cake is cooked rich, as a symbol of heavenly life and victory over death.

After Lent, trying a piece of rich pastries is considered the highest measure of pleasure and encouragement.

Correct cutting of Easter cake

By tradition, the Easter cake is cut across into round slices, the resulting bread rings can be eaten in any order, without touching the very top of the cake, it is left until the last piece of the cake is eaten, and only after that you can enjoy the top of the bread.
A separate cake is baked for each family member, which should be completely eaten.
Orthodox Easter cake has a light structure, which contributes to rapid absorption after a long abstinence from heavy food.

Easter cake preparation

To prepare an Easter cake, you do not need to have a chef's discharge; an ordinary housewife can easily cope with a simple recipe.
Step by step cookie recipe.

Pour a glass of warm water into a large container and add a bag of dry yeast. Pour a glass of flour, mix thoroughly and remove for half an hour in a warm place.

Melt and cool 100 grams of butter. Add four chicken eggs, half a teaspoon of salt and 160 grams of brown sugar. For a pleasant aroma, you can add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla sugar. Pour 120 ml into the resulting mass. 20% cream, beat well with a whisk.

Gradually add 500 grams of sifted flour to the resulting liquid mass, the dough should be well kneaded until it falls behind the hands. Let the dough stand for a couple of hours in a warm place.

Fill special cupcakes or cake pans halfway with dough and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. The readiness of the muffin is easy to check with a toothpick, if it remains dry - it's time to take out the pastries.

After cooling, each cake can be decorated with powdered sugar or sprinkled with sugar syrup.
If desired, nuts, raisins and candied fruits can be added to Easter cakes, this will give the cake a more subtle and original taste.

Resurrection of the Lord

The bright holiday of Christ's Resurrection has long been revered and respected in Russia, the process of preparing for the celebration of this day begins long before the Easter holiday itself, the housewives approach the serving of the Sunday table with all responsibility.

On Easter, it is customary to visit each other and exchange Easter eggs and Easter cakes. For a greeting on this day, you should use the phrase “Christ is Risen!”, To which the interlocutor should answer “Truly Risen!”. Now you will not wonder: “When to bless Easter cakes in 2017?” Happy Holidays)

Have a good day. Christ is risen))

Orthodox Christians celebrate Great Saturday - the day that precedes the main holiday, the Resurrection of Christ. Today, with the first rays of the sun, services began in all churches. Parishioners bring and bless treats to the festive table - Easter cakes and colored eggs. In the evening, the priests change their black robes for light-colored robes as a sign of Christ's victory over death.

This year Orthodox Easter coincides with Catholic. This happens once every few years. So the holiday is common for all Christians. In Jerusalem, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world are waiting today for the descent of the Holy Fire. Its particle will be delivered to Moscow.

Great Saturday is also called "quiet". Today is not the time for noisy fun and loud festivities. From that, with the first rays of the sun, people come to churches to be alone with their thoughts, pray and feel the approach of Easter - the brightest Christian holiday.

“With what feeling do you leave the temple?” - asks the correspondent.

“With cleansing. With the fact that he asked the Lord for everything he wanted, he apologized for everything that he did wrong. Therefore, only with a joyful feeling, ”the man says.

This is the last and one of the strictest days of Lent. Today believers can only eat bread, water, raw fruits and vegetables. But from the very morning, the housewives prepare treats for the Sunday table - it is believed that tomorrow there should be at least 12 dishes on the table. And, of course, they bring eggs, Easter cakes and Easter cakes here to bless them.

A custom that both adults and children love is coloring and decorating eggs. The classic color is, of course, red. It symbolizes the blood of Christ. But you can use any paint except black. And the first painted egg must be given to the youngest in the family.

There is such a sign - if it is clear on Holy Saturday, and the rays of the sun are reflected in the domes, then the summer will be warm. Today, priests change their black vestments for light-coloured robes. And only on this day the church bells are silent. Before Easter, you need to forget old grievances, help those in need and spend time with family and friends. By the way, this year the Orthodox Easter coincided with the Catholic. This only happens once every few years.

There is still a whole day ahead to have time to consecrate the festive treat. And in the evening, many believers are going to return to the temples already for the Easter service. Of course, everyone is waiting for the Holy Fire to descend. By tradition, a particle of it will also be delivered to Moscow.

The main Easter service will be held today in [the frame of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Patriarch Kirill will conduct it. The solemn service will be broadcast live on Channel One. The broadcast starts at 23:30 Moscow time.