Easter is one of the most important holidays for Ukrainians, since most of them are believed to be Christians. They have special traditions, customs and rituals during this time. One of the traditions of Ukrainians for Easter is making special food.
Ukraine is famous for two main meals for this holiday known as “paska” and “pysanka”. They both were made here for this holiday throughout centuries and are still present in each home during the Easer celebrations in Ukraine.
Ukrainian paska and other popular Easter dishes
Paska is number-one of Ukrainian meals for this holiday dinner. Women in Ukraine never have doubts on what to make for Easter dinner, as the answer is always – a paska. A paska is also called “kulich”. To make an amazing paska one needs eggs, warm milk, sugar, dry yeast, butter, sour cream, salt and flour. Some women also add raisins and vanilla. But this is absolutely up to you.
Baking this popular dish can be time-consuming. Nevertheless, its softness and unforgettable flavor will touch your feelings. After it got a bit crunchy it can be used for French toasts with butter, speculous or any other paste you want on your toast.
Ukrainian pysanky (Easter eggs)
A pysanka is an egg made before the holiday and painted in a specific way. It can be painted with different patterns and styles and with different materials. On this day these decorated eggs are used in the battle: two people take eggs in one hand and have to tap them against each other. The one, whose egg does not crack wins. Some people also play this game with tapping these eggs against each other’s forehead.
The history of the pysanky eggs goes back to the pre-Christian times in the Ukrainian history. Back then when Ukrainians were pagans these pysanky were made in honor of a deity named Dazhboh. He was believed to be a god of sun. Allegedly, his chosen creation was birds who laid eggs. That is why pysanky were used as a sacrifice to him.
The colors on pysanky have their own hidden meaning. Thus, when people used red color to decorate this egg, it meant that they wished someone joy and lifetime of love and happiness. Black color stood for the heavenly life, yellow for the harvest, blue for good health, white for holiness, and green for nature.
Pysanky are rooted into the culture of Ukraine. That is why this decorated egg has its own museum in the Western part of the state. Built at least 15 years ago, the Pysanka Museum in Kolomyia has a huge collection of more than 10,000 decorated eggs from different regions of Ukraine. They represent the culture of each region through their styles and pattern choices.
Finally, paska and pysanka are the most popular Easter dishes in Ukraine. Their recipes differ throughout the country, but the meaning behind them remains unchanged for a long time now.
