Orthodox Easter in Ukraine

By Rein Deaton

Acknowledgement: With thanks to Fr. Volodymyr Yavorskyi, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and the pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Portland, Oregon.

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As the chill of winter begins to give way to the fresh life of spring, Christians around the world celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Ukraine, this holiday is filled with cultural significance and many local traditions.

Two different Easter calendars

Before diving into what makes Ukrainian Easter (usually called Pascha) so special, it’s worth noting that many Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians [1]. There are a few differences between the way Easter is celebrated in the Orthodox church and the way it’s celebrated in other Christian churches. Perhaps the most important difference is the date of Easter.

The Christian world uses two main calendars: the Julian and the Gregorian calendars.

• Gregorian calendar: Used by Protestants and Roman Catholics. This is also the calendar used by most people around the world today in everyday secular life.
• Julian calendar: Used by most Orthodox churches. It is nearly identical to the Gregorian calendar, except for the fact that its dates are 13 days behind those of the Gregorian calendar. This means that Orthodox Christians usually celebrate Easter later than other Christians.

Note: While the Orthodox Church of Ukraine switched most of their calendar of observances to the Gregorian calendar in 2023, Easter is the exception. Easter, and the dates calculated from it, are still set according to the Julian calendar. [12]

Lent

Lent is also slightly different between churches:

Catholic Lent lasts for 40 days, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending with the Thursday before Easter. For Catholics, Lent overlaps with Holy Week, the seven days preceding Easter. [10]

Great Lent, as it’s known in the Orthodox church, also lasts for 40 days, but it ends eight days before Easter. [2]

Beginning 40 days before Holy Week (and 48 days before Easter Sunday) Orthodox Ukrainians observe Great Lent, during which they give up meat and dairy products. It is a time of spiritual purification and of prayer. [3, 4] It is both the longest and the most important fast in the Orthodox calendar [6].

Holy Week

Holy Week is the week preceding Easter, marked by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. It begins on Palm Sunday and lasts through Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday.

For Orthodox Christians, many of the traditions of Great Lent continue into Holy Week, including fasting. This is also when more specific preparations for Easter are made. [4]

Willow Sunday

The first day of Holy Week, called Palm Sunday in other parts of the world, is known as Willow Sunday (Verbna Nedilia) in Ukraine. Palm trees don’t grow in Ukraine – instead, pussy willow twigs are traditionally used. [11]

As people greeted Jesus Christ with palms as their King and Savior, so Ukrainians greet Him with pussy willows as King and Savior. On Willow Sunday, it is customary to playfully tap one another with these blessed branches, accompanied by words that remind us that in one week it will be Pascha. In some regions, these branches are then planted in the ground to bring more luck. [4, 11]  

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday, also called Maundy Thursday, celebrates the passion of Christ. This is traditionally the day when Ukrainian Easter bread, called paska, is baked. A special church service is held in the evening, during which candles are lit, and these lit candles are then carried all the way home. These candles are called Passion Candles (Strasna Svichka) and are believed to protect the home and the people in it. [4, 7]

Good Friday

The most somber day of Holy Week is Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion of Christ.

A number of important Ukrainian traditions on this day center around the Plaschenytsia, or the Holy Shroud. This is a cloth icon that represents the burial shroud of Christ. Upon the cloth is an illustration of Christ laid out for burial. The Shroud is carried in a procession around the church building, and then laid out in front of the congregation for a ceremony of veneration. [3, 4, 16]

Holy Saturday

Also called Easter Saturday, Holy Saturday is the time for all the last-minute preparations to be completed before Easter.

Krashanky, which are single-color dyed eggs, are prepared now so they will be ready to eat on Easter morning. Unlike the multi-colored Easter eggs common in America, Ukrainian krashanky are traditionally dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ. [4]

Some families also bring their Easter baskets to church to be blessed on this day, while others wait until Easter morning. [4]Holy Saturday

Also called Easter Saturday, Holy Saturday is the time for all the last-minute preparations to be completed before Easter.

Krashanky, which are single-color dyed eggs, are prepared now so they will be ready to eat on Easter morning. Unlike the multi-colored Easter eggs common in America, Ukrainian krashanky are traditionally dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ. [4]

Some families also bring their Easter baskets to church to be blessed on this day, while others wait until Easter morning. [4]

Easter Sunday

Easter is a day of celebration, and its traditions reflect that. Church bells ring, and families break their fasts with the blessed foods in their Easter baskets. [4, 5, 7]

While the contents of a traditional Ukrainian Easter basket vary slightly by region, traditional contents include [3, 5, 13]:

• paska – traditional sweet Easter bread.
• Easter eggs – symbolizing life and rebirth.
  • krashanky – single-color dyed eggs.
  • pysanky – intricately-decorated Ukrainian eggs.
• meat (such as sausage or ham) – symbolizing the sacrificial lamb, and marking the end of Lent.
• dairy products (often cheese and butter).
• salt – symbolizes prosperity and purification. It’s also a reminder of Christ’s words to Christians to be the “salt of the earth.”
• horseradish – marks the bitterness of Christ’s suffering. Often mixed with grated beets, whose sweetness symbolizes the resurrection.
• a candle – symbol of the light of Christ.
• rushnyk (embroidered cloth) – often embroidered with Easter motifs and traditional folk patterns.
• fresh greenery – symbolizing eternal life and resurrection.

Easter in 2026

This year, Ukraine will celebrate its fifth Easter since russia’s brutal full-scale invasion began. Protestants and some Ukrainian Catholics will celebrate on April 5th. Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics will celebrate one week later, on April 12th.

For five years, Ukrainians have celebrated Easter under constant attacks. russian missiles target civilian gatherings and even churches.

Just last year, on Palm Sunday, russian missiles killed 34 people and injured 117 more in an attack on the heart of the city of Sumy. One missile hit a passenger bus full of people. Children were among both the dead and wounded in the attack. Some of those killed were on their way to Palm Sunday services. [14, 15]

Days later on Good Friday, russia bombed Kharkiv with cluster munitions, killing one and injuring at least 60. On the same day, a drone attack on Sumy killed another civilian and destroyed a bakery preparing Paska bread for Easter. [15]

Ukrainians have refused to let the horror of war prevent them from marking this holiday of resurrection and hope. Even after years of russian violence, the Ukrainian people have shown that it will take more than bombs and bullets to suppress their culture and their faith. [8, 9]

As the warmth of spring breathes life back into the landscape, Christians in Ukraine and beyond celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It is up to all of us to renew our dedication to supporting Ukraine. Every one of us can make a difference in helping Ukrainians keep both their people and their cultural heritage alive.

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This article is published as part of a collaboration between DAWN, Inc és Ukrajna védelmi támogatása. It can be found on the websites of both organizations.

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Sources

1. Press releases and reports – Dynamics of religious self-identification of the population of Ukraine: results of a telephone survey conducted on July 6-20, 2022. (August 5, 2022.) https://kiis.com.ua/?lang=eng&cat=reports&id=1129
2. Kennedy, L. (2026, April 1). What’s the difference between Easter and Orthodox Easter? https://www.history.com/articles/easter-orthodox-easter-differences
3. Easter traditions in Ukraine: interesting facts and unusual rituals. (2025, April 20). Visit Ukraine. https://visitukraine.today/blog/6016/easter-traditions-in-ukraine-interesting-facts-and-unusual-rituals
4. Ukrainian Easter traditions. (2023, April 1). Little Ukrainian Blog. https://littleukrainianblog.com/culture/traditions/ukrainian-easter-traditions/
5. Ukrainian Easter Basket. (2023, April 6). Little Ukrainian Blog. https://littleukrainianblog.com/culture/traditions/ukrainian-easter-basket/
6. Oleksandr, S. (2025, February 21). Great Lent 2025 traditions food calendar rules and prohibitions. 112.ua. https://112.ua/en/velikij-pist-2025-tradicii-kalendar-harcuvanna-pravila-ta-zaboroni-55464
7. Paszczak Tracz, O. (1995). Ukrainian Easter traditions: Velykden – Great Day. THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY, LXIII, 17. https://archive.ukrweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/The_Ukrainian_Weekly_1995-17.pdf
8. The Associated Press. (2022, April 24). Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter with prayers for those trapped. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/04/24/1094535365/ukraine-marks-orthodox-easter-with-prayers-for-those-trapped
9. Zinchenko, P. (2025, April 21). Easter in Ukraine: how Ukrainians celebrate the Resurrection holiday in the fourth year of the large-scale war. Ukrainian National News (UNN). https://unn.ua/en/news/easter-in-ukraine-how-ukrainians-celebrate-the-resurrection-holiday-in-the-fourth-year-of-the-large-scale-war
10. What is Lent? (n.d.). USCCB. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/lent
11. The Sanctuary Project – University of Alberta. (n.d.). PussyWillow Sunday. https://livingcultures.ualberta.ca/sanctuary/?page_id=3023
12. Easter 2024: will the New Julian calendar affect the calculation of Easter in Ukraine? (2024, March 16). https://visitukraine.today/blog/3527/easter-2024-will-the-new-julian-calendar-affect-the-calculation-of-easter-in-ukraine#how-do-christians-determine-the-day-of-easter
13. Yaroshenko, T. (2026, March 5). What’s inside a Ukrainian Easter basket? Traditions reimagined in California. Ukrainian Flavors. https://ukrainianflavors.com/blogs/blog-uf/what-s-inside-a-ukrainian-easter-basket-traditions-reimagined-in-california
14. Russian strikes kill more than 30 in Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday celebrations. (2025, April 13). PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russian-strikes-kill-more-than-30-in-ukrainian-city-of-sumy-during-palm-sunday-celebrations
15. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. (2025, April 23). Russia’s missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians over Easter demonstrate its attitude towards peace: UK statement to the OSCE. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/russias-missile-attacks-against-ukrainian-civilians-over-easter-demonstrate-its-attitude-towards-peace-uk-statement-to-the-osce
16. St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church. (2021, March 31). Easter Traditions – St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church. https://stnicholaschurchde.org/easter-traditions/