Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays. The exact date of the holiday changes from year to year but it usually falls on April. Preparation for Easter starts seven weeks before the actual holiday. It’s called the advent of Lent. Many Christian people don’t eat meat and animal products during this period. The week before Easter is quite busy because people start thoroughly preparing for the holiday. The traditions of Easter celebration vary from country to country. For example, in our country the Sunday before Easter is called a Willow Sunday. On this day people bring home some willow branches which have been blessed in church. Thursday before Easter is called Clean Thursday. Traditionally people should bathe before sunrise on this day. Houses and flats should be cleaned too. There is also a Good Friday. It’s the day when women bake Easter bread called “paska” or “paskha”. On Saturday children dye Easter eggs, which are called “pysankas”. In the evening people go to church for the Easter mass, which lasts all night. Sunday is the actual day of Easter. People visit each other on this day and exchange colourful “pysankas”. In English-speaking countries the official symbol of this holiday is Easter bunny. Children are especially fond of this day because they get lots of chocolate and fluffy bunnies as a present.
