My Christ has Risen, Yours is Next Week?


Russians celebrate everything twice, I like to joke. I don’t make it up, though; we do celebrate everything twice! If you have Russian or Ukrainian friends or friends from the former Soviet Union, you will know what I'm talking about. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th and is repeated on January 7th, according to the ancient Russian Gregorian calendar. 
We grew up happily celebrating the New Year twice: the first time as all Westerners, on New Year’s Eve, and the second time, on January 13th. The first time is with family; the second time with friends.  
When it comes to Easter, then it is more complicated. I am not sure how it works, but my body knows when Easter comes. Holy Week in America is the hardest time for me. It is too early to color eggs and celebrate! The Holy Week is the time to fast, not to eat eggs. 
When it is Easter in America, it is usually Verbnoe Vosckresenie in Russia, like Palm Sunday, but with pussy willow branches instead of palms. I can’t color eggs and bake Easter Cake before my Russian Orthodox Easter. So I celebrate Easter twice: the first time with my church, and then the second time with my family. 
I hold a hard-boiled egg in the morning of the Russian Orthodox Easter. We have something like an egg fight. The one who cracks the egg of another person wins. Then we say,
Khristos Voskres! Voistinu Voskres! – “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! And we kiss each other three times. Then, I know that I have celebrated Easter and finally calm down, until next year. The problem is when we celebrate Easter on different days, someone will say, My Christ Has Risen! When is Yours?
Location: St Joseph, MO, USA

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