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Easter Customs Once again we are approach ing the feast of E aster w ith its old and tim e-honored traditions and customs. A t first glance, m any of them m ay appear in comprehensible and foreign to our experience, but we should keep in mind th at they have their roots in the beliefs of the past. We show little surprise when during the first week of Lent we see on the streets of A m eri can cities people walking about w ith soot on their foreheads. They are Catholics and Episco palians whose foreheads have been m arked w ith ashes during a special service on A sh W ed nesday. Even in the busy tempo of contem porary life this cus tom has survived. N either are we surprised when in the third week of M arch we see people w ith green sham rocks or flow ers in their lapels for we know th at they are the Irish celebrat ing their St. P atrick’s Day. We, too, try to preserve our native custom s for they are sym bolic of the beliefs and experi ences of our ancestors. In incor porating these custom s into our everyday lives, we strengthen our ties w ith the past. For example—fire and w ater! These natural elem ents played a vital role in E aster preparations. Symbolically, they cleansed the home, garden, fields and tools from w inter’s long sleep and im bued them w ith new strength. This belief prom pted the burn ing of bonfires on the eve of E aster. In some regions of U kraine the bonfires were burn ed on the outskirts of the vil lages, while in other places they w ere lit in front of the village church. The burning of the bon fires was usually the work of the young boys who took great pains to keep the fires going long into the night. B athing in w ater or sprinkling oneself w ith w ater was also an im portant custom of the E aster cycle. Even today girls are sometimes sprinkled w ith w ater by young men on the first M onday after E aster, known as Sprinkling Monday. But the hum orous custom as we know it today is no longer the ritual imm ersion in w ater which the original custom undoubtedly ■was. A nother interesting custom was the Holy Thursday Supper. This was a fam ily ritual which brought together the entire household for a joint meal. The supper followed services in the church on Holy Thursday. Ev eryone tried to bring home a lighted candle which was placed on the supper table. The meal was m eatless, and the foods were sim ilar to those served on Christm as Eve, except no “ku- ty a” or dried fru it compote was Taras Shevchenko: Kos Aral, 1849 served, and less than 12 dishes could be served. The meal was eaten w ith great solem nity. No loud talking or laughing was allowed at the table. Thus the U krainian fam ily prepared itself for the great m ystery of E aster. Long ago, this Supper was the last full meal the adult m em bers of the fam ily ate before the E aster breakfast. The custom s which we have recalled are old. Probably, even our parents never observed them , because much has been forgotten over the years. B ut m any of them are w orth reviv ing especially since the Soviet regim e has been system atically abolishing all religious custom s in U kraine. If these custom s are no longer observed in U kraine or outside its boundaries, they will be forgotten. Perhaps not all the custom s Translated by C. H. A ndrusyshyn and W atson Eirconnel :H $ $ $ $ $ On E aster day among the straw Out in the sun the children played W ith E aster eggs in colors braw And each of them loud boasting made Of gifts received. One, for the feast, W as given a sh irt w ith sleeves of w hite; One w ith a ribbon had been pleased; One w ith a garm ent, laced and tig h t; This boy was given a lam bskin cap, T hat one a pair of horsehide boots, And one a jacket to unw rap. Only one child am ong th eir bruits, An orphan, has no g ift of b liss; H er hands are hidden in her sleeves. She hears: “My m other bought me this . . My fath er got m e th at.” (She grieves). “My good godm other m ade a blouse Em broidered gay w ith dainty thread.” A t last th e little orphan said: “The priest has fed me a t his house/’
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