Today is Easter or Pascha, the greatest Christian holiday, celebrating the central event of Christianity: the resurrection of Christ.
Easter is often referred to as Pascha. The word pascha comes from the word vuzem (to take), indicating that after a long period of fasting (which was only broken on Holy Thursday in some places during Lent), meat can again be consumed. There is a certain difference between Pascha and Easter.
While Easter signifies the very day when the resurrection of Christ is celebrated, Pascha is a broader term that encompasses the entire mystery of salvation – Christ’s passion, death, resurrection, and celebration.
Spring Full Moon
In the central part of northern Croatia, especially in Prigorje and Zagorje, there is a so-called pilgrimage of the crucified or cross-bearers.
The holiday of Easter is not celebrated at the same time every year. Today, it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon (full moon). Since the first spring full moon can occur between March 22 and April 25, this means that the holiday of Easter can only fall within that time frame.
Humble prayers, processions, ritual fires, festive dishes and pastries, and their blessing in the Easter basket, dyeing Easter eggs, Easter greetings and gifting, and songs in praise of Easter are just part of the folk Easter customs.
Traditional Easter Dishes
For Easter, people attend morning mass or go to the solemn Easter vigil on Holy Saturday. On Easter itself, it is traditional to feast on ham, often homemade bread, and sweets.
Food is taken to church for the Easter mass where the priest blesses it, and then the faithful return home for the Easter meal and celebration. Traditional Easter dishes include: pinca, sirnica, various Easter breads decorated with eggs, pastries, boiled ham and ham baked in bread with green onions, horseradish, and radishes, boiled chicken with homemade noodles, kuglof, rožata, and more.
Winning Egg
Children play traditional games for Easter that involve eggs such as: egg tapping, throwing eggs with coins, searching for hidden eggs around the house or in the grass outside, etc.
In the egg tapping game, each player takes their egg and chooses an opponent. The eggs are tapped against each other at the tips, and the winner is the one whose egg remains intact, allowing them to continue the game. The winning egg is the one that remains whole after the entire round of tapping.
In the central part of northern Croatia, especially in Prigorje and Zagorje, there is a so-called pilgrimage of the crucified or cross-bearers.
There are many church songs that sing about Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and resurrection. In Croatian Easter tradition, the most famous are “Queen of Heaven,” “Jesus Truly Risen,” “Dawn Breaks in Heaven,” and others. About 100 compositions are known, which are sung as Easter songs from Holy Saturday to Pentecost, but only about 30 are still sung today.
