Day of Ascension

You may have noticed that the Easter music is gone. The Easter season is wrapping up. It officially ends on Sunday, with the day of Trinity or Pentecost. A week ago today we celebrated Christ's Ascension. Instead of going to church, we had our own little holiday at our dacha. First they climbed the "mountain," to "find Jesus" one last time.


Jaan found him, and then we sat and read the story of Christ's last appearance to his disciples and how He went up into heaven after that.  

Once we had read the story, they acted it out. Jaan took care of the technical details, while Raia managed the clouds that hid Jesus from sight. Asya was just excited. They enjoyed that so much that we did it several times over.  

Then the Bible says that Jesus' friends "worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." So, we worshipped and lit fireworks to show our joy!

The eggs

This time I'm writing for my memory and for the Rigels.

I asked the babushka who gave us those beautiful eggs how she did them.  She said that she just took some random leaves, put them up against the eggs, and tied them up tightly in stockings.  (I wonder if she used leaves from a flower arrangement, because I recognize fern and rose leaves?)  Then she boiled them with onion skins.  That's the standard way to get the reddish colored eggs that are so common for Easter in this part of the world.  She didn't say that she added vinegar, but most people do.  Apparently they turned out so dark because she started with brown eggs instead of white.  It sounds so simple that maybe we'll try it this week.

I do have vague memories of doing something similar with Mom when I was little.

Easter Garden

These details are for Allie and for my own memory.

I got the idea of an Easter garden from Holy Experience.  (Oh, I just noticed the link to what she was adapting from.  There's even more there.)  I combined it with what we did last year: an Easter mountain, which I read about in Treasuring God in Our Traditions.  (I think it's in the third part there.)  This year we made a salt-dough tomb.  Jaan was a little disappointed that it wasn't a huge mountain like last year, but he liked the final result.  We used a toilet paper tube inside of it, and that worked just as well as a can.  Varnishing it was also new for us, but I think it was necessary, because it's sitting in a damp garden now; I doubt that the salt would be good for the plants or the dampness good for unsealed dough.  So, that's the tomb.

We placed the tomb in a "garden."  Ann V.'s is in a basket.  Ours is just a drawer from an old refrigerator.  For plants, our friends used cactuses and succulents, and theirs turned out lovely!  Ours has a different kind of beauty: woodland beauty.  We bought the bright green ferny plant, and added violets, veronica, a daisy and moss.  They're not blooming much anymore, so I just sprinkled in some basil seeds for quick new greenery.

Throughout Holy Week, we acted out the big events in and around our garden. Noel Piper cautions against continuing a tradition like this once the children are older and can't handle it reverently. I loved the beauty and reverence of Ann's idea of placing a caterpillar in the tomb and replacing it with butterflies on the Resurrection morning. That goes right over our preschool heads, though, so we put our Jesus figure in the tomb and were thrilled to find that He had risen!

The Easter season continues on to Pentecost.  In the past we've remembered that with a paper chain once and candles once.  The candles were the favorite, so this year we've put those into our garden.  It became a math lesson, too, since we can only easily fit in 10 at a time.  Don't tell the children, but I don't quite have 50 candles, so we might just go to Ascension, and then find something else to mark the 10 more days until Pentecost.

I also just found another idea:

Jesus Appears after Resurrection:
Hide the Jesus figure in various places around your house. When your children find it, read one of the passages where He appeared to His followers (here in chronological order). Keep this up until His ascension, forty days after Easter.

Mary Magdalene – John 20:10-18
Peter in Jerusalem – Luke 24:34
Two Travelers – Luke 24:13-32 (Mark 16:12-13)
Ten Disciples – Luke 24:36-43
Ten Disciples and Thomas – John 20:26-31
Seven Disciples Fishing – John 21:1-14
Eleven Disciples on the Mountain – Matthew 28:16-20
Crowd of Five Hundred – 1 Corinthians 15:6
His Brother James – 1 Corinthians 15:7
Ascension (40 days after Easter) – Luke 24:44-49

Discussion point: After the resurrection Jesus' body was supernatural – God gave him a special body that could do things our bodies can’t. After we go to heaven, we will have bodies like Jesus’. Notice as you read the amazing things Jesus could do (eat food, be touched, walk through doors, appear, disappear).

We did that for the first time yesterday, and they loved it! It was especially good, because since Easter Raia has been asking me, "Where's Jesus?" every evening when we light our candle.  I know what she means, but I've been answering that He's both in heaven and with us.  And then she says that she wants to play with "the purple Jesus" like we did during Holy Week. Hmm. I don't want to be irreverent, and I know that's not her intent, of course. Now we have something that combines a fun activity with "the purple Jesus" and Bible readings about the real Jesus.

I'm sorry this got to be so long!  I wanted to record every detail.  Did I miss anything?

(Pictures are from when we made our garden tomb and also from last night.)

Ongoing Easter

Have you noticed the note above here that says that Easter keeps on going?  Beyond the fact that we continue to greet people with the joyful news that "Christ is Risen!" we remember it in our family, too.  Every evening until Ascension we light a candle in our Easter garden, repeat the Easter greeting, listen to the music I linked to above or sing on our own.  Such sweet times!

Another difference

I was going to ask if anyone knows why in Russia everyone visits the cemeteries on Easter, but in Ukraine it's the week after. I just did an internet search and came up with one answer, though:

Посещать кладбища на Пасху стали только в советское время, когда храмы были закрыты. Люди, испытывающие потребность собраться, разделить радость, не могли пойти в храмы, которые были закрыты, и шли на кладбище на Пасху вместо того, чтобы пойти через неделю. Кладбище как бы заменило посещение храма. А сейчас, когда храмы открыты, поэтому эта традиция советского времени не может быть оправдана, нужно восстановить церковную традицию: быть в храме в день Пасхи и встретить радостный праздник, а на Радоницу отправиться на кладбище.
From this site.*
My translation:
Visiting the cemeteries on Easter only started in soviet times, when the churches were closed. People, who felt the need to gather and share the joy, couldn't go to the churches, which were closed, so they went to the cemeteries on Easter instead of waiting another week. The cemetery kind of took the place of the church. And now, when the churches are open, that tradition from soviet times cannot be justified, and church tradition needs to be restored: be at church on Easter Day and celebrate the joyful holiday, and then on Radonitsa go to the cemetery.

So that gets me part way to my explanation; it seems that in a lot of ways, communist times didn't leave as deep of a scar here as they did in Russia. (I'm not saying that there's no mark! Just not as deep.) But why do they go on the Sunday after Easter here?  Does anyone know?  The same article that I mentioned above says that Radonitsa is the next Tuesday after Easter week.

In Russia we got used to the fact that all transportation goes to the cemeteries on Easter morning. In Moscow they reroute the buses; in Kovrov you couldn't get a taxi or marshrutka for anything. We were a little surprised at how easy it was for Will to get a taxi to church last week. But then this week there weren't any! And as I walked, I did see that all the cars were full of the garish funeral flowers. People have been carrying those around this weekend more than the Easter baskets last week. Even our church was sparsely attended this morning, and we don't follow this tradition!

Ah, another thought just popped into my head: maybe it's Sunday because they'll be at work tomorrow and Tuesday?

Sorry for the stream of consciousness entry here. . . .

*It's nice to see that the article does denounce leaving food offerings and getting drunk at cemetery visits!

Пасха 2009

Our Easter, in pictures

The night before, we went to bed with this:

Solemn vigil
And woke to find:
The stone rolled away, and the tomb empty!What a wonderful way to start a day of celebrating the resurrection!  I love this series of photos of Asya discovering the empty tomb, too.

Butterflies!Raia was so excited to see the butterflies that she had made hanging on the cross. I don't think she picked up on the new life symbolism, but she noticed the beauty.  We read the last part of Lenten Lights, and then had breakfast.

"Христос Воскрес!"
"Воистину Воскрес!"
It's a real holiday when you have cake for breakfast.
Then we headed off to church. I took photos on the way. Then we got to church:

Choir
Jaan saying his poemHe was hilarious!  They handed him the microphone, and he just stood there, with it hanging from his hand, whispering to me, "What?  What do I do?"  I told him to say his poem, but he just stared at me blankly.  The babushka next to me said, "Lift the microphone and say your poem!"  He listened to her, and said it perfectly.

Sunday school craftRaia and Asya really enjoyed this! I wish I had also gotten photos of Asya in her frilly dress, sitting at the table, smearing glue with the big kids.

After church we had to wait around for a while. We enjoyed just being there, being outside. Asya had to lie flat on the ground, in her dress, to watch "babies" (ants).

New puppy at church!

Our ride finally came to get us and we went out to the. . .

Youth picnic
Catching "babies"There were so many of them! Little beetles of all different kinds everywhere!

Asya was ready to eat, long before the food was ready.
Raia and Dasha
Jaan working hard

From there we all went to a village nearby, where one of the church families has their dacha, and had tea there.

This doesn't even show half of how beautiful it was.

After that, it was just the ride home, before falling into bed, exhausted.

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole day of celebrating our Saviour's resurrection with our church and friends!  Monday night, when we prayed before bed, I asked Jaan what he wanted to say, and right off he wanted to thank God for the wonderful holiday the day before.

And beyond photos, at little commentary:

We have been doing a lot of comparing of how similar and different Easter in Russia and Ukraine is.  In both countries it's the main church holiday of the whole year.  Just like it is all the world over, it's the one day when everyone who considers himself even close to Christian goes to church.  The general way people celebrate in both countries is almost exactly the same.  What's different is that here is seems to be really a family holiday.  In Russia, it's only something you go to church for (or, more often, stay home to watch the church service on TV).  Our church always had tea or even a meal and lingered together for the whole day.  Here everyone hurried home after church for big family celebrations.  The baking and partying here are a much bigger deal than in Russia!  I never saw the thousands of kulich all over the market, or the supplies for decorating eggs and cooking the proper foods in Russia! (They don't say kulich here either. It's called paska, but it's exactly the same.)  Some people make them in Russia, of course, and there are a few for sale, but not like this.  Now I understand why Tanya had to have their Ukrainian relatives send sprinkles and such.  Oh, and Easter baskets--by the Orthodox definition, not the American fake grass and candy idea--are everywhere.  I don't know that I ever even saw them in Russia, but here people were hurrying around with them all day.  Anyway, Easter Day was wonderful for us!

HE IS RISEN!

A quick picture

I took this on the way to church yesterday. Today we're exhausted, but I'll tell you about our Easter soon.

Христос воскрес!

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!



Music is from here.

Pictures of Holy Week

I guess I should have warned you that I would have less time to write this week. We've had a wonderful, quiet, Christ-filled week!  I've been using nap time to prepare activities instead of writing, though.  Now, as we wait for the Resurrection, today I have a chance to share pictures.

Lazarus Saturday:

Palm Sunday:

(I have so many cute photos from the triumphal entry that I put all the rest of them over here.)

Cleansing of the Temple:

Christ anointed by Mary:

The Last Supper:

Gethsemane/Thursday:


Good Friday:

Plans for Holy Week

Our preparations for celebrating the Resurrection are picking up speed around here.  I've had a list going in my mind, and I need to get it written down.  These are the preparations and then the stories for each day:

• Thursday - make tomb and finish up Easter garden (We've been gathering and adding plants for a while.)
• Friday - varnish tomb, finish making little people  (I should have brought over a pack of pipe cleaners!)
  
• Saturday - story of Lazarus (I know it doesn't fit with the chronology of the life of Christ, but this is traditionally Lazarus Saturday.  It will be fun to play the story with the tomb that we've made, before we put it in the garden.)
• Sunday - triumphal entry
• Monday - cleansing of the temple
• Tuesday - Jesus annointed
• Wednesday - Last Supper (Again breaking up the chronology, but Thursday's events are too much to cover at once, and I want them to hear this before we go to church on Thursday.)
• Thursday - garden of Gethsemane
• Friday - crucifixion
• Saturday - waiting, mourning
• Sunday - HE IS RISEN!

For more about what we're doing during Holy Week, read the Easter section of Treasuring God in our Traditions or this article, and this.

Reflections of Lenten Lights

My favorite photo from last week
We started on the second reading from Lenten Lights tonight.  Honestly, I've been surprised by how much Jaan and Raia are understanding.  It's mostly straight Scripture, which is of course good for them, but I thought it might be over their heads.  The candles are a good visual for them, though.  You should have seen the shock on their faces when the first candle went out last week! Asya enjoys it all, too, even though she doesn't understand; she wants to sing (howl?) through the whole reading and blow out the candles.  Almost every night we have reread the first selection, and they are definitely thinking about it and asking questions. We're also learning to sing Путь к Голгофе далёк, and they're all really trying.   Another side benefit is that I've had some of the neighbor children asking me about what we're doing.  I never would have thought of that aspect.  However, the candles are in our window, and they're pretty visible from the street, even by day.  Easter is the biggest religious holiday of the year in this part of the world, so pray with us that we would take advantage of the opportunities to discuss the true meaning of it with others.

Lenten Lights

Asya and I are home with runny noses today. After church Will, Leetra, Jaan and Raia went out to visit some friends in the village of Vidnozheno. Asya's not really too sick, but she couldn't have handled skipping her nap. So, she's napping here. And while she sleeps, I was able to get ready for the first reading of Lenten Lights. My arrangement looks pretty, and it would probably work in a house with no children, but it's a little too precarious to last long here. I'm sure I'll be rearranging it.  It was incredibly fun and strange to set it all up by myself, no questions, no "help."  You can see what I have now: seven candles, thorn branches, pussy willows around the Palm Sunday candle, a purple ribbon, and the first reading printed out and mounted on a purple card.  Knowing how little ones love repetition, I'm sure we'll be rereading that card all week.

I would love to hear how you prepare for and celebrate Easter in your homes!

UPDATE: Here's the new child-friendly version:
The "candle holders" are actually glued down. The thorns are up higher; Jaan and Raia love that they make a cross now.

A close up of the new "candle holders" that Will got for me :
Pretty, eh?

We didn't get to do our first reading last night, because everyone got back so late, so we'll start tonight. Tonight is also Leetra's last night with us. Al least we have the great memories of starting this with her! (and so much more!)

My article