From carrots to salted caramel: what will surprise Kirov at Easter

      Easter is the most important Christian holiday, symbolizing the victory of life over death. In 2025, Orthodox and Catholic Easter coincide and will be celebrated on April 20.

      History and significance

      The holiday is set in honor of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ — it is a key event of Christianity, symbolizing the salvation of mankind and the atonement of sins. The Easter egg is a traditional symbol of new life and miraculous transformation.

      Great Lent and Holy Week precedes the holiday. Holy Week is a period of the strictest restrictions, when believers remember the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

      The main traditions

      The central event of the holiday is the Easter service, which begins on Easter night and symbolizes the bright Resurrection of Christ. Believers gather in churches to prayerfully celebrate the beginning of the most important Christian holiday. On these days, it is customary to greet each other with the words: "Christ is risen!", and to respond — "Truly he is risen!", reminding of the main Easter news.

      The Easter bell ringing, which proclaims great joy and spiritual victory, is an integral part of Easter. It fills towns and villages with festive solemnity.

      The festive night ends with an Easter meal, where the family gathers. There are traditional dishes on the table: Easter cake, cottage cheese, colored eggs and other treats, each of which has a symbolic meaning.

      What can and cannot be done

      It is allowed

      to attend divine

      services, gather with relatives

      , cook festive meals

      , and help those in need.

      Not recommended:

      to participate in noisy entertainment

      to distract from the spiritual content of the holiday.

      The symbols of Easter are the Easter egg as a symbol of a new life, the Easter curd is a special dish in the shape of a truncated pyramid, the Easter fire is a symbol of light conquering darkness, and the Easter cake is a festive bread. Let's talk about the latter in more detail.

      

      

      

       Photo: Neural network of Dubai, carrot and with roses

      This year, the so-called "Dubai cake" has become especially popular. As he writes "Lenta.ru Moscow residents began to massively study this recipe and order cakes made from pistachio flour, pistachio petals and melted chocolate.

      On the eve of the celebration, we decided to see which cakes are sold in Kirov, as well as how much they will cost. So, according to our observations, Kirov residents will not be able to taste the vaunted "Dubai cake" — they simply do not sell them. However, in various bakeries and shops we noticed interesting examples, for example, carrot cake with honey (660 rubles), cupcake cake "Mac lemon with roses" (1,150 rubles) and "Panettone" with Tahitian vanilla, premium raisins and salted caramel filling (3,500 rubles). On average, cakes in ordinary grocery stores cost from 300 rubles, and cakes to order in bakeries or restaurants can cost Kirov residents "a pretty penny": from 1 thousand rubles to 5 thousand rubles.

      Observing the appearance of more and more new flavors and shapes of cakes, we decided to clarify with the Kirov priest Andrei Lebedev whether such innovations are acceptable from a religious point of view, or whether it is necessary to bake and buy classic traditional cakes at Easter.

      Priest: "The main thing at Easter is not food, but participation in the Resurrection"

      The festive week will last seven days, and, as the priest emphasizes, the most important thing these days is participation in church life.

      "For Orthodox Christians, the most important thing is to participate in Divine Services that tell about the most important event of humanity — the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we participate in this event through the services," he said.

      But the holiday is not limited only to the temple. "It is also important these days to fill time with good deeds through visits to hospitals for those who need help, and to bring them this eternal news and share the joy of Easter with them, as well as with their relatives, neighbors, and distant relatives," the priest emphasized.

      According to him, the Easter table is part of the tradition, but not the essence of the holiday. "By tradition, we prepare special dishes, such as Easter cheese, sweet cakes, colored eggs, and so on. Here they may differ in their internal content — what are the possibilities. As for the external forms, Russian traditions have already been established here, and we must adhere to them," he explained.

      Family traditions and homemade Easter

      

      

      

       Andrey Mauri Photo: Andrey Maurin's VK pagehome Kirov residents shared with Newsler.ru plans for the upcoming holidays. For example, Andrei Mauri, the former deputy chairman of the government of the Kirov region, said that Easter is one of the main holidays for him, which is traditionally celebrated with his family.

      "We always prepare Easter cakes and cakes ourselves, at home, and then we consecrate them in the church," said the ex-deputy prime minister. According to him, this is already an established family tradition, in which both Mauri and his wife actively participate: "My wife is used to cooking them, she learns some new recipes every year. I also bought printing plates for Easter cakes. We will try to make the same gingerbread as Tula, only with Easter."

      

      

      

       Vyacheslav Simakov Photo: Newsler.Kirov administration head Vyacheslav Simakov also shared how he celebrates Easter. This year, on a festive date, the head of the Kirov city hall will be on a business trip, but, according to him, he still adheres to tradition. Vyacheslav Nikolaevich noted that if he has an "Easter day" free, he spends it with his family, together with loved ones.

      Unlike Andrei Mauri, Simakov cannot boast of homemade cakes, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, as he noted, prefers to buy a delicious festive cake.

      

      

      

       Maria Butina. Photo: vk.com/butina_mariaДепутат Maria Butina, the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the Kirov region, said that, of course, she celebrates Easter. "This is the main holiday for all Christians, it shows our faith and hopes. I always, under any circumstances, celebrate Easter, it is fundamentally important to me.

      I often spend Easter at work. There are a lot of things to do, meetings, and events. But if I have the opportunity, I will definitely go to church and participate in the service. And if the work takes a long time, then I will try my best to spend time with my family on this day. For me, Easter is a family holiday.

      My mom bakes cakes, but I try if I have time to bake the cakes myself. But it doesn't always work out. There was a case when my dough did not rise, and I had to seek the help of professional chefs.

      We traditionally paint eggs in our family. I learned from my mom how to dye with henna as well.

      If we talk about cakes, its semantic message is important to me, it reminds us of Christ, of the church, of his co-religionists. Therefore, it does not matter what kind of cake, the main thing is that it is there, the main thing is that you were given it, you give it yourself or share it with other people.

      I want to say a special word about Dubai cakes. As an Orthodox Christian, I believe that one should not pursue beauty, any special features, or anything that stands out. To make a cake a reason for pride, look, I have an expensive and exclusive cake – it's not about spirituality. Imagine that you will come to an Orthodox church in the most expensive and colorful costumes. You're just going to embarrass your co-religionists. Therefore, no matter what cakes there are, as long as they do not become a reason for pride, for what is called "self."

      Of course, I will gladly try something new, but classic and simple recipes are my conscious choice.

      I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and kind Easter! May the Lord keep you safe and help you in all good deeds!"