Last Sunday (April 15th) we got to go to our host family's church. We went with Liliya, Zhenya, and Dima (our host mom and two of our brothers) and it wasn't like a church service, it was kind of a ceremony, as Liliya called it. So everyone brings the food that they're going to eat on Easter in a basket, like meat, wine, and poskas, which are Easter cakes. They look like giant cupcakes. And most people had been doing a Lent-type thing where they do not eat meat and some other things for forty days. When we got to the church, we lined up around both sides of a path that goes around the back of the church and then a priest came around with holy water for everyone and all the food. I was expecting to get sprinkled with the water, but I got DRENCHED!! I was soaking wet! I felt like I had taken another shower! He had a bucket and a broom thingy that apparently absorbs a whole lot of water, and then he would get everyone individually, sometimes several times, and the food too. After he was done, we went back to the house and ate our Easter breakfast - hard boiled eggs, turkey, and poska. They made the hard boiled eggs this pretty brownish red color by boiling them with onion peels and then they also put this plastic stuff around them that sticks to the egg and gives it a cool design. We also played a game to see who had the strongest egg by hitting the tops and bottoms together. It was such an interesting experience! I'm so glad that our host family let us be a part of it!
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| Our basket |
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| People coming to the church |
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| People setting out their food |
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| Liliya and Zhenya |
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| The poskas have the tall candles in them |
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| Waiting in line to get into the church |
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