Ukrainian Orthodox Easter

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter according to the dates of the Julian calendar.  In 2023 Easter will be celebrated on April 16.  Saskatchewan is home to many Ukrainian communities, and this exhibit highlights some of the traditions of Easter celebrations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Saskatchewanians of Ukrainian ancestry.

Nine decorated Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Photographic Services Collection.  PAS Photo 54-001-01.

Ukrainian Orthodox Easter Traditions

The Ukrainian word for Easter is Velykden, meaning The Great Day. 


The cookbook was published in 1977 by the Olena Pchilka Branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. 



A description of Ukrainian Orthodox Easter traditions, taken from Cooking ... Ukrainian Style. PAS Photo PAS PI-1059. Click to read the full description.

An account of Easter celebrations at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God in Mamornitz, Saskatchewan. Excerpt from Mamornitz: A History of a Ukrainian Pioneer Community by Jennie Zayachowski.





There are a number of different types of Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Pysanky are raw eggs on which designs are created using a wax-resist method. The designs are made with a tool of some sort, such as a stylus or pinhead. Krashanky are boiled eggs, dyed a single colour which are blessed and eaten at Easter.



Nine decorated Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Photographic Services Collection.  PAS Photo 54-001-01.

Ukrainian Orthodox Churches



Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Wakaw, Saskatchewan. R. H. Macdonald fonds, PAS Photo S-RM-F4344

Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Wroxton, SK. Carl J. Tracie fonds. 
PAS Photo GM-PH-2106 (152).

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Prince Albert, SK.R. H. Macdonald fonds, PAS Photo S-RM-F4429.

St. John’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, near Endeavour, SK. Father Peter V. Tkaruk blessing the Easter baskets outside the church.  Early 1940s. PAS Photo R-A20817

Paska



Women with Easter bread (paska) to be blessed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Whitkow, SK., 1956. PAS Photo S-B9242

Recipe for paska included in Cooking ... Ukrainian Style. PAS Photo PI-1059. Click to see the full recipe.