EASTER AND EASTER CUSTOMS IN MACEDONIA

Easter is the largest Christian holiday that marks and celebrates Christ's resurrection. In Orthodoxy and other Christian faiths, the feast is marked in a somewhat different way and usually on different dates (old and new calendar).
The feast of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated every year at different dates and it's one of the so-called "moving date feasts". The date of Easter is taken the first week after full moon, the day of the spring equinox or immediately after. Orthodox Easter always falls from April 4th to May 8th.
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The main symbol of Easter are eggs. Earlier, only red eggs were painted, and this custom is believed to originate from Mary Magdalene, who, according to the Bible, took eggs painted in red before the then Roman Emperor Tiberius when it became known that Christ was risen. Although Great Friday is the saddest day for all Christians in the world, Easter is considered the most joyous Christian holidays right after Christmas.
On Easter Day, Easter Monday and Tuesday that come after, the Orthodox Christians in the world are greeted with "Hristos voskrese" (Christ has risen) and the corresponding greeting is "Vaistina Voskrese" (Truly He has risen).
Christians enjoy the Easter customs, especially the children. Different customs are used in various parts of the country. So, some dye eggs on the Great Thursday, some on Great Friday, or Great Saturday. Some boil eggs only in red color or with onions, and some color and decorate eggs in a variety of ways. The housewife is in charge for dyeing the eggs, who depending on the habits, paints the eggs alone or with the children. In many parts, she first crosses, tells a prayer to God, and then in a pot in which Easter eggs are cooked, she pours a little sanctified water, mainly the one that is lit during the Easter fasting. According to the custom, the first egg is dyed in red and is considered as a guardian of the house. It is kept until the next year. In some places, the last year's egg guard of the house is placed in the cattle, while some are buried in an anthill. In the city, it is mostly buried in the earth.
According to some beliefs, the red color denotes the divine nature, while the blue denotes the human. Therefore, in some regions, the eggs are tangled in these two colors.
During the Great Saturday, housewives mainly prepare food for Easter. And for the Easter day, one should get up earlier and go to bed earlier. The housewife prepares water for washing the family members in which she puts the guardian of the house, basil and geranium.
In many places, it is customary for each of the family members to attend the Easter liturgy, and after returning home, they finish the fasting with eating Easter eggs. All of the family breaks with colored eggs and compete whose egg will stay the whole :)
If Easter falls in a time before another great Orthodox holiday, Gjurgjovden, then in some parts lamb meat is not eaten for Easter.
For Easter, housewives knead special bread called "pogacha" that is decorated with braids and in which are made hollows where Easter eggs are placed. And this custom varies from place to place. In many parts is kneaded a sweet bread called "kozinak".
In some areas, sweets and eggs are hidden in the home and in the yard, and children begin to search for them immediately after Easter breakfast.
In the city environments, the home is decorated with various new decorations like plastic eggs and various decorations that can be purchased today in special stores. In rural areas, the house is decorated primarily with flowers.