Kyiv, UKRAINE – Once you see hundreds, no, thousands of festive baskets brimming with all sorts of Easter goods under the chiming bells of Saint Sophia, you know you are right in the middle of one of the most important holidays in Ukraine.
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Every year Easter festivities unite people from all over the globe, though the Ukrainians, most of whom are Orthodox Christians, usually join the celebrations slightly later than the rest of the Christian world, which means that in 2026 our Easter fell on 12th of April.
Usually my family and I would go to a church close to our home to have our baskets blessed, but this year we decided to go to the St. Sophia Cathedral, also known simply as “Sophia of Kyiv,” to experience the spirit of our beloved holiday in one of the oldest churches in our country.
Located right in the heart of Ukraine’s capital, Sophia gathers locals from all over the city and even the country, bringing friends and families together in celebration. And breathing in the festive excitement inside the walls of Saint Sophia’s courtyard truly sweeps you into the whirlwind of the old and sacred Ukrainian traditions.
All around is a plethora of Easter baskets, all styled with bows and ribbons and filled with everything that makes this holiday the way it is – the traditional Easter goods.
Overflowing with the paskas, the traditional Ukrainian Easter bread, dyed eggs, known as “pysanky” or “krashanky,” some meat and butter along with some candy and other goods, the baskets are awaiting to be blessed by the priest, and later be feasted on during the festive breakfast with one’s family and close friends.
For sure, the Easter celebrations in Ukraine have changed a lot since the beginning of the full-scale war, but people are still holding on to the memories and traditions.
We keep playing a game called egg pitting – to see who has the strongest eggs – and dancing to the traditional spring Haivky songs during the Easter holidays.
You can still hear “The Christ is risen!” everywhere you go, a greeting coming both from friends and strangers, to which you are always supposed to say, “He is risen indeed!”
And when you approach the church with a swaying basket in hand and hear the bells of the St. Sophia ringing to the rhythm of the city’s heart, you know the faith in tomorrow will be here as long as the spirit of the holiday lives.
Daria Prymak is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Ukraine. She wrote this article.
Norah Springborn is an Associate Editor with Youth Journalism International from the United States. She made the audio recording.
