Radunitsa
Radunitsa
(also radonitsa; probably related to the word radost’ [“joy”]), a pagan spring festival of the Eastern Slavs held the week after Easter and connected with ancestor worship.
Radunitsa
The holiday's origins are not Christian but pagan, thus dating back to ancient times. Many pagan believers of the region once devoted the day to ritual wailing and left gifts of eggs on the graves of the deceased. During the middle ages, churches tried to suppress this tradition's observance, but in subsequent centuries the church adopted the pagan customs into the Easter rites. The dyed eggs left for the dead, for instance, have evolved to symbolize Christ's surfacing from the tomb.
The spirit of Radunitsa is joyful in the midst of mourning. (In Slavic languages, Radunitsa and its variations mean "Joy Day.") Believers anticipate that the dead will triumph over death as Christ did following his crucifixion. Eating paschal (Easter) foods is a popular way to celebrate. Congregations will gather to eat eggs as well as pancakes, grains like kutya or kulichi, and a type of gingerbread called prianiki.
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