A Little Bit of Russia Each Easter

On March 23, 2008, my husband and I watched our Easter sunrise while being driven across the frozen tundra from the Yemelyanova Airport to the city of Krasnoyarsk.  It had been four months to the day since we had seen our son and we were filled with special Easter hope, love and new family life. 

After checking into our hotel, we spent our Easter day wandering around Krasnoyarsk, the city our son was born in.  We wound up walking up the Karaulnaya Gora hill to the Saint Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel and paid a few rubles to light a candle for Aidan and our family. 

Because the Russian Orthodox church typically celebrates Easter a few weeks later than our Western culture, we spent our month long trip learning a few Russian Easter traditions and phrases:  Happy Easter!-- Счастливого Пасхи!; and Easter Bunny!-- Пасхальный самых.  We also bought some Russian Easter Egg dye to use in the future, some of which has been saved to give to Aidan when he is an adult.  We have since found a Russian store near us where we buy Russian Candy and Easter Egg dye each year.

Although we didn’t go the first year home, we have been invited to attend an Easter Party at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D. C..  This year will be our third time.  The party is attended by about one hundred children from Russia, and their families, and is a lot of fun.

 After getting checked in at the gate to the Embassy compound, where we try out a few phrases in Russian on the guards who smile indulgently at us, we are ushered into a large area where the children can play games and do crafts together.  Later we are taken to an auditorium where we are welcomed by the Ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.  We are then delightfully entertained by the children of the Embassy School with songs, skits and dances of Russia.  The party finishes with a wonderful buffet of meats, fruits and pastries.  Many of the Embassy officials circulate and spend time with the families while we are eating.  We have met several wonderful people at this party. 

We met our son on Thanksgiving Day and missed him during that first Christmas, so it was altogether fitting to arrive back in his city on Easter morning, a day of rebirth.  It was an Easter for us to always remember.  And one in which new family traditions were born.