Mothers And Daughters: Preparations For The Holiday

PREPARATIONS FOR THE HOLIDAY

April 18, 1840.

Easter Eggs played a very important part at this time of the year, as it was always customary at Easter, on greeting an acquaintance, to press an egg into their hand and give the Paschal Greeting, “Christos voskrese” (“He is risen!”) to which the other person replies, “Voistinu voskrese!” (Truly, He is risen!”) Then then exchanged three kisses (the “kiss of peace”) on alternating cheeks. Some eggs were painted in a variety of patterns, some had verses inscribed on them, and some depicted portraits of saints or tiny angels couched on roses. More typically, they were inscribed with the general Paschal Greeting, (“Christos voskres,”) or “Yesh’ i dumay obo mne” (“Eat and think of me.”) As the Paschal eggs were commemorative of the death of Christ, they were more often than not dyed the color red “emblematical of His blood.” The wealthy, of course, did not content themselves with eggs dyed with Brazil-wood. At the imperial glass-cutting manufactory, there were two halls filled with workmen hired to do nothing else but cut flowers and figures on eggs of crystal. Some of them were for the Tsar and Tsarina, who gave them away as presents to the courtiers. The porcelain manufactory, not to be outdone, produced a great quantity of eggs. They were adorned with handsome paintings and gilding, affixed with neat ribbons so the receiver might hang them up as a keepsake. The wax-fruit makers and confectioners, likewise, produced pretty pieces of workmanship. In their elegant boxes, one could find eggs of all shapes and sizes, from ostrich egg down to the nightingale’s, made entirely of wax or sugar. Very costly presents were also offered in “eggshells.” Some were transparent, and in place of the yolk, contained little fairy bouquets, and other gifts.[1]

On the last two days before Easter, the family painted their eggs, wrapped them in colorful silk rags, and boiled them to make them look like marble. Baba Lena drew several beautiful pictures on the eggs, with bouquets, angels, and garlands. Some Ukrainians also visited with their Easter eggs, which were painted with yellow, green, and white patterns on a red background. Dede Andrushka bought the children some beautiful gold and porcelain eggs. Aunt Katya and Helena Andreevna brought them a whole box of candy eggs. Vera decided in advance which of the ones she made that she would give to the orphanage girls and the maid girls. For Nanny Nastya, she chose a beautiful egg with a crucifix on one side and an image of the Resurrection of the Lord on the other. Vera knew that Nanny Nastya would be pleased to receive it and hoped that she would display it with her other holy images.

Early in the morning on Holy Saturday, they were taken to the cathedral (which was just opposite their house,) to venerate the Shroud. The thermometer of religious enthusiasm was below zero. Singing, bells, and other accompaniments of divine worship were suspended on Holy Saturday. Everyone was tired and exhausted from the incessant kneeling and long church services. Many had not eaten a morsel for the previous three days and were half-famished. Vera could not calm down for a long time after mass, and kept asking Baba Lena, “How dare evil people kill Christ?” Why were they allowed to do this?” Baba Lena was very busy with household orders, to get Vera to leave her alone, Helena Andreevna took her to her room, where Antonia was sitting, hastily finishing up some work, and asked her to explain the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior, which she willingly did. (Vera was very happy to learn that Christ was resurrected and came to life again to ascend alive into heaven.)

Antonia often told Lelya and Vera various interesting things while working, and Vera listened to her stories until dusk when they were called to dinner. Vera, however, stubbornly refused to eat light meals and was nearly crying because the grownups did not want to take her to church for Matins. How was she to eat beef cutlets when everyone was still fasting, and Nanny Nastya did not drink or eat anything at all. Helena Andreevna and Baba Lena, seeing her grief, took pity on her, and allowed her to eat lean (which Vera was very happy about.)

After lunch, Vera sat quietly in the nursery, thinking about everything she had heard that day, when Lelya suddenly ran in.

“Verochka!” she shouted. “Go quickly to the sofa. Look what they put in there from the kitchen. So much Easter money! Wonderful mazurkas! Different dishes! Go!”

Lelya left, and Vera ran after her. A large table was set in the hall, and dishes and silver were placed on it. Baba Lena kept looking around in the sofa room, where Baba Kapka, Maxim (in a white apron,) and Aksentiy (another cook,) were carrying all kinds of dishes and cookies from the kitchen, cellar, and pantry.

The entire round table was burdened with a cornucopia of delicacies, many of which were unique to the occasion. Maxim and Aksentiy took great pains to introduce as many allusions as possible to the church and Easter. Many of the dishes assumed the form of eggs, viands were served in eggs, and the pastries were in an egg-shaped crust. Such Easter repasts, to the genuine Russian, had to include two articles called pashka and kulich. Pashka was made of curdled milk that was pressed firmly into pyramid shapes. Kulich was a thick, round, cylindrical loaf of wheat bread, twisted in such a way as to resemble a crown of thorns. There was a huge basket with various sausages, smoked birds, and tongues. Another basket was full of mazurkas covered with white glaze. Baba Kapka placed a tray of red eggs on the table, while Baba Lena was telling the servants what to put on which dish, what to bring into the hall, and what to leave in reserve for people. Aksentiy stood at the door, holding a brazier on which lay roasted turkeys, geese, and partridges. Lelya and Aunt Nadya hovered around another table, where there were pies and cakes decorated with sweets and flowers.

“Who will eat all this?!” exclaimed Vera, putting two fingers in her mouth.

“Look how many guests we will have tomorrow!!” answered Aunt Nadya. “We may not even have enough for ourselves! Almost forty souls of people live in this house alone.”

And it was true. In those days everyone had a lot of servants., especially Baba Lena, who was from a very old, rich house. But there was plenty of everything, especially on such big holidays, and Baba Lena herself was a wonderful hostess and famous for her hospitality. A little later, when the table in the hall was set, and Baba Lena’s chores were over, she sat on the yellow sofa in the parlor and beckoned the children to join her.

“Verochka,” she said, “do you know what else we have tomorrow besides Easter?”

Vera fixed her big eyes on Baba Lena and shook her head.

“Tomorrow is your birthday, silly.[2] You are going to be five years old! Look sharp in the morning. After all, tomorrow you will be a whole year older, and will grow an arshin overnight.”[3]

“How about a yard, Baba Lena?”

“Certainly,” said Baba Lena, smiling.

Vera seriously considered Baba Lena’s words, and the more she thought about it, the more she began to worry. What kind of dress would she wear if she grew so quickly overnight?

“Well, what should I give you tomorrow?” asked Baba Lena.

“Oh,” said Vera. “I don’t know!”

“Baba Lena, give her that big doll!” said Lelya, “Remember that one we saw in the shops? Oh! Or a bear that climbs a pole! Oh! And paint! We will color the pictures. It will be so much fun! Do you want some paint, Vera?”

“Well, my dear! You’ve said so much that you can’t remember everything. As the French say, ‘Qui veut tout, n’a rien’ Do you know the story of the old man and the sausage?”

“No,” said Vera. “Tell us!”

“Now is not the time. Remind me, I’ll tell you tomorrow,” said Baba Lena. “Now let’s go and have some tea. Dede Andrushka has already finished walking around the rooms and surely wants some tea.”

Vera and Lelya really did not want to go to bed, because no one in the house went to bed in anticipation of matins. But the grownups put them to bed anyway, and Vera fell asleep so soundly, that she did not even hear the ringing of the church bell, nor the general return from the church.[4]

← Previous

SOURCES:

[1] Kohl, J. G. Russia And The Russians In 1842. Carey And Hart. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (1843): 159-161; Richardson, M. A. The Table Book Of Remarkable Occurrences: Vol. II. M. A. Richardson. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. (1844): 261-265.

[2] Vera’s birthday was April 17, 1835, according to the Gregorian calendar and April 5, 1835, according to the Julian calendar (which was used in Russia at the time.) This was one of the years when the “Old Style” calendar and the “New Style” calendar synched up. To complicate matters, Easter falls on different days in the Russian Church and the Catholic Church. In 1840, when Vera turned five, the dates of Easter in the “Old Style” Russian calendar were April 7, for the Catholics and April 14 for the Russians. In the “New Style” calendar, the dates were April 19, for the Catholics, and April 26 for the Russians. She may have been confusing Easter with Good Friday in her memoir.

[3] An arshin is an archaic form of measurement in Russia. Its English value is 2¹⁄₃ feet.

[4] Zhelihovskaya, Vera Petrovna. How I Was Little. A. F. Devrien. St. Petersburg, Russia. (1898): 75-79.