About Easter Bread
Osterbrot is a traditional Easter pastry in German culture that is prepared on the eve of Easter. It is a sweet yeast pastry with raisins and candied fruits and symbolizes the end of the fasting period as well as the joy over the resurrection. Such bread is baked in Germany as well as in Austria and partly in Switzerland. There is no uniform shape or designation: it can be called Osterbrot, Osterzopf or Hefezopf. A similar tradition also exists among the East Slavic peoples: In Ukraine it is called Pascha, in the Russian tradition Kulich. As in German culture, this bread is baked before Easter, but unlike the Western tradition, it is blessed in church and has a much more pronounced religious significance.
The roots of these customs reach back to the first Christians, who gathered after Christ's ascension and left bread as a symbol of his presence. Over time, this became an integral part of the Easter tradition.
In the Ukrainian tradition, the Pascha is baked on Maundy Thursday or on Great Saturday, decorated and then brought to church for blessing.
