Paska (, ; ; , ; ; ; ultimately from ) is a traditional

Easter bread In many European countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holidays. Traditionally the practice of eating Easter bread or sweetened "communion" bread traces ...

particularly spread in

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

an countries with cultural connections to the ancient

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Eastern Catholicism The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

. Easter breads are a traditional element in the Easter holiday cuisines of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. It is also eaten in countries with large immigrant populations from Central and Eastern Europe such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Easter bread is also a common tradition amongst the

Assyrian diaspora The Assyrian diaspora ( Syriac: ܓܠܘܬܐ, ''Galuta'', "exile") refers to ethnic Assyrians living in communities outside their ancestral homeland. The Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrians claim descent from the ancient Assyrians and are one of t ...

Etymology and origins

In the Ukrainian language Easter is called (). The term ''paska'' comes from the Greek word of Easter (from which it has also entered Russian as (). The Ukrainian word () is one of the words used for a traditional egg enriched Easter bread or cake in Ukraine, whilst Вели́кдень () is used to denote the day. In some diaspora communities the term ''paska'' is used for braided loaves, while the tall breads resembling Russian

kulich Kulich (, also Romanized as Kūlīch; also known as Kaljī, Kolīshg, Kolishk, and Kūlīj) is a village in Zherizhah Rural District, in the Central District of Sarvabad County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 20 ...

are called ''baba'' or ''babka''. Among different communities and families it may be used variously for the braided, elaborately decorated loaves of Easter bread, or the tall Easter cake cooked in tin cylinders sometimes called babka, baba or in Russian, kulich.

Christian symbolism

In the

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

communities of North America, the act of baking the ''paska'' bread was a ritual that commemorated the resurrection of Christ. The Christian faithful in many

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

countries eat this bread during Easter. Christian symbolism is associated with features of paska type breads. Other versions include chocolate, rice, or even savoury mixtures based on cheese. A version is made with maraschino cherries added to symbolize royal jewels in honor of the resurrection of Jesus.

Traditional ingredients

Paska is made with

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

, and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, except for the Romanian pască where the recipe most commonly includes sweet cream,

cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavour and a creamy, heterogeneous, soupy texture, made from skimmed milk. An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the additio ...

, and/or

sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

along with

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the word ''raisin'' is reserv ...

, and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

. An egg and water mixture is used as a glaze.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, it is tradition to fill one's Easter basket (koshyk) with Easter eggs (pysanky), Easter bread (paska), sausage (kovbasa), butter, salt and other ceremonial foods on Holy Saturday (Easter Eve). On Easter morning, after the liturgy and the blessing of the paska and other staples, people return home to feast on the eggs, cold meats, and other goods that were blessed at church. After the matins all the people in the congregation exchange Easter greetings, give each other ''krashanky'', and then return home with baskets of blessed food (''sviachene''). In the east of Ukraine people return home, place the ''sviachene'' on the table, and the oldest member of the family opens the cloths in which the food is wrapped, slices pieces from each item, and distributes them to members of the family along with a piece of unleavened bread that has also been blessed. In the west of Ukraine, especially in the

Hutsul The Hutsuls (Rusyn language, Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administra ...

region, people first walk around their house three times. Only then do they enter the house, ceremoniously open the bundle (''dorinnyk'') over the heads of the children, and sit down to the table to break their fast. Modern pasky usually have a white glaze made from sugar and egg and are decorated on top with coloured wheat grains or poppy seeds. However, an old custom, which is still practised in some Ukrainian regions and diasporas, is to create dough ornaments for the paska. The symbolism of these ornaments is connected with spring themes: the awakening of nature, resurrection and rebirth. Birds, especially larks, as heralds of spring, took a much-deserved place on pasky.

Eaten with other foods

Paska is eaten with ''hrudka'', also called ''syrek'', a bland sweet custard similar to cheese made from separated eggs and milk and beets mixed with

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...

(''chren''/''hrin'') and kovbasa.

Pască

Pască is a traditional Romanian and Moldovan pastry. Especially made for

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

, pască is a

tart A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...

with a

cozonac ''Cozonac'' () or ''Kozunak'' ( ) is a sweet yeast dough that can be used to make different traditional holiday breads and cakes. Often mixed with raisins or nuts, it can be baked as a loaf or rolled out with fillings like poppy seed or walnuts. ...

dough base filled with fresh cheese like

urdă Urda (, indefinite form: ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a whey cheese commonly produced in Southeast Europe, and Hungary. Etymology The name derives from Albanian , from Proto-Albanian ''*wurdā'', from an earlier form ''*urdā'' or ''*uordā'', ultimately ...

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

s, eggs and sugar. Other variants include

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

, or

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

fillings.

References

External links

* *{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328164622/http://www.eggsanytime.ca:80/recipes/desserts/paska , date=28 March 2016 , title=Paska recipe Sweet breads Yeast breads Easter bread Ukrainian cuisine Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Braided egg breads Romani cuisine Romanian cuisine