Spring cleaning (wiosenne porządki) is associated with the beginning of Lent. On Ash Wednesday believers have their heads marked with ash at a church service; on Palm Sunday they prepare special palms to take to church for a blessing. The blessed palms are kept in the house for the year. Tradition says they protect the household from evil. The following year they are collected and burnt outside the church to provide the ash for Ash Wednesday. On Holy Saturday every household prepares an Easter basket (święconka) full of Easter breakfast foods. The baskets are taken to the church to be blessed, and the contents eaten the following morning. Easter breakfast is the most celebrated Easter meal in Polish culture, dating back to the 7th century. Before the breakfast begins, families share Easter eggs with each other, wishing their relatives all the best.

Easter is celebrated later because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old Julian calendar. On Holy Saturday churches hold night services and organise religious processions around churches. By that time, kulich, the traditional holiday baking symbolising the body of Christ, has already been baked and Easter eggs painted. The morning starts with visiting neighbours and giving Easter eggs. The common phrase on that day is, Khristos voskres! (Christ is risen!), followed by Voistinu voskres (Truly he is risen!) followed by the kiss of peace (triple kissing). Easter is the day of abundant food after the ‘Great Lent.’ A Russian tradition is to deliver gifts to poor families, distant relatives, orphanages, hospitals, prisons and beggars. They say that from Easter to the Ascension Christ, with the Apostles, travels the earth testing everyone for mercy and kindnesses.

Millions will unite to remember one thing this week. ‘He is risen!’ Yet His heart grieves over the Church’s rampant unfaithfulness. Congregations can be filled with cultural Christianity rather than lives fully surrendered to the risen Saviour. Prosperity gospel, works-based gospel, cheap grace, false teachings, sin, self-absorption, and nominalism are blinding and enslaving much of His body across the nations. Matthew 7:16 says, ‘By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles?’

Egypt has had three days of mourning after two bombings of Coptic Christian churches by IS on Palm Sunday, killing 49 and injuring dozens. In response to the attacks, Egypt will set up a supreme council to counter terrorism and extremism. At the end of March Israel reported, ‘Egypt is likely to be subject to an IS terror attack in the near future.’ Eitan Ben-David, head of Israel's counter-terror bureau, said, ‘We don't want to cry wolf but we really believe that the threat is serious.’ In many countries, particularly Nigeria, Easter prompts heightened tension between Christians and Muslims. Nigerian churches will be overwhelmingly full, and Easter Monday is a holiday with crowds gathering at markets, beaches, etc. Historically Nigeria has experienced horrendous Easter church bombings. Other countries also experience Christian / Muslim tensions at Easter. In Pakistan last Easter, 75 were killed and 340 injured in Christian-targeted bombings. See also