Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on April 8 this year. The Orthodox Christian churches still use the Julian calendar, which lags behind the Gregorian calendar by about two weeks, and Easter is a moveable feast, so it can sometimes be celebrated up to a month after Easter in other denominations.
In Ukraine, the Monday after Easter, April 9, is a public holiday, so there’s the chance to plan for a long weekend in Kyiv. Here are some ideas about what to do.
Going downtown
Over 500 illustrators have prepared giant pysankas, eggs painted with colorful symbolic patterns, to decorate the city center in a Pysanka festival. The festival is an open-air exhibition covering a few central locations in Kyiv: Sofiivska and Mykhailivska Squares, and Volodymyrskyi Passage and the public park nearby. At each location there will be a fair and entertainment activities for children and adults. Although pysankas remain the most popular and recognized Easter symbol for Ukraine, the Easter Bunny is also becoming a symbol of the season.
In total, the exhibition in Kyiv’s center will feature 500 pysankas and 374 Easter Bunnies. On Sofiivska Square, guests will be able to watch a film shot in 360-degree format, take a ride on a panoramic wheel, or drink a cup of coffee in a pavilion made in the form of a pysanka.
The biggest fair will take place on Volodymyrskyi Passage on April 8, offering festive food and souvenirs. At a nearby square, workshops, including the ones on painting eggs, will welcome children and adults. Meanwhile, on Mykhailivska Square, the Tvoya Paska (your Easter loaf) festival will take place. It will include a charity fair, Easter photo zones, a musical show and theatrical performance. Over the period of the Pysanka festival, Mykhailivska Square will be a children’s zone, with a small amusement park and fun activities.
Pysanka Festival. Sofiivska Square, Mykhailivska Square, Volodymyrskyi Passage. April 5–22. All day.
Free Easter fair and workshops. Volodymyrskyi Passage. April7–8. Free
Tvoya Paska festival. Mykhailivska Square. April 8. 4 p. m. — 8 p. m.
Church service with ICA
The International Christian Assembly or ICA invites Kyiv’s international community to attend an Easter church service in English on April 8 at 9 a. m. A second service, at 11:30 a. m., will be held with simultaneous translation into Russian.
ICA Church service. International Christian Assembly (12 Peremohy Ave.). April 8. 9 a. m., 11:30 a. m.
Exhibition of pysankas
The Symmetry of Rotation exhibition presents pysankas as pieces of art, in which artist Natalia Yanishevska interprets the traditional meanings of well-known symbols on painted eggs. Yanishevska suggests perceiving a pysanka as a symbol of harmony, order, and beauty.
Symmetry of Rotation by Natalia Yanishevska. Lokatsiya Art Center (7 Heorhiivskyi Ln.) Until April 11. 12–8 p. m. Free
Easter Day for children
Kids can have fun this Easter weekend at Art Mall, where there will be a number of workshops on making postcards, origami, painting pysankas and a competition for the best drawing. Makeup artists will be ready to paint children’s faces with bright colors, and a giant Easter Bunny will be there to entertain them.
Easter Day for children. Art Mall (37 Zabolotny St.) April 9. 1–6 p. m. Free
Easter Family Festival
The Easter Family Festival at 16 Malynska Street offers an exciting program that will entertain people of a range of ages and tastes. The event will include creative workshops, a laser show, theatrical performances, a quest room, a petting zoo, a games area, live music, and a food court, with some of the activities being hosted outdoors.
Easter Family Festival. 16 Malynska St. April 6–8. Fri. — 2–8 p. m., Sat., Sun. — 11 a. m.-8 p. m. Free
Picnic options
As spring has finally arrived, an Easter picnic could be a good idea. In Feofaniya park, children and adults may enjoy creative workshops and music shows, and taste some traditional Ukrainian Easter food as well. In Kyivan Rus park visitors can travel back in time to the Middle Ages, and watch or even take part in some ancient activities such as a horse racing tournament, equestrian tricks, mounted archery, dances, and a cavalry presentation.
Easter celebrations in Feofaniya. Feofaniya park (Akademika Lebedeva St.). April 7–9. 12–6 p. m. Entrance fee — Hr 20, free for children under seven and retirees
Easter celebrations in Kyivan Rus park. Kyivan Rus park (Kopachiv, Kyivs’ka Oblast). April 7–9. 10 a. m. — 8 p. m. Entrance fee — Hr 50–150
