A week after most Canadians have put away their decorations and moved on, Ukrainian, Greek and other Orthodox communities across the country are gathering to celebrate Easter this weekend.

Unlike most Christians in Canada and abroad, Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar, which places their Easter one week later.

In the Ukrainian community, families spend days before Easter decorating pysanky — eggs intricately dyed with wax and coloured in patterns passed down through generations. They also gather for hayilky, traditional spring circle dances performed outdoors after Easter to welcome warmer weather.

And at the centre of it all is the basket blessing, known in Ukrainian as sviachennia. Families bring elaborately prepared baskets of food to church to be blessed by a priest, marking the end of weeks of fasting.

“We go from fast to feast,” said Father Andrij Figol of Christ the Good Shepherd St. Michael’s Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Traditions beyond religion

For many in Toronto’s Ukrainian community, these traditions carry meaning beyond religion. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine four years ago, over 300,000 Ukrainians have settled in Canada, and for many, familiar rituals offer something irreplaceable.

“It’s almost like having one foot in this country of Canada, but also having one foot in Ukraine,” Father Andrij said.

CBC photographer Oksana Shtohryn attended the basket blessing ceremonies at two Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches in Toronto on April 4.

Greek Catholics celebrate Easter on the same date as most Canadians, but follow the same basket blessing tradition as Orthodox Ukrainians, who mark the holiday this weekend.

At Christ the Good Shepherd Church, worshippers wait for the basket blessing ceremony to begin. Each basket, filled with traditional foods and topped with a lit candle, was prepared at home before being brought to church for the blessing.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

In the first image of the animated GIF, a woman in a vyshyvanka — a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt worn during religious and cultural celebrations — tends to her Easter basket, filled with Easter bread, eggs, butter, kielbasa and other foods saved for the feast after fasting.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

Dozens of Easter baskets line the tables as the congregation gathers and the priests lead opening prayers before the blessing begins.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

Father Andrij blesses the baskets with holy water, sprinkling each one as he moves through the hall. He said the blessed baskets are meant to carry the light of Easter beyond the church walls.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

“It’s like being a little kid again,” Father Andrij said when asked why he sprinkles holy water over the congregation as well as the baskets. “It’s the joy of life — that life overcomes everything.”

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

Addressing parishioners after the blessing, Father Andrij urges them to return for Easter Sunday’s main celebration. Though the baskets are blessed on Saturday, the fast is not broken until after the Sunday service.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

Worshippers then make their way toward the iconostasis in the main hall. On Holy Saturday, a shroud depicting the crucified Christ is placed at the front of the church, turning the space into a symbolic tomb before Sunday’s resurrection.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

A worshipper sits in the pews between services on Holy Saturday, in front of an icon of the Virgin Mary and a candle stand.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

A parishioner carries his blessed basket home after the ceremony. The food inside will remain untouched until the family’s Easter breakfast on Sunday morning.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)

Tables overflow with Easter baskets at St. Demetrius the Great Martyr Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Similar scenes are expected at Ukrainian Orthodox churches across Toronto this weekend, with ceremonies running from morning to evening.

(Oksana Shtohryn/CBC)