Easter in St. Petersburg

The Peter and Paul Fortress, the Neva Curtain Wall

The exhibition dedicated to the history of celebration of Easter in St. Petersburg in the XIX-ХХI centuries is organized by the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg with the help of the State Museum of History of Religion, the Imperial Porcelain Factory, the Russian National Library, the Central Archive of Audiovisual Documents and the chain of bakeries-confectioneries "Boucher."

In the capital of the Russian Empire Easter celebrations have always played a role of popular municipal festivity which alongside with ritual background also had secular traditions. Almost 500 exhibits - objects of decorative art, graphics, postcards, photographs, posters, billboards and books - tell us about the Easter church services, traditional Easter gifts, Easter meals, popular festivities held on these days as well as anti-religious propaganda of the Soviet time and the modern way to celebrate Easter.

Easter is the main Christian holiday. It is associated with the events that took place in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ was crucified and then resurrected. To remind about these events the following items are displayed on the exhibition: “The Holy Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John” (St. Petersburg, 1910), icons of the XVIII-early XX century: “Resurrection”, “Descent into Hell”, “Ascension”, “Crucifixion” and “Descent fr om the cross”, as well as lithographs of the XIX century depicting the holy places in Jerusalem wh ere the events taken as a basis for Christian doctrine took place: a series “14 stations of Via Dolorosa (the “Way of Grief”) drawn from nature in Jerusalem and dedicated to His Holiness Pope Pius IX” (Charles Doussault, Eugène Ciceri, Philippe Benoist, Charles-Сlaude Bachelier and others, printing works of Lemercier, Paris, 1851) and the album of the Chernetsov brothers - Grigory and Nikon - "Palestine" (1842-1843).

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after the equinox. It is preceded by a seven-week Lent at the end of which the preparation for the holiday begins. In St. Petersburg of the XIX-early XX century during the Holy Week willow markets were opened. There one could by everything for the holiday: bundles of willow twigs and such Easter presents as greeting cards, toys, jewelry, fabric, paper flowers and haberdashery. The exhibition includes paintings and etchings imaging the traditional St. Petersburg pussy-willow trades near the Great Gostiny Dvor (a vast department store on Nevsky Prospect) and Sennaya Square.

Traditionally in the last days of the Lent products for the Easter meals were bought, eggs were painted and Easter cake and Paskha were made. The exposition includes handmade XIX-early XX century forms for Easter cakes and Paskhas, wrappings of special Easter sets of the 1910s for the preparation of Easter cakes and Paskhas (“Cinnamon”, “Cardamom”, “Mace”) and for dyeing eggs.

The celebration of Easter began on the night between Saturday and Sunday with a festive Easter service. Photographs of Yakov Shteynberg, Karl Bulla and his studio, watercolor of Karl Geftler “View of St. Isaac's Cathedral on the Easter night” and works of other artists from St. Petersburg will give visitors an idea about the Easter night in St. Petersburg – the festive service, procession of the Cross, blessing of the Easter cake, Paskha and eggs. Also the exhibition displays clerical garments of the first half of the XIX century designed for the Easter service.

On Sunday began a series of obligatory visits to relatives, friends and acquaintances. During this time people exchanged gifts among which Easter greeting cards and eggs were the most popular ones. The exhibition presents a rich collection of Easter greeting cards with traditional holiday symbols and attributes: with the images of the Good Pastor, angels, churches, Easter cakes, Paskha, painted eggs, chime-bells, roses, willows, rabbits and chickens. What is more, there are on display about 120 Easter eggs of the XIX-early XX century made of porcelain and glass, wood, metal, ornamental stones, papier-mache or beaded.

Easter greetings began with triple kissing which is called khristosovaniye. During this day a few dozens of guests could have visited the house that is why his tradition eventually turned into formality which became the subject of jokes in St. Petersburg newspapers and magazines. For example, the magazine “Strekoza” gave such severe remarks: “When triple kissing, one shouldn’t do it more than a hundred times” or “When kissing a lady’s hand, one shouldn’t bite out stones from her rings: not all of the ladies will turn it into a joke.” Such caricatures of Easter visits and extracts from St. Petersburg press of that time can be found at the exhibition.

After the Lent and Easter Sunday public entertainments were once again allowed in the city. As a reminder about those times there are engravings and photographs depicting folk festivals and booths on the Field of Mars and in the Alexander Garden, posters of festive balls and performances.

A separate section is devoted to the history of Easter celebration after 1917. The first several years people continued to celebrate Easter in Petrograd under the Soviet rule. It is confirmed by photographs of the 1920s showing pussy-willow trades, posters of Easter charity events, concert-balls, etc. Also the exhibition displays for the first time sketches of paintings on Easter eggs made by Leonty Benois in 1921 (from a private collection). However, already in 1930s Easter and other religious holidays were forbidden. This is reflected in anti-Easter posters such as “An Easter egg and its content” (Korlinsky, 1931), “A priest and the Octobrists” (Dmitry Moor, 1930s), “No shirkers on the Easter day” (Konstantin Urbetis,1930).

Nevertheless, there were still church services held in a number of churches. The exhibition displays a unique photography of Mikhail Trakhman "Leningraders at the Cathedral of the Lord's Transfiguration of all the Guards on Easter" (Leningrad, April, 1943).

The revival of the Easter tradition began with the 1990s. Documentaries dedicated to the celebration of Easter in St. Petersburg during the post-Soviet period conclude the exhibition. A modern Easter collection of Imperial Porcelain Factory including porcelain eggs, vases and sets with Easter symbols of 2000s is also presented as a part of the exposition.

Admission by a single ticket of the Peter and Paul Fortress or by a separate ticket for the exhibition.

The cost of a separate ticket for the exhibition on weekdays: full – 150 rubles, students – 60 rubles.

The cost of a separate ticket for the exhibition on weekends: full – 170 rubles, students – 80 rubles.

To arrange a guided tour of the exhibition: Tel. 498 06 07