Paska

The story

Paska is the tall, sweet Easter bread of Ukraine, made from a yeast dough rich in eggs, butter and sugar and usually crowned with white glaze or decorations. Ukrainians celebrate Easter, Velykden, on May 2, 2027. On Holy Saturday, May 1, or at dawn on Sunday after the night service, families carry baskets to church with paska, eggs, butter, cheese, ham or sausage, horseradish and salt, dressed with an embroidered towel and a candle, and the priest sprinkles them with holy water. In a 2010 UNIAN article on the basket, Father Mykhailo Dymyd of the Ukrainian Catholic University called paska the angel bread and a symbol of the Resurrection. In Lviv, writer Ostap Kryvdyk recalled Easter morning as the hour when the old city's churches ring together, followed by a family meal at which the eldest hands each person a piece of blessed egg, and then paska with blessed butter, cheese and ham. The traditional recipe Vikna published in 2026 starts with a sponge left overnight and calls for ten eggs. Bake it two or three days ahead, glaze it the day before the blessing, and serve it with butter and cheese.