During the quiet Passion time there were no loud weddings and no festivals. Also, Easter did not have the prominent significance among the Russian Germans that it had for the Orthodox Russians and Ukrainians. Karfreitag, also known as Charfreitag, was a fast-day. As before every Holy Communion, the "elders" were not allowed to eat anything on this day. In the Volga colonies a choral resounded from the church tower on Easter morning, at sunrise, blown by a trumpet chorus or sung by a choir. The residents of the colony assembled in the church. From there they went out to the cemetery, which was located outside the colony. Here they sang Easter or Resurrection songs. On these days there were also appropriate speeches of remembrance. Every resident went to the graves of his family, prayed and returned home in a festive Easter mood to prepare for the church service.

In the Black Sea region the school children, also known as "Raetscher," steadily prepared for Easter. They restored the church bells, which had remained silent during the time from "Green Thursday" [Maundy Thursday] to Easter. With a Ratsche or a Klapper the "Raetscher" moved from house to house and called everyone to prayer, and at hourly intervals they spoke various little verses. As they were doing that, the children were allowed to gather eggs with baskets as their reward. They went from house to house and also said proverbs. Their gleanings were gathered together collectively and redistributed in a brotherly fashion. "Egg gathering" [Eierlesen] was a very widespread game here at Easter time.

In Bessarabia every community shepherd - who usually wasn't a German -- received a "Bretzel" from each house when he led the herd out, and also a cake and three Easter eggs. Most gathered together so many gifts that even large families couldn't eat them all up. The animals ate many of the leftovers, and much of it ended up becoming spoiled and thrown onto the garbage heap. But this custom was nevertheless strictly adhered to.

The custom of "Eierlesen" above is explained as follows:

It was a custom transplanted from the southwestern regions to the Black Sea colonies, very widespread at Easter time until the 20th century. The entire village took part in the beloved game. There was a race among the males to gather the eggs and to deliver them to the waiting girls. In Bessarabia the Eierleser was known as a "Springer." There were numerous variations on the game, and different types of Springer. During this game hopping steps and other such difficulties were required. The participants were decorated with ribbons, not only the boys but also the poles that marked the egg-route (the "Eierreihe"). The following was shared by Judy Remmick who’s family came from Borodino in Bessarabia.. Borodino was a Lutheran village and the stories and traditions come from that setting.

It was the custom that one went to the Easter Egg hunt at the festival square on the second day of Easter. There, under a flag, were four rows of fifty eggs laid out. Every tenth egg was a hard-cooked, coloured Easter Egg. The rows were aligned with the four compass points - north, south, east, west. The state flag would have been raised next to the Bessarabian flag. (Since May 1918, Bessarabia belonged to Rumania.) The procession was led by a band, four young men, and eight girls in gaily coloured traditional costumes and carrying egg baskets. The procession was accompanied by the villagers.

Each egg gathering group consisted of two girls and a young man. The young man gathered the eggs and puts them in one of the girl's apron. The other girls had to put the eggs in their baskets. At each coloured egg, the gathering would be interrupted and the band would play a dance. The goal was to gather all the eggs as quickly as possible and throw the last egg over the flag. The group that first managed to do this was the winner. Afterward, everyone went to the community centre where late into the evening one celebrated , and danced

On the following page I have placed one of my family's tales on Easter.

http://hometown.aol.com/RemMick/BorodinoBessarabia.index.html/Page1.html

I believe rabbits are in German and Russian tales about Easter and not just an American tradition.

I remember having a rabbit's foot for good luck for months during a particularly good baseball hitting streak.... until one of my friends laughed at me and said something like: "If it's so lucky, why wasn't it lucky for the rabbit?"

Easter eggs go all the way back into time. Some give credit to the Egyptians for this superstition. Somehow it became part of the Christian traditions and the dyed red egg became the emblem for the Resurrection of Christ.

Wasn't a basket planted with seeds [oats or barley or something?] placed in window that was tall enough by Easter morning to be a couple of inches high, which was used to hold the special dyed and decorated eggs?

Remmick@aol.com

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