Grocery Store before Easter

In Russia the Easter holiday celebration time just finished. Ashlyn writes about a tradition or ritual of Russian Orthodoxy below:

“I would like to speak of an incident that happened at a grocery store here. My family had gone to a grocery store called Carousel. We went in and were standing around cakes that had the Russian letters XB on them, which stands for ‘Jesus has risen.’ Well I heard a sound like a priest chanting from the Bible. I turned around and there he was— the priest with a black robe and gold cross around his neck. This was an Orthodox priest. After he was finished chanting from the Bible, he took a brush and dipped it in to water. He took the brush and shook it over the cakes. People would buy the cakes after the cakes were blessed. He would go around to other people who had already picked up the cakes and sprinkle water in their buggies. This was an incident that I saw the day before Easter.”

In our Russian Baptist culture, I conclude, that this is the favorite holiday. Believers greet you with the phrase “Xhristos Voskres!” You answer with joy, “Voistiny Voskres!” Then it is repeated again, “Xhristos Voskres!” You answer with more excitement, “Voistiny Voskres!” And, on the third round, a fellow sister or brother looks you in the eye and as a huge smile on her or his face and shouts, “Xhristos Voskres!” You reply with as much enthusiasm and awe saying, “Voistiny Voskres!”— Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!

Amen. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins, but not only that but also for rising again.