About Easter

Paschal Greeting

Easter Postcards

The Paschal greeting is an Easter custom among both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians. Instead of "hello" or its equivalent, one is to greet another person with "Christ is Risen!", and the response is "Truly He is Risen!". In practice, this custom is restricted to address to people that one already knows are Orthodox.

In some cultures, e.g., in Russia, it was also customary to exchange a triple kiss after the greeting: one cheek, another cheek, lips.

It is not uncommon for Orthodox Christians to compile lists of the greeting as it is used around the world, as an act of Orthodox unity across languages and cultures.

Similar responses are also used in the liturgies of other Christian churches, but not so much as general greetings.

The Paschal greeting around the world

• Indo-European languages
  • Germanic languages
    • West Germanic languages
      • Anglic languages
        • English - Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! or Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
          • Old English - Crist aras! Crist sodhlice aras! (Lit: Christ arose! Christ surely arose!)
          • Middle English - Crist is arisen! Arisen he sothe!
        • Iyaric Patwa - Krestos a uprisin! Seen, him a uprisin fe tru!
      • Frisian - Kristus is opstien! Wis is er opstien!
      • High Germanic languages
        • German - Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
        • Yiddish - Der Meschiache undzer iz geshtanen! Avade er iz ufgeshtanen!
      • Low Germanic languages
        • Dutch - Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
        • Afrikaans - Kristus het opgestaan! Hom het waarlik opgestaan!
    • North Germanic languages
      • Danish - Kristus er opstanden! Sandelig Han er Opstanden!
      • Icelandic - Kristur er upprisinn! Hann er vissulega upprisinn!
      • Norwegian - Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden!
      • Swedish - Kristus är uppstånden! Ja, Han är verkligen uppstånden!
  • Italic languages
    • Latin - Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
    • Romance languages
      • Italian - Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
      • Catalan - Crist ha ressuscitat! Veritablement ha ressuscitat!
      • French - Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment Il est ressuscité!
      • Portuguese - Cristo ressuscitou! Verdadeiramente ressuscitou!
      • Romanian - Hristos a înviat! Adevărat c-a înviat!
      • Spanish - Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!
  • Slavic languages
    • Church Slavonic - Хрiстосъ Воскресе! Воистину Воскресе! (Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)
    • East
      • Russian - Христос Воскрес! Воистину Воскрес! (Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)
      • Belarusian - Хрыстос уваскрос! Сапраўды ўваскрос! (Khrystos Uvaskros! Saprawdy Wvaskros!)
      • Ukrainian - Христос Воскресе! Воістину Воскресе! (Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)
    • South
      • Bulgarian - Христос Возкресе! Воистина Возкресе! (Christos Vozkrese! Voistina Vozkrese!)
      • Serbian - Христос Воскресе! Ваистину Воскресе! (Christos Voskrese! Vaistinu Voskrese!)
    • West
      • Czech - Kristus Vstal A Mrtvych! Opravdi Vstoupil!
      • Slovak - Christos vstal zmŕtvych! Skutočne vstal!
      • Polish - Chrystus Zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie Zmartwychwstał!
  • Baltic languages
    • Lithuanian - Kristus prisikėlė! Tikrai prisikėlė!
  • Celtic languages
    • Goidelic languages
      • Old Irish - Asréracht Críst! Asréracht Hé-som co dearb!
      • Irish - Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
      • Manx - Taw Creest Ereen! Taw Shay Ereen Guhdyne!
      • Scottish - Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh!
    • Brythonic languages
      • Breton - Dassoret eo Krist! E wirionez dassoret eo!
      • Welsh - Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd!
  • Indo-Iranian languages
    • Indic languages
      • Sanskrit - (Kristo'pastitaha! Satvam Upastitaha!)
      • Southern Zone
        • Marathi - (Yeshu Khrist uthla ahe! Kharokhar uthla ahe!)
  • Albanian (Tosk) - Krishti u ngjall! Vërtet u ngjall!
  • Armenian - Քրիստոս յարեաւ ի մեռելոց՜ Օրհնեալ է յայտնութիւնն Քրիստոսի՜ (Christos harjav i merelotz! Orhniale harutjun Christosi! -- Christ is risen! Blessed is the resurrection of Christ!)
  • Greek - Χριστος Aνεστη! Aληθως Aνεστη! (Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti!)
• Altaic languages
  • Turkish - isa dirildi! hakikaten dirildi!
• Austronesian languages
  • Malayo-Polynesian
    • Western
      • Chamorro - La'la'i i Kristo! Magahet na luma'la' i Kristo!
      • Filipino - Si Cristo ay nabuhay! Siya nga ay nabuhay!
      • Indonesian - KrÍstus tÉlah Bangkit! Benár día têlah Bángkit!
    • Central-Eastern
      • Carolinian - Lios a melau sefal! Meipung, a mahan sefal!
      • Hawaiian - Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
• Basque - Cristo Berbistua! Benatan Berbistua!
• Dravidian languages
  • Malayalam - (Christu uyirthezhunnettu! Theerchayayum uyirthezhunnettu!)
• Eskimo-Aleut languages
  • Aleut - Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq!
  • Yupik - Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq!
• Japanese - ハリストス復活！実に復活！ (Harisutosu fukkatsu! Jitsu ni fukkatsu!)
• Korean - (Kristo Gesso! Buhar ha sho Nay!)
• Na-Dené languages
  • Athabaskan languages
    • Navajo - Christ daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá! T'áá aaníí, daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá!
  • Tlingit - Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! Xegaa-kux Kuxwoo-digoot!
• Niger-Congo languages
  • Luganda Kristo Ajukkide! Kweli Ajukkide!
  • Swahili - Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka!
• Quechuan Languages
  • Quechua - Cristo causarimpunña! Ciertopuni causarimpunña!
• Afro-Asiatic languages
  • Semitic languages
    • Central Semitic languages
      • Aramaic languages
        • Syriac - (Meshiha qam! Bashrira qam!)
      • South Central Semitic languages
        • Arabic languages
          • Arabic (standard) - (Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam!)
          • Maltese - Kristu qam! Huwa qam tassew!
        • Canaanite languages
          • Hebrew (modern) - (Ha Masheeha houh kam! A ken kam!)
    • South Semitic languages
      • Ethiopian languages
        • North Ethiopian languages
          • Tigrigna - (Christos tensiou! Bahake tensiou!)
        • South Ethiopian languages
          • Amharic - (Kristos Tenestwal! Bergit Tenestwal!)
• Sino-Tibetan languages
  • Mandarin - 基督復活了 他確實復活了 (Jidu fuhuo-le! Ta queshi fuhuo-le!)
• South Caucasian languages
  • Georgian - (Kriste aghsdga! Cheshmaritad aghsdga!)
• Uralic languages
  • Estonian - Kristus on surnuist ülestõusnud! Tõesti ülestõusnud!
  • Finnish - Kristus nousi kuolleista! Totisesti nousi!
  • Hungarian - Krisztus feltámadt! Valóban feltámadt!
• Unclassified
  • A Nigerian language (of many spoken there) - Jésu Krísti Ébilíwõ! Ézia õ´ Bilíwõ!
• Constructed languages
  • Esperanto - Kristo leviĝis! Vere Li leviĝis!
  • Quenya - (Hristo Ortane! Anwave Ortanes!)

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