Pascha (Orthodox Easter) Gifts for 2 May 2027

The best Pascha gifts carry the feast into ordinary days: a cross for a godchild, an icon of Christ for the home, an IC XC NIKA medallion that says “Jesus Christ conquers”. In 2027, Pascha (Orthodox Easter) falls on Sunday 2 May, the same day for Orthodox parishes on the Old Calendar and the New. Below are our picks by person and budget, and the customs that explain them.

When is Pascha 2027?

Pascha 2027 is 2 May. The key dates of the season:

Unlike Christmas, Pascha does not split in two. As the Antiochian Archdiocese explains, the Churches that use the New Calendar for fixed feasts “still go by the old Julian calendar in calculating the date of Pascha.” That is also why Orthodox Easter usually falls later than Western Easter. Our Old and New Calendar guide explains the rest.

What Pascha gifts mean

Red eggs and “Christ is risen!”

The OCA life of St Mary Magdalene records the tradition that she visited the Emperor Tiberius in Rome and brought him a red egg “as a symbol of the Resurrection,” with the words “Christ is Risen!” Thanks to her, it says, the custom of giving one another paschal eggs spread among Christians across the world.

The OCA adds a plainer reason too. During Great Lent the faithful give up meat, eggs, dairy, fish, wine and oil, so eggs return at Pascha with the feast. Many Orthodox, especially Slavs, bring food to church on Holy Saturday or on Pascha, and the priest reads the Church’s prayers over the eggs, the cheese and the meat.

The godparent’s candle

In Greek families the godparent gives the godchild a decorated Easter candle, the lambada, to hold at the midnight service, often with new shoes or a new outfit. The Greek Herald notes that most godparents keep this up until the child turns twelve. A cross or the icon of their saint, given with the candle, is the gift that lasts.

The feast is for everyone

At Paschal Matins the Church reads the sermon of St John Chrysostom. It calls everyone to the feast, those who fasted from the first day and those who came at the last hour. A Pascha gift can say the same: you are welcome.

Pascha gifts by person

For a godchild

• Patron Saint & Cross, $99. Their patron saint and the Guardian Angel in a red-velvet folding diptych, chosen by first name, with a stainless three-bar crucifix and the saint’s card, in a gift box. Use the patron saint finder if you aren’t sure of their saint.
• Orthodox Crucifix (Plain Three-Bar), silver color, 60 cm chain, $49. For an older godchild. Our cross guide covers chains and how the cross is worn.

More ideas in our godparent gift guide.

For a man, or a teenager

• IC XC NIKA medallion, silver color or gold color, $39. “Jesus Christ conquers.” There is no more Paschal message than that: Christ has conquered death.
• St George medallion, 60 cm chain, $49. St George’s feast is 23 April (6 May on the Old Calendar), so every George, Yuri and Georgios keeps his name day in spring, close to Pascha. In 2027 New Calendar parishes keep him on Bright Monday, 3 May; Old Calendar parishes on 6 May. See his saint page.

For the whole family

• Family Cross Set, $69. Three stainless steel crucifixes in the finishes you choose: one for each of you.
• Orthodox Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary folding wooden icon, $39. A small pair for the table or the car.

For someone received into the Church this year

• Icon Corner Set, $199. The Zvenigorod Saviour and Vladimir Mother of God diptych, a patron saint diptych by name, an 8 in wooden wall crucifix, a prayer rope and a short guide to the corner. The Icon Corner Set, Complete, $349, adds a second patron saint, and its diptychs come consecrated by our priest before they left the workshop.

See also our chrismation gift guide.

Looking ahead to Pentecost (20 June 2027)

• Holy Trinity (Rublev) & Christ (Zvenigorod Saviour) diptych, $69. Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Pascha, falls on 20 June 2027. Rublev’s Holy Trinity, paired here with the Saviour, makes a fitting icon for the day.

For the start of Great Lent (15 March 2027)

• Black wool prayer rope, 50 knots, $24. Given before Lent, it helps with the Jesus Prayer through the forty days. See our prayer rope guide.

Pascha gifts by budget

Free shipping on orders of $99 or more, to all 50 states, DC and APO/FPO addresses.

Consecration before Pascha

A new cross or icon is consecrated before it is worn or hung, so it is ready for the feast. Add Consecration ($49) and our Orthodox priest consecrates it with holy water and the prayers of the Church. It comes with a signed certificate and a vial of holy water.

• Folding diptychs, where a diptych’s page offers it, are consecrated by our priest one by one before they leave the workshop, each filmed with its number on a card, and ship in the normal time.
• Crosses, icons and medallions are consecrated before they ship, commemorating the person you name. Orders with Consecration ship in 3–8 business days.

We don’t publish an order-by date for Pascha, so allow for those times and for the post. Consecrated items are final sale. Read what Consecration is.

A Paschal gift of prayer

For a family that cannot be together this Pascha, or one that has lost someone this year, give prayer. Through our prayer services our priest reads the names you give at the Divine Liturgy, and the departed can be remembered in memory.

Then greet them as St Mary Magdalene greeted the emperor: “Christ is risen!”