Last weekend

Saturday morning going through the checkpoint near Zaporosia 

 The weekend after Easter is when many Ukrainian families visit the graves of their relatives. They bring flowers to place on the grave, usually imitation ones or a memorial wreath and bring some food to eat with them, some food or drink will often be placed on the grave for the deceased to share in the meal.

We always see more cars on the road on this Sunday than any other drive to Dnepropetroesk for church, with many people traveling to the villages their families used to live from where they love now. We realized this year when we drove to Zaporosia on both Saturday and Monday that many people go on other days this weekend. Some families will clean up the gravesite at the same time, but many do this a week or two before. Often as we drive out of the village in the spring we see people walking out with a hoe or other tool in hand to the cemetery.

Saturday

Cars parked along the road near a big cemetery near the railroad tracks 

More people going to a different cemetery  in Zaporosia

Flowers for sale outside the gates of that cemetery 

 Sunday morning

People from the village walking out to the graveyard

The village graveyard on the road to the highway

Many old cars have 4- 5 adults in   to go to their village

So many cars on the highway

Near a big graveyard entering Dnepro Sunday morning

same place, parking can be hard to find there this Sunday

Many families use their Easter basket to carry the food

The chestnut trees are starting to bloom in the city