Happy Easter = Srećan Uskrs! If you've landed here wanting to sound genuinely Serbian this Easter — not just phonetically convincing but culturally in on it — you're in the right place. By the end of this post you'll have trained your ear with a real Serbian Easter song, understood why Easter has two names in Serbian, picked up a handful of words you'll actually use, and got a feel for how Serbians spend the holiday. Grab a red egg and let's go.
Why are there two words — Vaskrs and Uskrs?
Both Vaskrs and Uskrs mean the same thing: Easter, or more precisely the Resurrection. Neither one is wrong, and using either one will earn you a warm smile rather than a puzzled look. Vaskrs is the older, Church-Slavonic-rooted form — the one you'll hear in liturgy and in more traditional or formal contexts. Uskrs is the everyday, conversational form that most people reach for without thinking. Think of them as two paths to the same destination: one cobblestone, one paved — both get you there.
What does "Ljudi likujte" mean?
Straight translation: "People, rejoice!" The verb likovati means to rejoice or exult — that full-body, can't-contain-it kind of joy, not just a polite smile. It sets the tone perfectly for a song that is genuinely jubilant.
The refrain you'll hear again and again, "Hristos voskrese, Radost donese!", means "Christ is risen, He brought joy!" — a neat little couplet that rhymes in Serbian and lands with real warmth when sung.
A quick reassurance: the lyrics below appear in Cyrillic, but a Latin-script transliteration follows each verse — you don't need to read Cyrillic to sing along or follow the lesson.
Easter Words You'll Actually Use
| Serbian | How to read it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| likovati | lee-KO-va-tee | to rejoice, to exult |
| radost | RAH-dost | joy |
| voskresenje | vos-kre-SEN-ye | resurrection |
| crveno jaje | TSVEH-no YA-ye | red Easter egg |
| narod | NAH-rod | people, folk, nation |
| pesma | PES-ma | song |
How Do Serbians Celebrate Easter?
- The midnight liturgy. Easter begins not on Sunday morning but late Saturday night. Churches fill up for a candlelit procession, and at midnight the priest calls out "Hristos voskrese!" ("Christ is risen!") — to which everyone responds "Voistinu voskrese!" ("Truly He is risen!"). This greeting replaces "hello" for the next forty days.
- Red eggs — and the tapping game. Eggs are dyed red (traditionally using onion skins, which give a beautiful russet colour) on the Thursday or Saturday before Easter. On Easter Sunday, families play tucanje jaja: you tap your egg against someone else's, and whoever's egg stays uncracked is said to have luck on their side for the year. It is competitive. Take it seriously.
- A big family lunch. After the late-night liturgy and a short sleep, Sunday means a proper feast — typically starting with čorba (a hearty meat soup) and centred on slow-roasted lamb. A round, decorated Easter bread called česnica or uskršnji kolač sits proudly in the middle of the table.
- Easter lasts more than one day. In Serbia, Easter Monday is also a public holiday. The greeting exchange continues, the leftovers are spectacular, and the red eggs are still being tapped by competitive aunts well into the afternoon.
Song: Ljudi Likujte — Full Lyrics
Here are the full lyrics so you can listen, read, and sing along. The language is elevated but not difficult — and a few of those vocabulary words from the table above will pop up and wave at you.
Људи ликујте,
песму појте,
Христос васкрсе,
радост донесе!Hristos voskrese,
radost donese,
svetu spasenje,
ljudma ushićenje!Небо и земља,
данас певају,
Христос васкрсе,
сви то знају!Nebo i zemlja,
danas pevaju,
Hristos voskrese,
svi to znaju!Анђели певу,
људи ликују,
Христос васкрсе,
сви се радују!Anđeli pevu,
ljudi likuju,
Hristos voskrese,
svi se raduju!Слава ти Боже,
на васкрсењу,
слава ти вечна,
на спасењу!Slava ti Bože,
na vaskrsenju,
slava ti večna,
na spasenju!Данас је дошло,
спасење свима,
Христос васкрсе,
радост је с нима!Danas je došlo,
spasenje svima,
Hristos voskrese,
radost je s njima!Гробе отвори,
таму прогони,
Христос васкрсе,
светлост донесе!Grobe otvori,
tamu progoni,
Hristos voskrese,
svetlost donese!
Each Cyrillic stanza is followed immediately by its Latin-script version, so you can read along comfortably without knowing a single Cyrillic letter.
Test Yourself — Quick Listening Quiz
Ready to put those new words and that song to work? Take the short quiz below — it's designed around the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson.
Quick Questions, Quick Answers
- Is it Vaskrs or Uskrs?
- Both are correct Serbian words for Easter. Vaskrs comes from the Church-Slavonic tradition and has a more formal or liturgical feel; Uskrs is the common everyday form. Use whichever feels natural — native speakers use both interchangeably without any confusion.
- What do you reply to "Hristos voskrese!"?
- The traditional response is "Voistinu voskrese!" — "Truly He is risen!" It's the Easter greeting exchange, and Serbians use it in place of a regular greeting from Easter Sunday through Ascension (forty days later). If someone says it to you, now you know exactly what to say back.
- Do Serbians also say "Happy Easter" in English?
- Younger, English-speaking Serbians absolutely do, especially on social media. But if you want to impress anyone — a Serbian colleague, a friend, a neighbour — lead with Srećan Uskrs! or the full greeting exchange. The effort alone will make their day.
Want more? Browse all posts in the Serbian Easter tag — songs, greetings, customs, and more lessons just like this one.