The Digital Journalist
(Photo by: Gerd Ludwig / National Geographic)
LADYZHICHI, UKRAINE: 'Grobki' is the Ukrainian name for Parents' Day, a holiday 10 days after Easter and considered part of the Easter celebrations. Traditionally, people all over the former Soviet Union flock to graveyards to picnic and drink on or near the graves of their loved ones, honoring them by leaving Easter cakes and glasses of vodka on their markers and tombstones. This is the only day of the year when former residents are allowed in Chernobyl's Exclusion zone to meet each other in large numbers. After the fall of communism, priests are more commonly seen attending and blessing individual graves for a donation.