EASTER IN ROMANIA

THE GREAT THURSDAY Great Thursday The Thursday before the Easter is called “the Great Thursday”, “the Thursday of sufferings” or “the black Thursday”. According to the Romanian tradition, skies, graves, doors of heaven and hell open this day. The dead return to pass the Easter near the loved ones. They will remain at their old houses until the Saturday before the Rusalii, when pies and bowls are doled for their souls. It is believed that the spirits sit on the roofs or in the yards. As it is still quite cold, fires must be lighted in the morning and in the evening, so that the dead could have light and heat. The fires are lighted for every soul or it is only lighten a fire for all the dead souls. The brushwood can only be gathered by children, pure girls and old women, a day before and only by hand (they must not be cut). On the way home they must not be let down and will be placed on a fence or on another object until morning, when the fire will be lighted. Chairs with blankets are also put near the fire, as it is believed that some souls will sit on chairs and other will sit on the ground. Girls and women carry water buckets to the graves or to the fire, for the dead that will sit there. Most of the women paint the eggs on the Great Thursday. In Walachia the eggs are painted on Wednesday and taken to the church on Thursday. They are let there until the Easter, as it is believed that they won’t alter. In other regions, twelve red painted eggs are taken to the church until the Easter and they are buried then at the village boundaries, so that the hail wouldn’t come upon it.

The Flowers Day ( “Florii”) A week before the Easter, the Flowers Day (Romanian: “Florii”) is celebrated. This was initially dedicated to the Roman goddess Flora, but then it was celebrated in the memory of the Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem. This day is the celebration of the nature revival, when the willows, the fruit trees and the flowers bloom. The willow plays a very important role in the rituals. The legend goes that, while Jesus was crucified, His mother left, crying, in the search of her son, wearing iron boots and a steel rod. On her journey she arrived at a river and asked a willow to help her cross it. As the willow made a bridge for her, Mary put a blessing on it, stating that its wood could not be transformed into coal and that its branches would be taken to church every year. That is why, on this day people bring flowers and willow branches to the church, for being sanctified by the priest. With the willow branches, symbol of spring and fertility, cows and little children are touched, in order to grow and bloom as the willow. The holy branches are then placed near the icons or above the door and are used throughout the year as a medicine or for protection against the natural disasters. It is also believed that the people who wear the willow branches as a belt will not suffer of loin aches; who eats three catkins will not suffer of throat aches.icons

Great Friday The Friday before the Easter is called the Great Friday. Also named “the Friday of sufferings”, it is the day when Jesus was crucified. People don’t eat on this day, as it is believed that doing that they will be healthy and they will know they’ll dye three days before. The tradition recommends that you step on a piece of iron when you wake up, in order to be protected from bruises. If you bathe in the river before the sun rises, you won’t suffer from bone illness. In Bucovina it is said that who bathes three times in a cold river will be healthy all year long. People go to church to confess. Bread may not be baked, the earth may not be ploughed and trees may not be planted, as they won’t fruit.

EASTER IN ROMANIA The Easter is the most important celebration of the Romanian people and it is preceded by numerous preparations and rituals. It’s a must for the people to have a clean house and have all the ritual foods ready. This is why the cleaning starts on Great Thursday. Men, who are usually working in the field or at the forest, will remain home starting with this day and will take out the thrash, fix the fence, cut wood, bring water, butcher the lambs. Women are the ones that paint and decorate the eggs, do the laundry and generally clean the house. Because it’s a good thing to have a new piece of clothing on the Easter, girls and young wives start to sew shirts for them and also for their parents, brothers, husbands or children, with about two weeks in advance.eggs

EASTER TRADITIONS Saturday night, when all the cleaning and preparations in the house are done, the steak, the pies and the cakes are put on the table, in the “clean room”. Before going to the church, people wash themselves in a bowl with water, where red painted eggs and silver and golden coins were also put. They believe that this way they will be as glowing and healthy as the eggs and they will be clean and will have more money, due to the silver and golden coins. After they clean and dress the new clothes, the people take a bowl with “pasca”, eggs and steak and go to the church, where the aliments will be sanctified. Only the ill old men and little children remain at home, as it is said that who can go to the church on Easter night, but he doesn’t do it, will get ill. A fire is lighted near the church and it will be kept for all the three Easter days. In some regions, when the roosters announce the midnight, the man who watches the fire shuts with his rifle, calling the people to the church. The bells are also ringed at midnight. People hold lighted candles during the religious mass and only put them out when they return home, after they enter the house and make crosses. These Easter candles are kept for the times of danger, when they will have a protective function.“clean room”

EASTER BREAKFAST At home, people first taste the anaphora and then sit to the table. They first eat some of the sanctified aliments and only then the rest. In some regions, rabbit or fish meat is first eaten, believing that these animals will confer to the people some of their agility. The shepherds and the other persons who are away from home on Easter day eat willow or apple tree buds instead of anaphora. There’s the custom of knocking the eggs. It is believed that those who knock their eggs will see each other on the other world, after death. In the first day of Easter, eggs are only knocked with the top. On Monday they can be knocked top to the bottom and on the next days they can be knocked any way. The first ones to knock their eggs are the parents, one to the other, then the children to the parents and then the other relatives and friends. According to the tradition, the one whose egg cracks first is weaker and he will die quicker. He must give his egg to the winner; otherwise he will eat its egg rotten on the other world. Eggs are knocked until the third Easter day, until the “Ispas” or until the “Great Sunday”.

EASTER EGGS

PAINTED EASTER EGGS The eggs are painted starting with Thursday. Initially the only accepted color was red, but in time other colors were also applied – yellow, green, blue and even black. In the villages the paint is still obtained from plants. The eggs are usually first painted yellow, because the other colors will look better when applied over it. Blue painted eggs are an exception. In Banat, the first painted egg is called a „try”. In the Easter morning it’s shared between the children residing in that house. The yellow eggs, also called „galbineala”, „galbinare”, „galbinete” sau „galbinele” (in Romanian “galben” means “yellow”) are painted with an extract of wild apple tree bark and leaves, different kinds of willow or onion leaves. Red eggs, also called “rosele”, “rusele” or “rosetele” (in Romanian “rosu” means “red”) are colored with a paint obtained from red alder tree bark, cinnamon, oregano or amber. The paint for the green eggs, also called “verdete” (in Romanian “verde” means “green”) is obtained from pasque flower, sunflower seeds or nettles. The blue eggs, also called “albastrele” (in Romanian “albastru” means “blue”) are painted with an extract of sunflower, pasque flower and woods. These are boiled in borsch, in which bluestone had been put. These eggs are not first painted yellow, like the others, being directly obtained from white, unpainted eggs. The black eggs are also called “negrele” or “negrete” (in Romanian “negru” means “black”) and remind of the Jesus’ sufferings on the cross. The paint is obtained from woods, black alder and nut tree bark. These eggs are obtained from eggs first painted yellow and then red.The eggs

PAINTED EASTER EGGS

DECORATED EASTER EGGS The most interesting traditional eggs are the decorated eggs (in Romanian they are called “oua incondeiate”, “oua impiestrite”, “oua inchiestrite”). Special instruments are used for decorating them. These take the form of very thin and round sticks and are called “chisita (bijara)”, “matuf (motoc)” or “festeleu”. The “festeleu” is a sharp stick made of beech wood. At one end it has linen or cotton little pieces. The “festeleu” is soaked in melted wax. In contact with the surface of the egg, little dots will appear. The most used decorative motifs for these eggs are: the lost path (on which the souls of the dead walk toward the judgment), the cross, the fir or oak leaf. In Walachia the saw and the plough are also drawn and in Moldavia the lightning and the fork. Various plants, animals and kinds of crosses are also drawn.decorated eggs

DECORATED EASTER EGGS

TRADITIONAL FOOD FOR EASTER ”Pasca”, a special Easter cake, is baked on Great Thursday, but especially on Saturday, so it wouldn’t alter until Easter. It has a round shape (reminding little Jesus’ diapers) or a rectangular one (the shape of His grave). In some regions “pasca” is also baked on St. George Day. A legend from Bucovina goes that the “pasca” has been done from the times when Jesus was traveling to the world together with his apostles. They remained a night at a peasant house and when they left, he put food in their bags. The apostles asked Jesus when the Easter is and He replied that the Easter would be when they would find corn bread in their bags. Looking in the bags, they noticed the peasant had given them exactly corn bread, so that they knew it was Easter time. The “pasca” can be simple, with jagged margins, or it can have dough braids. The middle braid is cross- shaped, reminding of Jesus’ crucifixion. This is called a “cross pasca”. The simple “pasca” is for the family, while the “cross pasca” is taken to the church, in order to be sanctified. Small “pasca” (“pascute”) are baked for the little children. Among the ingredients are pot cheese, egg yolk, raisins and sometimes sugar and cinnamon.St. George Day

Easter cake with cottage cheese Sweet bread dough (regular or Russian). Filling (more or less in quantity according to taste): 1 lb/500 g cottage cheese, 4 oz/100 g raisins, 3-4 eggs, 1 tablespoon butter, sugar to taste, a little grated lemon peel, salt Mix the ingredients for filling to obtain a homogenuous paste. Roll a pencil thick sheet out of the sweet bread dough. Place in a baking pan. From another piece of dough form a long, finger thick roll and arrange it around the sheet, sticking to the walls of the pan. Place the filling within, without covering the roll on the edges. Make two more such dough rolls and place them over the filling in an X shape. After the cake has risen a bit in a warm place, use a little egg wash over the dough rolls. Set in the oven to bake. Remove from the pan when it is cold.

cozonaci

COZONACI 2 lbs/1 kg flour, 10 oz/300 g sugar, 1 1/2 cups milk, 6 eggs, 2 oz/50 g yeast, 7 oz/200 g butter, 2 tablespoons oil, vanilla stick, salt, egg for washing the dough, grease for the pans Make a starter from yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix until the consistency of sour cream, add 2-3 tablespoons tepid milk, a little flour and mix well; sprinkle some flour on top, cover and let sit in a warm place to rise. Boil the milk with the vanilla stick (cut in very small pieces) and leave it on the side of the range, covered, to keep warm. Mix the yolks with the sugar and salt, then slowly pour the tepid milk, stirring continuously. Place the risen starter in a large bowl and pour, stirring continuously, the yolk-milk mixture and some flour, a little at a time. Then add 3 whipped egg whites. When you finish this step, start kneading. Knead, adding melted butter combined with oil, a little at a time, until the dough starts to easily come off your palms. Cover with a cloth and then something thicker (like a blanket). Leave in a warm place to triple in bulk. If during kneading the dough seems too hard, you may add a little milk. If, on the contrary, the dough seems too soft, you may add a little flour. When the dough has risen well, take a piece of it, place on the floured work surface, give it the desired shape (round, oval, braided, etc.) and place in the baking pan previously greased with butter. Let rise some more in the pan in a warm place. Wash with egg and bake at medium heat. Take out of the pan as soon as it is done, place on a cloth and let cool.