2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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”.
9. 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.
11. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
16. 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.
