Easter traditions in Romania

Easter is, together with Christmas, one of the most important public
holidays in Romania. The Orthodox Easter celebrates the Resurrection
of Jesus, and that makes it one of the most important and beautiful
christian customs. In 2024, the Easter Day in Romania is celebrated
on May 5th. This national holiday helps families throughout the
country get together for at least a couple of days, and it is filled with
customs and traditions.
Egg dyeing is one of the most important romanian easter traditions.
The painted eggs are always present on the table during the holiday,
and kids can hardly wait to participate in the egg tapping
competitions. The traditions say that people who knock painted eggs
on the first day of Easter will see each other after death. The first
person who taps the egg has to say “Christ has resurrected” (in
romanian, ‘Cristos a înviat’), while the second one goes “Indeed, he
has resurrected” (in romanian, ‘Adevarat a înviat’). The belief is that
the person whose eggs are unbroken will enjoy the longest life.
Usually, the Easter eggs are painted red and represent the blood shed
by Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, but they can also be blue, yellow, or
green.
But more specific to the romanian tradition of dyeing eggs is
decorating them with complicated traditional motifs, specific to each
historic region of the country. The tradition is especially common in
the region of Bukovina, and you can find such eggs at traditional fairs
and in monasteries.
Although the ornamental details vary from one region to another, all
of the elements on the decorated eggs have meaning. Here's the
interpretation for some of them:
• the vertical line means life
• the horizontal line means death
• the double line means eternity
• the line with rectangular symbols means knowledge
• the curved line means water
• the spiral means time, eternity
• the double spiral means the bond between life and death.
Another second-most important of the romanian traditions is the
Holy Light. On the Easter night, romanian people go to their local
church to light a candle and bring it into their home. That flame
symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of good over
evil.
On the first day of Easter, children and adults alike wash their face
and hands with fresh water, in which they put a red egg and basil. It is
said that those who follow this tradition will be forever beautiful and
healthy.
Another important "item" that revolves the easter traditions in
Romania are the easter foods. The main star of the dishes is lamb
meat, which is served together with side dishes such as potatoes or
prepared in traditional dishes such as drob. Something that shouldn't
be missing from the Easter table is the large variety of Easter bread
and cakes. Known in Romania as "pască", this delicious bread can be
made with cheese, cream, raisins, or even chocolate and cocoa.
There are a lot of legends and myths about the traditional red eggs.
The most popular one says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, went to
grieve his crucified son and placed a basket filled with eggs at his
feet, and as the blood of Jesus was dripping, it painted the eggs red.
Initially dedicated to the Roman goddess Flora, Palm Day is a feast
celebrated a week before the romanian Easter in the memory of Jesus’
entrance to Jerusalem. On this day, people sanctify willow branches,
that symbolizes the palm fronds which commemorates that moment.
Maundy Thursday, the fifth day of the Holy Week, commemorates the
moment when Jesus Christ washed the feet of the Apostles. The
Washing of the Feet is a traditional custom often celebrated in many
Christian churches.
Good Friday or Black Friday, the sixth day of the Holy Week,
commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. In
this day of mourning, romanian people abstain from all food and
drinks the entire day and in the evening, they eat Holy bread from the
church.