Easter differences

in
U.K. and Moldova

Vlas Cristian
Catholic and Protestant
Christians celebrate Easter.
Here are some traditions
and customs practiced in
the UK during this period.
The Face of Christmas,
Easter is celebrated in a less
exuberant manner, usually
in the middle of the family.
A week before Easter,
"Palm Sunday is celebrated,
a day equivalent to Floriile.
In the UK, in Lancashire, Cheshire, Straffordshire and
Wawickshire, Easter Monday is the day when men take
their chosen arms and walk them a certain distance. On
Tuesday, women should do the same with men. All as a
representation of the resurrection of Christ or the growth
of crops.
 Also in the UK, but in Hungerford there is the Easter
festival called Hocktide: two men are chosen to go around
town and share oranges with women in exchange for
kisses.
In many regions of England,
professional bands perform
Morris's dance on every Easter
Sunday. Made up of specific
choreographic figures, the
Morris dance includes
accessories such as sticks,
swords, handkerchiefs and
bells. Often one or two dancers
perform consecrated steps
around two pipes placed in the
cross. This traditional ritual
aims to ward off the spirits of
winter.
First of all, an easter egg is a hollow, egg-shaped
chocolate treat. Children (and adults!) all over the country
look forward to their baskets of Easter eggs, which they
receive on Easter Sunday.
Children are told that the eggs are delivered by the
Easter Bunny.
There are numerous Easter related traditions and most of
them relate to the Church, after all, Easter is the day when
Jesus resurrected. People use a different greeting in
Moldova on the days of Easter – they say "Hristos a
inviat" which means "Jesus resurrected". And the reply for
the greeting is "Adevarat a inviat", which translates to
"Indeed resurrected
A central element of these
Pascale holidays in
Moldovans is the pasca.
The housewives make the
pasca early in the morning,
then take it to the Church
to be sanctified on the
night of the Resurrection.
In the morning, believers
eat from the holy pasca
instead of the anafura or
the famous pasca.
In Moldova, it is a
tradition preserved since
the old, so that on dry
Thursdays the eggs are
painted because they say
they are better
preserved. Also on this
day they bake the cakes
and pasta.
People gather early in the morning in the churchyard,
sit in the shape of a circle, carrying lit candles in their
hand, and wait for the priest to come to sanctify their
dishes from the Easter basket.
The second Sunday after Easter in Moldova there is a
holiday called “Pastele Blajinilor”, which translates
roughly to “Easter of the Gentle”. People bring flowers
to the graves of their family and friends, and exchange
gifts with others who came to mourn on this day.