Easter in Romania

I Introduction
Easter, annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the
principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates
between March 22 and pril 2! and is therefore called a movable feast. "he dates of
several other ecclesiastical festivals, e#tending over a period between Septuagesima
Sunday $the ninth Sunday before Easter% and the first Sunday of dvent, are fi#ed in
relation to the date of Easter.
Connected with the observance of Easter are the &'(day penitential season of
)ent, beginning on sh *ednesday and concluding at midnight on +oly Saturday, the
day before Easter Sunday, +oly *ee-, commencing on .alm Sunday, including /ood
0riday, the day of the crucifi#ion, and terminating with +oly Saturday, and the 1ctave of
Easter, e#tending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday. 2uring the 1ctave
of Easter in early Christian times, the newly bapti3ed wore white garments, white being
the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and 4oy.
II Pre-Christian tradition
Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre(Christian traditions. "he origin of
its name is un-nown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 5th(
century English scholar St. 6ede, believe it probably comes from 7astre, the nglo(
Sa#on name of a "eutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a
month corresponding to pril. +er festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal
e8uino#, traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of
fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the
sunlight of spring, and used in Easter(egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
Such festivals, and the stories and legends that e#plain their origin, were
common in ancient religions. /ree- legend tells of the return of .ersephone, daughter
of 2emeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day, her return
symboli3ed to the ancient /ree-s the resurrection of life in the spring after the
desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. "he .hrygians
believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and
they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring e8uino# to awa-en
him. "he Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging
traditions, most scholars emphasi3e the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival
of .assover, or .esach, from which is derived .asch, another name for Easter. "he
early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the +ebrew
tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the .assover festival, a
commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
III The Dating Of Easter
ccording to the 9ew "estament, Christ was crucified on the eve of .assover
and shortly afterward rose from the dead. In conse8uence, the Easter festival
commemorated Christ:s resurrection. In time, a serious difference over the date of the
Easter festival arose among Christians. "hose of Jewish origin celebrated the
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resurrection immediately following the .assover festival, which, according to their
6abylonian lunar calendar, fell on the evening of the full moon $the ;&th day in the
month of 9isan, the first month of the year%, by their rec-oning, Easter, from year to
year, fell on different days of the wee-.
Christians of /entile origin, however, wished to commemorate the resurrection
on the first day of the wee-, Sunday, by their method, Easter occurred on the same day
of the wee-, but from year to year it fell on different dates.
n important historical result of the difference in rec-oning the date of Easter was that
the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new
religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed Easter according to the date
of the .assover festival. "he churches of the *est, descendants of /reco(<oman
civili3ation, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
IV Rulings Of The Council Of Nicaea On The Date Of Easter
Constantine the /reat, <oman emperor, convo-ed the Council of 9icaea in =2!.
"he council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout
the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal e8uino#,
and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the
.assover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following.
Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and .assover was thus avoided.
"he Council of 9icaea also decided that the calendar date of Easter was to be
calculated at le#andria, then the principal astronomical center of the world. "he
accurate determination of the date, however, proved an impossible tas- in view of the
limited -nowledge of the &th(century world. "he principal astronomical problem involved
was the discrepancy, called the epact, between the solar year and the lunar year. "he
chief calendric problem was a gradually increasing discrepancy between the true
astronomical year and the Julian calendar then in use.
V Later Dating Methods
*ays of fi#ing the date of the feast tried by the church proved unsatisfactory, and
Easter was celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. In =5>, for
e#ample, the dates of Easter in 0rance and Egypt were =! days apart. bout &?!, the
church adopted a system of calculation proposed by the astronomer @ictorinus
$flourished !th century%, who had been commissioned by .ope +ilarius to reform the
calendar and fi# the date of Easter. Elements of his method are still in use, although the
Scythian mon- 2ionysius E#iguus made significant ad4ustments to the Easter cycle in
the ?th century. <efusal of the 6ritish and Celtic Christian churches to adopt the
proposed changes led to a bitter dispute between them and <ome in the >th century.
<eform of the Julian calendar in ;!52 by .ope /regory AIII, through adoption of the
/regorian calendar, eliminated much of the difficulty in fi#ing the date of Easter and in
arranging the ecclesiastical year, since ;>!2, when the /regorian calendar was also
adopted in /reat 6ritain and Ireland, Easter has been celebrated on the same day in
the *estern part of the Christian world. "he Eastern churches, however, which did not
adopt the /regorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a Sunday either preceding or
following the date observed in the *est. 1ccasionally the dates coincide, the most
recent times were in ;5?! and ;B?=.
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6ecause the Easter holiday affects a varied number of secular affairs in many
countries, it has long been urged as a matter of convenience that the movable dates of
the festival be either narrowed in range or replaced by a fi#ed date in the manner of
Christmas. In ;B2= the problem was referred to the +oly See, which has found no
canonical ob4ection to the proposed reform. In ;B25 the 6ritish .arliament enacted a
measure allowing the Church of England to commemorate Easter on the first Sunday
after the second Saturday in pril. 2espite these steps toward reform, Easter continues
to be a movable feast.
Easter in Romsnia
"he most important religious holiday in <omania is, of course, Easter.
<omanians paint eggs especially in red. <omanian fol-lore presents several Christian
legends, which e#plain why the eggs are painted in red on Easter and why they became
the symbol of the celebration of Christ:s <esurrection.
"he most widespread legend tells us about @irgin Mary, who came to mourn her
crucified son, laid the bas-et with eggs near the cross and they reddened because of
the blood that was flowing from Jesus: wounds. "he )ord, seeing that the eggs
reddened, said to those who were thereC D0rom now on, you too shall paint the eggs in
red to remember my crucifi#ion, as I did today.D
6ut there is another tradition that became a true artC decorating eggs with fol-
motifs symboli3ing renewal and immortalityC the cross, the star, the sun, the wave, the
3ig3ags, and stylised flowers.
.rior to decorating eggs, these are washed with warm water and vinegar, boiled
slowly not to brea- their shell, and covered with a thin bed of bee wa#. "hen the eggs
decorated using special tools, such asC goose feather, the DchisitaD $special tool, made
of a thin metal pipe, with very small diameter, a pig hair is pulled through it% is used for
DwritingD the motive and the DbrushD $a tool that is used for covering the larger spaces (
thic- lines, points etc.%. @egetal colours obtained from sweet apple peal, leaves and
flowers, hip rose peal, are used.
In <omania the Christian Church says that Jesus was born during the winter
solstice and his death followed by his resurrection happened during the spring e8uino#,
the Easter.
"he most important Christian holiday is the day of Jesus: <esurrection. Cleaning
the houses, wearing new clothes, the ritual bath before going to church, all these are
supposed to mar- a new beginning. fter a long fast ( the )ent, tables full with all sorts
of good dishes and brightened up with beautiful painted eggs create a festive
atmosphere. Children are the happiest of all loo-ing for their gifts and colored eggs in
the newly grown grass.
Everybody including the peasants are beautifully dressed in their national costumes,
with lit candles in their hands, gathered together around the churches at midnight in
order to solemnly utterCDJesus Christ has risen from the deadD. Everywhere around the
churches, on the hills or in the plains, people light fires and sing 1ur Saviour:s praises.
fter the service, their is a multitude of flaring lit candles, a most uplifting and
touching sight, ma-e for home where people clin- Easter eggs with beautifully dyed or
e#8uisitely painted shells. "he craftsmanship of dyeing the eggs at Easter, is an ancient
tradition with <omanians, is due to the belief that eggs represent the source of life. "he
egg, preserver of the mystery of the origin of life, has always been related to the rites of
the revival of nature. "here is definitely a close lin- between Easter, the egg and the
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vernal e8uino# as the three of them cheese, ca-e, lamb roast and broth, drob which is a
spiced minced lamb and fresh cottage cheese.
n ancient tradition says that 2evil , being very curious, every year wants to
-now if the <omanians still -eep their tradition of celebrating Easter and painting the
eggs in red. Eou will wonder why. "he answer is very simple, because in that very day
when the <omanians will forget these customs, the 2evil will become Dthe master of the
worldD.
In many regions of <omania, especially in 6ucovina, painting and decorating
Easter eggs is a real art.
*hen the <omanians celebrate the <esurrection of Jesus Christ, they sacrifice a lamb,
according to the tradition. "hen, they prepare the DdrobD $a -ell%, roast lamb and lamb
with spinach.
1ther important preparation for the <esurrection 2ay is DpascaD, a sweet pund
cheese with raisins and the pund ca-e with nuts.
good wine will accompany everything on Easter 2ay feast.
EATER !OLIDA" IN A TRAN"LVANIAN MO#NTAIN VILLA$E
.articipating at Easter +olidays in a village in "ransylvania is a uni8ue
e#perience. ll the preparations preceding the resurrection feast, the midnight service,
children passing in the morning from house to house to wish you F+appy EasterG and
get a red painted Easter egg represent as many as occasions for delighting your soul.
)unca Ilvei is a mountain village, placed on the Ilva river valley, in 9orth(Eastern
"ransylvania, far away from the noisy towns. )ocal people are living in harmony with
earth and nature, in accordance with the seasons.
EasterC long with the religious aspects, in <omania the holiday is seen as
symboli3ing rebirth and renewal of everyday life. Cleaning one:s house, wearing new
clothes and a ritual bath before going to church are all supposed to mar- a new
beginning. Everyone, rich or poor, dresses in hisHher best clothing, many wearing
national costumes, and attends a midnight church service. Candles are lit for each
person throughout the service, and people leave with candles still lit, returning home to
place them in their houses and apartments. It is also said that lit candles prevent
thunder and lighting from harming people as they go home.
1nce home, the festivities continue with a traditional <omanian feast, which li-ely
includes dishes such as DpascaD, Dco3onaculD spiced minced lamb or lamb roast,
cheeses and sponge ca-e. "he craftsmanship of dyeing the eggs at Easter is an
ancient tradition with <omanians. "he belief that eggs represent the source of life led to
the relation of eggs to the rites of the revival of nature, and eventually Easter.
<omanians traditionally painted Easter Eggs red and they decorated them ornately.
1ver time, other colors were used and this custom was transformed into an art form and
e#pert s-ill. "oday, real and wooden eggs are painted with intricate designs, or
decorated all over with various colored beads, and are available throughout the year.
The Easters And the Easter Eggs
s a symbol of creation, of begetting life, the egg have inspired, from ancient times,
numerous legends, fairy(tales, an entire literature. In the <omanian culture it is sufficient
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to mention two outstanding representantsC Constantin 6rancusi and Ion 6arbu, whose
wor-s orbit around this sub4ect, considered having perfect geometrical form ( the perfect
ob4ect. "he origin of egg painting is lost in the dar-ness of the pre(Christian era, when
the 9ew Eear was celebrated at the vernal e8uino#. "he eggs were gifted as a symbol
of e8uilibrium, creation and fecundity. "he <omans used red(painted eggs as gifts on
celebrating Janus and they were used in different games and religious ceremonies. "he
custom of the egg painting was transmitted to the Christians and is still used especially
by the peoples of Europe and sia. s opposed to other European countries, where this
custom restrained or vanished, in <omania it flourished, reaching the tops of art by the
techni8ue, materials, significance of the motives and the perfection of achievement.
In <omania the painted eggs represent a proof of the tradition, beliefs and Easter
customs being placed among the elements of great fol- spiritual cultural value, which
define the ethnical peculiarities of our people. "he fol-lore presents several Christian
legends which e#plain why the eggs are painted in red on Easter and why they became
the symbol of the celebration of Christ:s <essurection."he most wide(spread legend
tells us about how @irgin Mary, who came to mourn her crucified son, laid the bas-et
with eggs near the cross and they reddened because of the blood that was flowing from
JesusD wounds. "he )ord, seeing that the eggs reddened, said to those who were
thereCD0rom now on, you too shall paint the eggs in red to remember my crucifi#ion, as I
did today.D
Materials
hen egg $traditional%
vegetal colors
bee wa#
"ools
goose feather
DChisitaD $special tool, made of a thin metal pipe, with very small diameter,
a pig hair is pulled through it% is used for DwritingD the motive.
D6rushD $a tool that is used for covering the larger spaces ( thic- lines,
points etc.%
$@egetal% Colours
obtain from sweat apple peal, sweet apple leaves and flowers, hip rose
peal etc.
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