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Romanian Easter Customs and Traditions

• The Romanians celebrate Palm Sunday a week before Easter. This celebration was initially dedicated to the Roman goddess Flora, but later it became a celebration meant to remind people about the day when Jesus triumphantly went to Jerusalem.

• Palm Day is a celebration of the revival of nature when the willows, the trees and the flowers blossom. The willow plays an important place in the rituals of this celebration. The legend says that after Jesus’ crucifixion Virgin Mary put on some iron sandals and went away to find Her Son. On her way She reached a river and asked a willow to build Her a bridge. Because the willow fulfilled her wish, Holy Virgin blessed the willow. She said that coal would never be made out of the willow’s wood and that willow wood would be brought to the church every year on Palm Day.

• That’s why on Palm Day people bring willow twigs to the church for the priests to bless them.

• On Palm Day people eat fish, being allowed to eat it thought Palm Day is celebrated during the Lent.

Saint George’s Day• Every year on April, 23rd the

Romanians celebrate and honor Saint George’s Day. Saint George, who is the defeater of the dragon, is one of the most honored saints in the Orthodox Calendar.

• Very many customs have died out, but the one that is still in practice nowadays is the custom of adorning the pillars of the gates with green willow twigs and branches

The Romanian Easter (The 11th of April, 2008)

• Easter represents Jesus Christ’s resurrection, The Last Supper being considered the beginning of this celebration. The bread and the wine served during The Last Supper symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus’ flesh and blood as price for ransom.

• For Romanians, Easter is the most important celebration, being preceded by a period when all the members of the community are involved in intense preparations.

The Week before Easter, which is called

the Ordeal or Passion Week, is the week when the religious

service is held in all the Orthodox churches every evening.

Friday is the day of Christ’s

crucifixion and is considered

the most important day of the Lent.

It is said about this Friday

that it is an unlucky day. In the past, on this day,

the Romanians didn’t go

to work in the fields, didn’t light the fire

in the stoves and didn’t bake bread.

Let’s share the wonder of Easter

The traditional Easter

Food is made up

of red -dyed eggs,

roasted lamb and

a special Easter cake. The lamb is a symbol of

Jesus’ sacrifice, the red eggs

Symbolize the Divinity

and by being broken they

also symbolize the Sacrifice.

On the Holy Easter, consent and accept the light of God into your house and most

importantly, into your soul.

Recipe for Easter Cake Ingredients:

The dough: • 600 g flour ,• 30 g yeast , • 3-4 eggs , • 200 g sugar , • 100 g butter , • 60 ml of oil , • a glass of milk , • a pinch of salt .

The filling:

800 g cheese , 200 g sugar , one spoon of flour , 3-4 eggs , one spoon of semolina , 100g raisins , grated lemon peel , vanilla sugar , salt , 50 g butter , 100 g of thick cream..

Method:• The dough is prepared in the same style as the dough

for the sponge cake. The dough is rolled out on the oiled pad, making a 1cm- thick piece of dough as large as the pan in which it is baked. One small piece of dough is put aside for the lace of the cake. A round pan is used for baking the cake and it has to be quite large. The pan is oiled with butter, and then some flour is sieved over it. The rolled piece of dough is put on the bottom of the pan. Then another piece of dough is rolled out as a 1 cm-thick cylinder. This piece of dough is the cut in two parts and these parts are plaited and then put along the sides of the pan on the other piece of dough. The pan is put to rest for a while in a warm place.

• The cheese is sieved and then mixed with the yolks, the melted butter, the cream, the sugar, the salt, the grated lemon peel and a part of the raisins. All these are mixed and then we add the white part of the eggs beaten as foam, the flour and the semolina. The mixture is poured in the pan and the rest of the raisins are put over the entire cake. A sort of a lattice or pattern made out of dough can be put over the filling, too. The cake is put in the temperately heated oven, taking care not to burn it.