| EASTER PREPARATIONS 02/04/2010 |
| (2010-04-02) |
| Last updated: 2010-04-07 14:37 EET |
Christians all over the world, including Romania, which is a predominantly Orthodox country, are getting ready for the oldest and most important celebration: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On Good Friday, Jesus was taken before the Roman governor Pilate to be tried. At the request of the crowd, Pilate decided the Saviour be crucified. However, according to the Scriptures, on the third day, on Sunday, the women bearing the Chrism found His grave empty.
In the pastoral letter, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, urges believers not to lose hope and the goodness of their hearts when witnessing injustice, violence, greed and abuse. He also says that Resurrection day is a time of openness towards the universal resurrection. The resurrection light gives meaning to the entire world, and the candles that believers carry on Resurrection night are symbols of the light that Christ's resurrection sheds on the entire world, the Patriarch also says in the letter. He also talks about the Romanians living abroad, whom he advises to stay true to Orthodox spiritual values.
The Easter celebration includes a string of secular customs, from cleaning the house and wearing new clothes to giving gifts. The preparation for Easter entails cleaning and home made dishes. All Christians must have on their table painted eggs, cheese Easter cake and pound cake and drob, which is minced lamb mixed with herbs. In traditional communities, egg knocking is a must and takes place according to rules that differ from one region to another. All days that make up the Passion Week are extremely important, especially Maundy Thursday and Shrove Thursday. On this Friday, many Romanians do not eat or drink anything all day long, to make sure they will not catch any disease. There are many Romanians who choose to spend Easter in places well known for their beautiful customs and traditions. This year, those who will spend Easter in Bucovina, Maramures or the Bran area will benefit from dishes made of organic food. It is worth mentioning that this year, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant believers celebrate Easter on the same day, April 4th.
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2025-04-03
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