Romanian traditions

Easter is the most important religious holiday in Romania, and we want to share some memories and some traditions regarding the Orthodox Easter in Romania. These Romanian Orthodox Easter customs still being kept.

 Romanian Easter Eggs

As with almost any other Orthodox tradition, we will have to start with Romanian Easter food. One of the most important Romanian Easter tradition are eggs. The first step is to paint them red on the Thursday before Easter.

Then you wait for Easter to come, as you just look at red egss because you are fasting.

In the Orthodox tradition, people have to fast - not eat any animal product - for seven weeks before Easter. 

After attending the Church service during Easter night (it all happens at midnight, Saturday to Sunday, because Easter is always on Sunday), you can go home and start eating the eggs, share them with your family and neighbours.

Finally, the best part of this Romanian Easter eggs tradition is the way you eat the red eggs. You are supposed to crack them in a sort of competition of who has the "strongest" egg. I guess it's a family activity, like all other religious activities in the Orthodox traditions.

The eggs were considered a symbol of creation, fruitfulness and life in general. It is related to Spring and the process of the revival of nature.

Easter Romanian food: Lamb steak

The centre food product of the Easter cuisine is the lamb. 

No Romanian Easter can be celebrated without the mandatory lamb steak as the centerpiece Easter meal in Romania. Romanians use lamb in many creative ways.

Romanians make Lamb soup, Lamb tripe (Drob), steak. 

Easter Romanian food: Pască

And there is the traditional Easter Pasca (a Romanian Easter food that's a specific cheese pie). It is sold everywhere, and everyone makes it at home.

Women make it, they bring it to church to get it blessed by the priest and they share some with others. Sharing food at the church or to those who are less fortunate than you are is also part of the Romanian Easter tradition.

Sometimes it's like a competition of who's Easter pie was the greatest looking or which tasted better. But this happens in rural Romanian communities. 

Easter Romanian food: Cozonac

The most adored Romanian Easter food, the cozonac. It's a specific sweet bread and most European countries have a version of it, but obviously, the Romanian version is more complicated are the most delicious of all.

The process of making cozonac takes hours and there are many ways in which the process can go wrong. But to put it in simple terms, cozonac is a sweet bread, with cacao and walnuts. It is my favourite Romanian food. Romanians make Cozonac for Christmas and Easter. 

 Going to church to get the Holy Light

The Christian faith says that the light comes from Jerusalem and is holy. It comes by plane and they distribute it in the entire country really fast. At midnight every church has the holy light to share it with its parishioners.

You have to bring a bigger candle, and get it lit up from the church. 

Visiting your family for Easter

The week before Easter is an exhausting week for all women because they are supposed to clean up the house and cook all the above-mentioned foods (and more). Even the days are set for when you cook each thing. For example, the eggs have to be dyed on Thursday and on Friday you bake the pie (Pasca).

On Saturday evening, you get all dressed up and you go to church, in the middle of the night. After this, you go home and you have the most awaited feast. With your family.

On Easter Sunday, you are supposed to spend it at home with your family, it's the most wonderful feeling.