Friday, May 2, 2008

Hristos A Inviat!






Hristos a inviat! Adevarat c-a inviat! Easter is by far my favorite holiday...and this Romanian greeting is one I have long loved. Beginning Easter Sunday and lasting for 40 days (until they mark Jesus' acsension), Christians greet one another by saying "Christ is Risen!" and then responding "Indeed He is Risen!". Here in Romania, Easter celebrations began last Friday (Good Friday) and continued through this past Monday. Friday evening after church, I returned home with Lucia, Sorin and Filip (Ipu) to stay the weekend in Nojorid. Saturday was spent preparing all the foods, dyeing Easter eggs and playing with Ipu! Learning how to dye traditional eggs was an amazing experience. We began by gathering leaves from the garden, dipping the leaves in water and then applying them to the eggs. The eggs were then snuggly placed in stockings before being placed in a pot of water brimming with onion skin/peels. After this boiled for about 15 minutes, we removed the eggs from the stockings, removed the leaves and then rubbed the eggs with slanina (a piece of pig fat) to make them shiny. Throughout Sunday and Monday, children came to the house, proclaiming "Hristos a inviat" and we rewarded with an egg!

No comments: