Orthodox Easter this year is 27-28th April – at the end of next week. So the next entries will be dedicated to Romanian Easter traditions you are probably not familiar with.
Easter is the most important religious celebration in my country. Its traditions go beyond the Christian dogmas, to pagan rituals, myths of creations and symbols of life.
I am not going to talk about the preparations in detail. I give you another gift instead: a legend and Romanian painted eggs.
They say that during the Pesach (the Hebrew Passover) Virgin Mary came to see her crucified son. She carried a basket with eggs, which she laid at the foot of the cross while praying for Christ. His holy blood dropped on the eggs and reddened them, so the Lord said:
From now on you shall paint the eggs in red to remember my crucifixion.
According to this legend, there should be no other colors used to paint the eggs for Easter. But as you know, Christians like to paint eggs in many other colors. No, I wouldn’t say that’s a sin or a blasphemy. The meaning of Easter is preserved, no matter what colors we might choose. In Romania the tradition of decorating eggs is ancestral.
In old times a painted eggs was believed to have magic powers and their preparation involved special rituals. Each color or pattern used to decorate the egg was meant to combat a different for of evil.
Even today Romanians believe that painted eggs bring luck and protect their homes against demons and unholy spirits. The shells of the Easter eggs are blessed, they should not be thrown away, but sprinkled over the soil in gardens to provide for fertility and richer crops.
In some parts of Romania (especially in the North in a region called Maramuresh – where you can also find the Wooden Churches and the Merry Cemetery from Sapanta, newly wedded couples keep painted eggs in their homes as charms to protect their home, bring equilibrium and secure happiness in marriage.
While the Christian symbol of the egg is related to the resurrection of Christ, the primordial meanings are still potted in the motifs, colors and patterns that transform these eggs, as you see, in genuine works of art.
It takes a long time, talent and patience to paint these eggs. First they are emptied of their contents and covered with a thin layer of bee wax. Then the meticulous work can begin. Using special tools like “chisita” women “write” the motifs in vegetal (natural) colors. Each element has a meaning and nothing is left to chance.
A Romanian painted egg tells you a story, if you know how to read it. Among the many stylized motifs you’ll often find the tree of life, the sun and the Star, the cross, the rooster, the snake and oak leaves, waves, spirals and much more. Each egg is unique. Each egg is special.
Now, I don’t know how to paint eggs in such an incredible manner. This art, although not kept a secret, is not taught in schools: it’s a folkloric legacy, carried from generation to generation, flourishing only in some parts of Romania. So what you see above it’s an example of Romanian tradition, and what you see below it’s an example of … what a Romanian living in Germany does to substitute a missing sacred symbol.
I didn’t realize this is a Romanian tradition. My family has always done this. I wonder if we picked this up from a Romanian family, ancestor, or maybe it’s a tradition for another country as well…
Anyway, I think this is fascinating, and I love what you’ve done with your German eggs 🙂
Hi Angel,
eggs like this are painted in all orthodox countries, the motifs are different though. Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria and even Russia have them. Greek eggs are mainly red, but there are some variations too – I was planning to talk about these in a next entry. I focus here more on Romania, as I feel that there are many things people don’t know about my country.
Mig
I am doing a project on Romania and i am looking up traditions for it, customs and all these different things for it. but most websites i go to don’t have much about it, i am not finding much on their traditions and customs am trying though, went to certain websites that a teacher told me to go to but didnt tell much by any chance, could you tell me some things about Romania if its not a problem
Julia, I just sent you an email at the address you provided when posting the comment. I will help you in any way I can. 🙂
what time period did this culture flourish? I’m doing a project on it and I have to have it done by Monday.Sorry, but my email page is basicly dead because I havn’t gone to it in so long. can you tell me here?
It’s ancient, Lindsay – it all started before Christ, when egg shells were painted as “charms” to protect against evil spirits. Then, after Christ it’s hard to actually draw a pattern – but you can safely assume that there was some continuity in the tradition.
The Communist regime in Romania slowed down many traditions, but it couldn’t kill them. Romanians continued to paint eggs for Easter – sure we are not all able to create those little works of art, but we do use other techniques to ornate the eggs.
Today, the artistically painted eggs are highly commercialized.
Mihaela,
frumos scrii tu aici, m-au impresionat lucrurile citite si parca au capatat o alta valoare cand le-am descoperit re-povestite de tine, decat o aveau deja la mine in suflet.
Vreau sa “fur” cate ceva de la “painted eggs”, baietelul meu are o prezentare la scoala despre traditiile romanesti si mi s-a parut atat de frumos prezentat, incat mi-am permis sa intreb daca se poate.
Cele bune si la buna citire,
Alis
Bine ai venit, Alis. Sigur ca se poate sa iei tot ce vrei de pe blog – ma bucur mult ca paginile acestea sunt de folos cuiva. 🙂 Daca ai nevoie de mai mult, scrie-mi la si te ajut cum pot.
What wonderful post, what great eggs and what readable and interesting historical background!
We paint eggs after boiling and before eating them for Easter Day breakfast to, but I’ve thought of it as such strong religious reason. I remember how fun it was when I was young though.
I also think my Mom had some tea in the water, to make a certain background collar too.
We also have a special tradition in our family too: Easter Bunny Egg hunt and in thre weeks, we’ll do it again 🙂
RennyBA’s last blog post..Happy St. Patricks Day Parade in Oslo Norway
It is not so difficult to paint eggs liike this, all you need is exercise, talent, wax and a special tool, I forgot its name, my aunt used to do this, long time ago, in Dragoslavele. I think they are still doing this in the old-fashioned way there
Yeah, that sounds easy… 😉