How does a Moldovan family traditionally celebrate?
Villages in Moldova, are full of old traditions and culture. Here in spring, the most important holiday for our people takes place - the Easter religious holiday.
One week before Easter everyone gets busy cleaning their houses, tidying the garden outside after a long dirty winter. For this celebration people prepare in good time, they also cook special food: Easter Cake and painted eggs and the best wine is on the table.
A large variety of meals are prepared for Easter in Moldovan households, such as Easter cakes and Easter bread
Easter Cake is specially made by our grandmother in a traditional style! When I ask my grandmother about the recipe of her Easter Cake she told me that her recipes are from her grand grandmother so they are already more than 100 years old! One of the secrets is this old stove.
Painted eggs have become a popular handicraft at Easter.
It is also customary to paint eggs in different colours for Easter, although red is considered the traditional colour. It’s truly said that each guest in the "Casa Mare" of Moldova is a real friend.
Easter is the most important religious holiday in Moldova. People use a different greeting in Moldova on the days of Easter – they say "Hristos a inviat" which means "Jesus resurrected". And the reply for the greeting is "Adevarat a inviat", which translates to "Indeed resurrected". Some people might actually be offended if you greet them by just saying "Hi, how are you?" on Easter.
Plenty of other national food is prepared in Moldova for Easter: placinte (a type of filled pastry), galuste (rice and ground meat wrapped in grape wine leaves), mamaliga (cornbread), various salads, soups, main entry meat dishes (especially rabbit and lamb), as well as various deserts.
On Easter morning we wash our faces with water from a bowl, into which we put a red egg and a coin. It is said that if you wash your face with this water, you will be healthy and beautiful – just like an Easter egg.
Text and images kindly provided provided by Sakura Tur Travel Agency.
Travelcoup offers several tours with Sakura Tur from Chisinau, Moldova
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