Christians before Easter
Easter is the oldest and most important celebration of Christianity, which brought humanity the hope of salvation and eternal life, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Mihai Pelin, 17.04.2025, 14:00
The Orthodox Christians in Romania are preparing to celebrate Easter – the feast of light and joy, considered the greatest celebration of Christianity, which signifies the Resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Easter celebrations take place over three days. Easter is marked this year on April 20 by Christians of all rites, a rare situation, given that Western churches celebrate Easter according to the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern churches use the Julian calendar. Easter is preceded by a long period of fasting, and in the last week of Lent, called Passion Week, the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is celebrated.
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Father Daniel, conveyed a message in which he urges the believers, on the occasion of Holy Easter, to show love, forgiveness and joy towards those around them. ‘Through His humble and merciful love, the Lord Jesus Christ shows, on the Cross, humble obedience to God and merciful forgiveness towards those who crucified Him. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ ‘lifts’ or heals the sin of disobedience of the proto-parents Adam and Eve for the salvation of the world and, at the same time, replaces murderous violence with peace-making love. The celebration of the Holy Easter calls on all of us to show humble and merciful love, forgiveness, peace and joy to people around us as gifts of the Risen Christ,’ said the Patriarch Daniel. ‘We wish all Romanians in Romania, near its borders and in the diaspora, peace and joy, health and happiness, together with the Easter wish: Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen! the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church also said.
The eggs painted red are the symbol of the Holy Easter Holidays, along with the traditional Romanian Easter cheese bread and nut and cocoa sweet bread. They are usually prepared on Maundy Thursday, because, according to tradition, eggs dyed red on this day do not spoil throughout the year. This custom of dyeing eggs is explained by a series of Christian legends, which link their symbol to the passions of Jesus. One of them recalls the fact that Mary the Mother of God, coming to see her crucified Son, brought a basket of eggs which she placed under the cross, and they turned red by the blood shed by Jesus for the salvation of the world.
Every year, in Jerusalem, the Holy Light is lit in the tomb of Jesus, testifying to the place of the Savior’s Resurrection. It is considered the oldest miracle in the Christian world and one of the essential moments of the Orthodox liturgical tradition. The Light is received by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who then shares it with the priests and believers present at that moment in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and thus is distributed throughout the world. It will be brought from Jerusalem to Romania on Saturday evening by the high official of the Romanian Patriarchate’s Establishments at the Holy Places, Archimandrite Teofil Anăstăsoaie, and will be offered to the delegates of the bishoprics throughout the country. Subsequently, it will reach the homes of all Romanians who wish to receive it. The tradition of bringing the Holy Light to Romania was inaugurated in 2009 by Patriarch Daniel. (LS)
