In the villages belonging to the commune of Sanpetru de Campi, ritual bonfires are lit on Maundy Thursday, from the wood left after the processing of the fruit trees, there is a belief that now the souls of the sleeping need warmth, as they return home to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord with the rest and remain in families until Pentecost, until the Descent of the Holy Spirit, according to the message Agerpres.

“It is said that these lights actually represent the torches with which the Roman soldiers, led by Judas, came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Some say that these are the fires in the Garden of Gethsemane, where His disciples warmed themselves, while other experts put forward the theory that Easter is a moment of communication between the two worlds: the visible and the invisible.

The bonfires would indeed be a help for the souls of the dead who come to celebrate Easter with the living, and the fire would warm these souls. In the rural world, there is a belief that now the souls of those who left the world without longing will come home to celebrate with those who remained, and will remain here until Pentecost, until the sending of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, anything that happens during this time also includes rituals for those who have departed, such as Blajinilor’s Easter. Of course, this day is dedicated to fire and smoke, communication with others,” Professor Mihai Teodor Nashka, a passionate collector of folklore from the plains of Mures County, told the press.

In the old days, says Mihai, women, in addition to the fire, also had a bucket of water or a piece of bread to properly wait for guests from abroad.

“In many areas of Transylvania, ritual fires are waiting on the Thursday before Easter. Old trees, previously collected by clearing trees or the yard, are placed in a certain place to dry, to be lit on Thursday morning. The whole village was covered in smoke. It was a kind of competition, which of the brothers would wake up first to go to the hearth, which was often part of the mother’s duty. Much later, I learned that the mother was our connection to spirituality, that the woman was the one who maintained the invisible paths between the worlds, and she had the role of the one who fulfilled the tradition of purification,” said Mihai Teodor Nashka.

“Fasting, without love for one’s neighbor, is meaningless. You don’t need to be angry with anyone on Easter”

He also says that Holy Week has a special character during Lent because it is marked by purity and silence.

“More than during the previous period of Lent, in its last days people mostly wear black clothes, characteristic of mourning, and observe a demeanor marked by silence. I remember that during this period I heard my father say: “Tu Tiye (Nasasie), I am going to this neighbor to reconcile so that I can take the holy pascha or I can confess that he has caught our holidays, and those there were no holidays with swans (quietly, no)!’ There is such behavior, which is well established in the conscience, that fasting without love for one’s neighbor is meaningless. On Easter, you don’t need to be angry with anyone or be upset with anyone,” Mihai told us.

Local residents also carry trees to the church this morning.

The tradition of the village also stipulates that Friday is Black Lent “and it would be good at least on this day not to eat or drink water until sunset”, and on this day absolutely nothing is cooked with vinegar.

“This is the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, the abuse He had to face, but also His death in the agony of the crucifixion. It is not the saddest day of the week, so Friday is considered a fasting day, a day of soul purification. As the Bible tells us, Jesus was crucified between two robbers, and the astral and weather phenomena described in the Bible stories indicate that the world felt this act very strongly. The Son of Man is crucified, taking with him the sins of the world and giving the world a chance for salvation. His body is removed from the cross and secretly buried. On this day, Easter is prepared, that is, bread and wine, which will be distributed to believers after the Easter service. Even now it is said that nothing is cooked with vinegar or anything acidic on this day, reminding us of the vinegar sponge offered to Jesus when he cried out that he was thirsty. The evening of this day is dedicated to the liturgy of the Ascension of the Lord, when every Christian leaves the temple under the epitaph, with a lit candle symbolizing the tomb of Jesus, and then symbolically surrounds the temple three times. This is the last time when the bells ring until the first bell on Easter Sunday, the same one that announces that Jesus overcame death and rose again, which is the foundation of today’s Christianity,” said the folklore collector.

Naşca also showed that Saturday is a day of silence and vigilance, it is the day when big news is expected and the biggest commotion in every housewife’s kitchen.

“The products that are put on the Easter table should be based on the idea of ​​the revival of nature, maybe that’s why there is no lack of lamb leg with a lot of greens, eggs, lamb or paska with cheese on the menu,” emphasized Mihai Theodor. Naşca.

—

Photo source: Photo49204185©Fotovika|Dreamstime.com