Paste (Easter) celebrations in the Eastern Orthodox way

In Moldova both Christmas and Easter are very big national holidays which are celebrated for more than just a day.  Because 95+% of the population is Eastern Orthodox, just about the entire country shuts down for these holidays.  I was looking forward to my first Paste here.

I spent an eventful 4-day weekend in Parcova, a small village in the raion (region) of Edinet about 55 km north of Balti.  My host "mom" Emilia grew up there, and her parents still live in the same house (over 50 years now).  Emilia invited me to spend the Paste (pah shtay) holidays with them and I was very enthusiastic to witness the traditional observances for this very holy of days.  Two days are observed, Paste Sunday itself and the Monday following.



We arrived Friday by noon at her parents', and Emilia immediately loaded up the refrigerator and stove with loads of prepared food dishes that she had cooked at home and transported there.  Her father Timofiu Turcan is a retired priest of the principal church in Parcova but still assists there.  Conveniently their house is right across the street from the cathedral.  Her mother Lidia tended the vegetable garden and home but her duties have diminished because farming is such a physically demanding endeavor. The house is charming but spartan, adorned with rows of beautiful red tulips in full bloom.  Both parents were very welcoming and caring individuals - they opened their hearts and home to me, just like Emilia did.


Home life
The house consists mainly of four rooms - off the entryway is the main salon, a smaller living room, a bedroom, and kitchen.  There is no indoor bathroom, neither is there an outdoor bathroom other than an outhouse. Like many other farm houses in the area built around the same time, cold water is retrieved from an outdoor faucet and heated when needed.  The rooms are extremely tidy (thanks to Emilia's visits).   A corner altar is situated in the main salon with the appropriate religious relics that you would expect a priest to have.
           

Sitting room

Hats for the priest

Colorful rug on wall

Preparing for Paste
The church is one of the more beautiful that I've seen in Moldova - it dominates the town and commands a good expanse of land.  The interior is adorned with multiple icon images and altars.

        

I was able to get inside the church before any activities started and took these photos.  They were preparing for Good Friday services which were going to start later that afternoon.

Returning to record the service, a procession was circling the church which commemorated Jesus' death on the cross and his entombment.

Emilia's father Timofiu is leading the small procession.  He has the most serene visage, and he actually stayed up all night on Easter morn but returned home for much needed rest about 5 AM. Although he's actually retired, he still helps out at the church when he can.

                                                                                  

      

Midnight Paste Service

The tradition is to attend church around midnight, and if you’re committed to the long haul, you stay throughout the night as the service continues with readings, incantations from the priests, chantings, and multitudinous signing of the cross from head to chest to right shoulder then left shoulder (opposite of Catholics), and even a few folks prostrating themselves and kissing the the ground before various icons. 

Emilia and I attended Paste midnight service for a couple of hours.  About 50 people were there, most standing since seating is not provided for all worshippers.  We happened to get seats, fortunately, and since I am a “senior”, it was perfectly acceptable.  We bought some candles, went up to various iconic images and I followed Emilia’s suit, lighting candles and placing them in the candle holder, bowing and signing the cross, and occasionally bending over the religious relic and kissing it.  A woman was reading from the holy book and every now and then the priest would come out from the back room, chant some verses, declare “Hristos a inviat!” (Christ has risen!), to which the parishioners would respond “Cu adeverat a inviat!” (Truly, he has risen!). 

Our food basket

We left the church about 1:30 AM with the services still continuing, and returned home to get a few hours of sleep, although once I’m up past my usual bedtime, it’s difficult for me to get to sleep, especially since I was also sleeping on the couch.  We arose around 5:00 AM, collected our food basket, and returned to the church to participate in the blessing of the food.  I was pleasantly surprised to see many more people (150 or so) who had arrived with their food gathering in a semi-circle in front of the church.  The night was cold but not frigid and there was no wind, and the stars were out – a serene, peaceful night.  People were chatting quietly but the mood was solemn.  Emilia’s brother Valeriu and his family gathered with us and we lit candles in our baskets.  It was a splendid sight, the row of people with their lit candles and food baskets gently lighting the silent night.  About ½ hour later, the priest came out, and more chanting and pronouncements were made.  Two men were holding a sheet, and two other boys were holding a collection box.  They passed along the line of people, the priest giving his blessings while the men collected portions of the food items in the sheet, and the boys collected money for the church.  Much of the food would be donated to the disadvantaged people in the community.  The final blessing came around once again, when the priest passed by the parishioners accompanied by a helper with a bucket of holy water.  Taking a large brush, the priest dipped it into the bucket and sprinkled the water on the baskets and the people.  Afterwards, everyone gathered their food baskets and returned home just as the sky was beginning to lighten up with the dawn breaking.  The first meal of the day comes from the blessed food from the basket.  People who had been fasting for 7 weeks (no meat, dairy, and fish) could now eat all they wanted of these foods, and indeed they did!

(Note: Unfortunately my camera was not functioning correctly during the midnight service and I couldn't retrieve the images that I took.  If I get it corrected, I'll post later :(  )

Scenes of Parcova

Parcova's casa de cultura and primarie

Beautifully ornate well

Foods

Moldovans have traditional food dishes that I have mentioned in the past which are eaten virtually at all celebrations whether it’s a religious holiday or a birthday.  There may be a new dish added to the mix, but usually the standby favorites are:  racitori (boiled chicken in aspic), salads (diced beets, potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, and other vegetables with mayonnaise; salted fish with a layer of julienne slices of potatoes and beets also with mayonnaise), sarmale (stuffed cabbage leaves), stuffed red and yellow peppers, pan-fried chicken fillets, pirjoale (ground chicken meatballs), vegetable platter, (tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, pickles), stewed pork or lamb dish (lamb is traditional for Paste), and of course, bread.  For dessert, there is an abundance of prajitori (baked pastries coated with powdered sugar), napoleon layered cakes, and cookies.  A Paste specialty also is a type of bread similar to pannettone, which was very tasty. 

 

After sleeping for a few hours, the family dining cycle begins and continues throughout the day.  We went to Valeriu’s house for lunch where we ate and drank much of the same food above along with house cognac and wine.  After returning to our house, we ate once again but I couldn’t eat more than just a small plate.  Emilia was preparing a few more dishes for the next day’s meal where Valeriu’s family in turn would be feasting at the parents’ house! 

One interesting tradition is “bumping” eggs.  Moldovans do dye eggs for Paste, but they stick with the color red, and I helped Emilia dye 30 eggs using the eggs from their own chickens, of course.  This dye is particularly deep red.  Unlike the American approach, water is boiled with the red dye, and the raw eggs are cooked in the dyed water.  On Easter day, guests take an egg and each takes turns to bump the other’s egg with the tip.  Whosever egg breaks, turns it over to the winner.  (Yes, my egg got cracked.) 

Bumping eggs

                                                               

Emilia and her wonderful, gentle parents.

I returned to Balti very satisfied with my first-hand experience of a Moldovan Paste.  One good outcome from my stay was that I had to speak more Romanian since no one spoke English.  I was able to get by and answered questions from the various family members whocould understand me reasonably well.  That was doubly satisfying!

This coming weekend is Memorial Easter where families commemorate their deceased loved ones with religious rites and feasts in the cemetery.   Maybe I'll have a story to share in my next blog.....

Noroc!