Easter in Bircii

We just got done with the Easter celebration. It started with everyone cleaning everything. Teen girls were outside attacking huge rugs hung along the fences with scrub brushes and soap and water. Men and women were whitewashing fences, and garages, and the bottom of tree trunks. I even saw an old women on her knees hand cutting her front grass. She had a basket beside her that she put the tops of the blades in.

When Saturday came, all outside work stopped. We couldn't hang clothes on the line, because it was time for the holiday. Women were still working inside preparing food, but outside jobs were taboo.

Sunday was church and a great celebration. We had music from the teens, from the kids, and from the choir (some of the kids were actually part of all 3 groups.) The mandolin orchestra also played. The service went long, 2 hrs and 20 min., and this was o.k. 'cause I was counting on 3 hours. (Of course the evening service went over 2 hrs also.)

A feast for the family began soon after church. It started with each of us getting an egg that had been boiled and dyed. One person turned to his neighbor and as they hit the tip of their eggs together they said, "He is risen" and "He is risen indeed." The idea is to see whose egg will crack. (I'm not sure what the significance of this is.) The eggs could then be eaten if you wanted, or you could just start with the first course of the meal which was soup. Pavel's mom made this. I dove into a rich, heavy broth made with I'm not sure what. There were a few things I chose to swallow without chewing, and it was only after I looked around at Heather's plate that I realized you didn't have to eat everything in the bowl.

The next dish looked like a spinach casserole. It seemed a bit dark, however, and I realized after it was dished up that this was the recipe Heather had talked about. I kept my mouth quiet as the kids took their pieces, and watched their expressions as they chewed. No grimaces. Good. It was my turn to bite into the innards from the lamb mixed with some sort of greens and eggs. It was o.k., but I was glad I took a small portion.

Next we had the lamb cooked in wine, potatoes, two types of bread, and salad. No one went away from the table hungry, though several hours later we did dessert. These were of typical American fare; cherry pie, pumpkin pie, lemon pound cake, and rhubarb/strawberry cobbler. The fruit had been preserved from last year (except the lemon), and the pie crusts made with lard rendered from last fall's pig.

Outside people gathered outside their fences spending time with family and friends. The stores were ALL closed. Ron and I had to go into town to the cash machine, and we had the streets to ourselves. It was wonderful to be able to drive in Romania with alittle less defensiveness.

Monday continued the celebration. Most people did not have to work, and it was still a holiday. You still couldn't hang clothes on the line, and instead people hung around outside. Pavel brought some of the youth to the forest, and later that night they played games in the church's back yard. Believe it or not, 16-23 year old's played catch in a circle with a ball. I don't imagine many in America this age would be so easily entertained.

I could tell the holiday was over when I noticed Heather doing laundry about 5 p.m, with the clothes on the line at dusk. The Easter festivities were over, and the rest of the week begun.