'Silita' -the Eve before Lent
In Romania is a very old custom called “silita” which takes place on the eve before Lent.
Some days before that the children prepare some balls of rags on top of sticks or wires, the “silitas”, which they will dip in petrol and born on that special evening. At one end of the village all the people gather to watch the children spinning the “silitas” around their head, shouting and yelling in order to chase away the evil spirits, to call in spring and ask for good crops. The young men wrap some cartwheels in straw, set them on fire and roll them down the hill. In the same spirit of the purifying fire they make fires with sticks and wood and jump over them to prove their strength and in order to be healthy and protected all year round.
The ladies of the village come out with doughnuts ands fried pies, another tradition before Lend that all the people respect, and the men come out with their best home-made wine.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
A week before Easter all Christians celebrate the Palm Sunday (Romanian: “Florii”). It is the Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem. Instead of palm trees, the willow plays a very important rolein the traditional Romanian rituals.
The legend goes that, while Jesus was crucified, His mother left, crying, in the search of her son, wearing iron boots and a steel rod. On her journey she arrived at a river and asked a willow to help her cross it. As the willow made a bridge for her, Mary put a blessing on it, stating that its wood could not be transformed into coal and that its branches would be taken to church every year.
That is why, on this day people bring flowers and willow branches to church, for being blessed by the priest. With the willow branches, symbol of spring and fertility, cows and little children are touched, in order to grow and bloom as the willow. The holy branches are then placed near the icons or above the door and are used throughout the year as a medicine or for protection against the natural disasters.
It is also a day for commemorating the dead, when the tombs are cleaned and willow branches are put above in the shape of a cross. Candles are lit and prayers are said for the resting of the dead people’s souls.
