Since almost everyone in Romania is Romanian Orthodox, they don't celebrate Easter until next Sunday. It is a very big holiday here and we are sad that we will miss celebrating it with the rest of the people here. There are a fair number of Catholic and protestant members who do celebrate Easter today though. Last night, around 9:00, Spencer and I were in our hotel room and heard some music coming from outside. We opened our windows to look out thinking it was a musician playing in the plaza below. To our surprise, there was an Easter procession with hundreds of people walking down the street carrying candles following the priests who were holding crosses. They must've been Catholic or Protestant. There was a little brass band and a man singing a little Easter song. They walked up the road by our hotel and through the plaza as part of their Easter festivities. It was really neat to see how much Easter means to the people here. Sorry there's no pictures, our batteries died right before the procession.
One of my favorite things here in Romania are the intricately decorated Easter eggs. They are real, hollowed out eggs, hand-painted. They are amazing! They come in all different colors and styles, but these are the most common. I hope the ones I bought to bring home survive the trip!
As part of our Easter celebration, we went to a concert of J.S. Bach's "St. John's Passion" in the historic Black Church here in Brasov last night. The music was written depicting St. John's account of Christ's death and resurrection. It was really neat to hear it perfomed in a cathedral. The Black Church was built between the 1300s and the 1400s. It originally was a Roman-Catholic cathedral, but during the time of the reformation, it became a Lutheran cathedral. It is called the Black Church because it was burned years ago. It was really neat inside. I am glad we went to that concert last night. It was such a unique experience and so nice to be able to think about Christ's life, death, and Resurrection.
This is the plaza where the Easter procession went through last night.
Happy Easter! We love you and will see you soon!
9 comments:
When exactly do you guys return to Utah? We'll have to play because we'll be coming to Utah the end of May for 2 weeks! Love ya.
We're looking forward to seeing you on Wed!
Be safe and we are soooo happy to
have you returning to American soil and to your family and home.
Love you! We've missed being able
to talk with you, so call when you
get in Chicago.
Love always, Mom
One of my Romanian friends told me that Easter is a big deal there and he can't figure out why it isn't bigger elsewhere. As he put it, Easter is the reason we have Christmas.
I really like those Easter eggs they are REALLY cool!!! I love you guys!!!
Marisa
We are so glad you guys are having a wonderful time over there. We can't wait to hear all the different stories.
That is so cool. I'm dying to see you and hear all about your adventures. Planning another trip to Vernal when you get home? Just kidding. But I would love to see you sometime.
Hey guys! I can't believe you are home already and I am going. If you want to keep track of how Romania is in the summer you can check out my blog htt://www.romaniaiscalling.blogspot.com
Have a great summer and glad you got home safe!
Alyssa Cook
I felt like I was in Romania hearing the unique experiences with the Easter procession, the concert in the Black church and the picture of the square. What an amazing experience - so glad you went. How are things going back in Utah now?
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