Easter festivities in Chisinau

Easter is a very special holiday for each person who has faith. Commonly it is known as an event that gathers people and brings hope for the future. Moldova celebrates Easter as the whole world, however, there are some particularities, that are quite interesting to know. If you are our guest during the Easter holidays, it will be good to have at least an idea of them because the Easter festivities in Chisinau are quite curious! 

One of the main holidays in Moldova

Easter in Chisinau is every year traditionally widely celebrated because it is one of the main holidays in the whole country. This year (2019), Easter falls on the 28th of April, but this is not the only day of the celebration. Thursday before Easter is called "the clean Thursday", and we clean the whole apartment/house and create a tidy atmosphere to meet the holiday. After, on Saturday night, we prepare the Easter cakes and pies with eggs to make them blessed in the churches. One of the main church, where people usually gather to bless the Easter dishes - is the Cathedral of Christ's Nativity in the center of Chisinau. On Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and go to visit our closest relatives. The next day is the day-off too, so we can continue gathering with our family and friends. After a week, we go to the cemeteries to visit the fallen ones and spend some time with them. This day is called "the Parents' day", and it is an obligatory thing to do after Easter. To sum up the activities of Easter in our country, I can admit that it is a very important holiday in Moldova. Moldavian people teach, learn and continue to appreciate Easter - it is a tribute to the traditions and remembering the importance of the family and roots.

Easter festivities in the capital 

There are a lot of Easter festivities that take place in the whole city. Easter fairs are organized in all the regions of the capital. For example, in the center of Chisinau, you can visit the fairs on Hincesti highway; 58, Academic street; 7, Izmail street, 84; Cantemir avenue and  Metropolitan Varlaam street, 63. We also have an expo center named "Moldexpo", where the best goods are presented. There, people can see what Moldova produces. During Easter, there you can visit a lot of exhibitions, representing the local food, beverages and, of course, Easter meals and attributes. It usually takes place the week before Easter. Another important thing to know about our celebration of Easter - every year the Holy Fire is delivered to Moldova straight from Jerusalem. The fire is delivered in Chisinau according to the tradition, on Easter Eve. 

Some peculiar celebrating traditions 

Besides the Easter festivities, there are lots of peculiar traditions of its celebration in Moldova. As the Easter dishes, for example, in addition to the traditional colored eggs and Easter cakes, we also prepare a cake with cottage cheese, ham in the dough, baked in an oven and drink the famous Moldavian wine. The law of hospitality in our country obliges to accept everyone, to feed and give to drink. Children break the colored eggs, knocking them to each other, organizing the entire mini-tournaments. During the holidays, we relax and visit our closest relatives, and if the weather permits, we make the first spring barbecues. Throughout the entire first Easter week and sometimes for the month ahead, it is customary to greet each other with the words "Hristos a inviat - Christ has risen!" and as a response to tell "Adevarat a inviat - Indeed he has risen!".