This year both the Orthodox and the Catholic Church celebrate Easter on the same day, the 8^th of April. Easter is the most important Christian celebration and it commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This fundamental idea – the sacrifice and the Resurrection of our Lord – is at the center of the Christian faith. “He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew, chapter 28, 6). “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew, chapter 28, 19).

In the Eastern tradition Easter is preceded by twelve weeks of prayer and fasting, of repentance and forgiveness. At the end of this special preparatory period Easter is celebrated with a series of religious services of which the most important is the divine liturgy on Saturday night. At midnight the priest announces the resurrection of Christ and lets the people light their candles of the Holy Flame. After receiving the priest’s blessing people go home and have a special meal with all their relatives. The main dish of this late dinner is the lamb steak.

Traditions related to Easter vary within the Orthodox Church and yet there are common elements shared by all the Eastern national churches. At the center of the celebration is the sacrifice and victory of Christ’s over the sin and the devils. The feasting meal at the night of the first day of Easter is based on lamb and home baked traditional cakes and sweets.

In Romania on the first day of Easter – on Sunday - friends and family gather in homes, eating lamb and dyed eggs. Before the red eggs are eaten you must crack them against your neighbours’, and whoever wins by having a whole egg at the end, will get all the luck. In the north of the country, in Bucovina, women and children paint the eggs with red and yellow. The beautifully decorated eggs are small master pieces and foreign tourists buy them as souvenirs.

In Transylvania on Monday, the second day of Easter, the boys in the villages sprinkled the girls with water. Nowadays they use sprays and perfume. In Maramures young men go to their neighbours and relatives and bring them the good news of them being released from the original sin.