Easter – eggs – spring – fertility – rebirth. All part of a modern-day Easter celebration with ancient roots in pagan beliefs. Every spring people celebrated the end of winter and the coming of spring, the rebirth of nature, and made wishes for fertility and happiness for the new year.
Christianity has intertwined the ancient celebrations with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, whose rebirth – sacred in the Christian faith – symbolizes renewal, hope and joy.
Romanian traditions have kept the use of painted hard-boiled Easter eggs which dates pre-christian customs. In cultures across the world – the egg is the symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth. In Romanian tradition, egg tapping is done in order to show who will have good luck for the year. In Orthodox Christian custom, the egg tapping is accompanied by the saying “Christ has risen”.
While most Romanian households have eggs painted in simple colors, the traditional Romanian eggs used a diverse array of patterns borrowed from the traditional Romanian dress. Romanian clothing uses motifs borrowed from nature and surroundings to denote people’s regional and cultural background. The Romanian dress also uses common pre-christian universal symbolism, like the tree of life or the infinity motif.
The Resurrection of Christ is a reminder of how life triumphs over death. In ancient pagan customs, the Sun returns by defeating the dark cold winter and bringing fertility, through which nature comes back to life. The Sun is reflected today in the light carried during the Easter vigil at midnight.
Coming from self-sufficient communities, Romanians made their own clothing: the main clothing pieces were handmade and sewn by the women, while leather clothing/footwear were made by local craftsmen (meșteri). Costumes took between 1-2 years to make. The work was done mostly during winters at “sezatoare” – this was also an opportunity to socialize.
Traditional sewing differed from today’s western-style sewing which is concentrated on quick practical sewing. The fabrics were produced at home, not bought. The main fabrics were homemade cotton, wool, leather, borangic (traditional Romanian silk), hemp, linen. Lace or velvet were also used. The materials kept cool during summer and warm during winter. The clothes were colored using vegetable dye made from local plants.
Although the Romanian blouse “ia” is commercialized as the most representative Romanian garment, the traditional costumes are much more complex and varied with the basic pieces being the same throughout all the regions.
For women
white shirt called ie
waistcoat (pieptar, vestă)
a white skirt called poala which is knee-length or ankle-length
over the skirt the women put a catrincă or fotă – a piece resembling an apron but used for aesthetic reason with various colors and designs sewn on it. The fotă had either one piece worn in the front; two pieces worn in front and back; or all wrap-around skirt.
Traditional vest which varies in colors and design
Wrap-around “fotă” in Moldova where’s its worn tight around the body. The skirts could be knee-long or ankle-long.
“Ia” – romanian blouses decorated with various motifs, according to the region.
Women’s head-wear differed from region to region – they wore a scarf or a white veil made from borangic (natural romanian silk). Like most cultures around the world, young unmarried girls left their hair uncovered – unless it was a holiday or a special celebration.
Depending on the region, women’s head-coverings included a white long veil of various lengths made from borangic (romanian natural silk), or a colorful scarf with flowery motifs.
Depending on the region, women’s head-coverings included a white long veil of various lengths made from borangic (romanian natural silk), or a colorful scarf with flowery motifs.
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For men – white long pants called iţari or cioareci, made from cotton or wool (depending on the season), white shirt, waistcoat (pieptar, vestă).
The shoes differed from area to area but the most common were boots – ciubote; shoes called opinci (opanak in slavic), worn since ancient times in the Balkans (see Dacian/Thracian wear); and other types of shoes made from leather.
Both men and women wore a waist band calledbrâu whose size and design varies. For women it also had an aesthetic purpose meant to underline the small feminine waist and bring fertility. In autumn, men and women wear a coat called suman, and during winter they wear a thick coat called cojoc.
“Brâu” or “chimir de piele” – leather waist belt made for men. Men’s leather belts were usually wider.
Colorful waist belt called “brâu” with floral and plant motifs
Except for the white dress (poala) and the white pants (iţari) on men, the other clothing pieces almost always had intricate pattern (motifs) sewn on them.
Clothing was crucial to identify a person’s roots and show their place of origin. The clothing had various ancestral symbols (like the tree of life or sun worship) and motifs that showcased specific flowers, plants or other elements typical to a geographical region. For women, the dressing also showed their marital status (especially the headwear).
The art and craft of making traditional clothing and footwear is slowly fading with the elderly having less and less young people to pass it on. Instead, a kitsch trend is developing with fashion designers using the “traditional trend” for inspiration in poor imitations of folk clothingwhile the genuine craft is dying away.
Meters of homemade textiles were spread out to dry in front of each house.
Suman – autumn coat which varies in colors and design.
Men wearing traditional Suman (autumn coat)
Suman – autumn coat.
Romanians wearing cojoc (winter coat)
Men in cojoc
The traditional shepherd cloak made from sheepskin.
