Easter is a public holiday in Romania, during which most people have time off, and schools and businesses— including on Good Friday — are typically closed.
In addition to the well-known church services on Easter and the Resurrection Night, when people attend midnight mass to “receive the Holy Light” symbolizing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Easter is also a time for family gatherings and festive meals. Traditional dishes found on nearly every Romanian Easter table include painted eggs, lamb tripe (drob), sweet cheese pastry (pasca), and cozonac (a sweet, nut-filled cake).
At midnight on Resurrection Night, the priest lights the first candle, passing the flame to the congregation until every candle is lit. This act of “receiving the light” is a symbolic gesture of taking God’s light into one’s home and heart. The Easter candles used during the mass are often kept afterward as a symbol of protection and blessing.
Among the oldest customs is the thorough cleaning of the home and the painting of eggs before Easter, usually done on Holy Thursday (Great Thursday).
In traditional Romanian villages, men would take time off work starting this day to clean up around the house—removing trash, repairing fences, chopping wood, bringing water, and preparing the lambs. Meanwhile, women were responsible for decorating eggs, doing laundry, and cleaning the household.
In northern Romania, particularly Bukovina, egg decorating is a highly respected tradition. Intricate designs using geometric and floral motifs are created with wax and natural or synthetic dyes. Though this elaborate form of egg painting is fading, a few artisans continue to preserve this beautiful art. Egg painting typically starts on Holy Thursday. While red was once the only accepted color—symbolizing the blood of Christ—other colors like yellow, green, blue, and black are also now used. In some villages, dyes are still made from natural plant-based ingredients.
After the midnight mass, families gather for the first Easter meal. On Easter morning, another old custom takes place: the family washes their faces using a bowl of water containing red eggs and coins made of silver or gold. The last person to wash gets to keep the money, and it is believed this ritual brings health and prosperity.
In Transylvania, a unique tradition is observed on the second day of Easter: boys go from house to house and sprinkle girls and women with water or perfume. This custom is said to help women stay beautiful throughout the year. The boys continue their visits late into the night to ensure that no girl is left “unsplashed.”
Catholic Easter Traditions in Romania
In Romania, Catholic Christians observe Easter with several meaningful customs. During Easter services, believers receive communion with the host (unleavened bread), and take part in processions—walking around the church with the priests as a symbol of devotion and reverence.
On Holy Saturday, before the Easter Resurrection mass, people bring baskets filled with red painted eggs, cozonac (sweet bread), lamb meat, and wine to be blessed.
On Easter Sunday morning, before breakfast, all family members wash their faces using water from a bowl that contains a red egg and a coin. This ritual symbolizes health and prosperity for the year to come.
One of the most well-known Catholic Easter customs in Romania is “sprinkling”—a tradition that originated in Germany. Initially, the ritual involved sprinkling girls with water, a symbol of purification. Over time, water was replaced with perfume. The custom, which dates back to pre-Christian times, symbolizes life, fertility, and renewal, and was practiced by various Germanic tribes.
In Transylvania, this tradition was upheld even among noble families until the late 19th century, after which it remained mainly in rural areas. On Easter Monday, boys visit girls at their homes, ask permission from their parents to sprinkle them, and recite a short poem like:
“I walked through a green forest,
I saw a blue violet about to fade.
May I sprinkle it?”
In return, boys are rewarded with red eggs, cakes, and wine.
In the region of Mureș, the tradition continues into the third day of Easter, when the roles are reversed and boys are sprinkled by girls—unless the weather is too cold!
This custom was brought to Transylvania during the Middle Ages by Saxon settlers from the Sibiu region.
Similar to Orthodox practices, Catholics also exchange and tap painted eggs to see whose shell is the strongest. While red is the traditional color, yellow, green, and blue eggs are also common.
Another unique tradition in some areas of Transylvania involves boys decorating fir trees with colorful ribbons on Holy Saturday. At night, they secretly hang these ribboned branches on the doors of unmarried girls’ homes. The most admired girls in the village may receive dozens of branches. Since many girls stay up all night to see who left the decorations, they know whom to reward on Easter Day or the following day.