Let me start by saying that more than 86% of Romanians are Orthodox, so the Romanian Easter is an Orthodox holiday. So what I am about to share it is very likely to be Orthodox Easter traditions.
Easter (or the Resurrection) celebrates Jesus’ ascension to Heaven. Easter is always celebrated as a Sunday holiday and Monday after is consider as 2nd day of Easter and it’s a free day.
Speaking about traditions in Romania, the most commonly known and widespread is painting eggs. How the eggs are painted? Red is the traditional color (it symbolizes Jesus’ blood), but in the modern days Easter eggs go in many other colors. Basically, you would boil the eggs and then place them in special egg paint that you can buy in most supermarkets and hypermarket.
What is specific to Romania is the tradition of paining the “eggs” with multiple colors and specific motifs that will vary from one region to other in Romania. These are actually empty egg shells which are painted manually with a lot of work and effort. One thing is clear- not everybody can do this! If you are visiting Romania you can find these painted eggs at the monasteries in Northern Romania, but also in the traditional fairs. Pay attention cause the hard work is coming also with a high price, but you are going back home with a special piece of art that can also be an original souvenir from your trip to Romania.
Speaking about traditional food for Easter, besides the painted eggs, Romanians are scarifying lambs for Easter, so the main dishes are prepared out of lamb meat: meatloaf, soup, roast lamb stack, etc (I’m not a fan of lamb meat so you might see some recipes with other type of meat but with some influences from the traditional Easter dishes). In terms of sweets we have the Romanian cake (sweet bread) called “cozonac” that is baked for this holiday (and for other holidays as well) and we have also a baked Easter cheesecake, called “Pasca”. A loaf of “cozonac” and a few red eggs are usually the alms gift, a traditional give away which is believed to feed the souls of those who have died.
The Resurrection itself is celebrated on the night before the Easter Day. Romanian people go to their local church to light a candle and bring it into their home. That flame symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of good over evil.
What it is the most important thing about the Easter holiday is that is celebrating life, it is always celebrated in Spring when all the nature is coming back to life, so it is a good moment to reflect on your life and appreciate everything you’ve got and all the exciting adventures you’ll get to live in the future.