Palms Day
A week before the Easter, the Flowers Day (Romanian: “Florii”) is celebrated. This was initially dedicated to the Roman goddess Flora, but then it was celebrated in the memory of the Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem.
This day is the celebration of the nature revival, when the willows, the fruit trees and the flowers bloom. The willow plays a very important role in the rituals.
The legend goes that, while Jesus was crucified, His mother left, crying, in the search of her son, wearing iron boots and a steel rod. On her journey she arrived at a river and asked a willow to help her cross it. As the willow made a bridge for her, Mary put a blessing on it, stating that its wood could not be transformed into coal and that its branches would be taken to church every year.
That is why, on this day people bring flowers and willow branches to the church, for being sanctified by the priest. With the willow branches, symbol of spring and fertility, cows and little children are touched, in order to grow and bloom as the willow. The holy branches are then placed near or above the door and are used throughout the year as a medicine or for protection against the natural disasters. It is also believed that the people who wear the willow branches as a belt will not suffer of loin aches; who eats three catkins will not suffer of throat aches. The willow is also used in commercial purposes - before taking the animals to the market for selling, they must be touched with the willow branches, to please the buyers. Another use of the catkins is for protection against the storms and hail. In the summer, when the weather is bad, catkins are placed on the fire, so that the resulting smoke would drive away lightning and thunders. Anybody who swallows a sanctified catkin will be healthy and light as the willow flowers.
People must not work on this day and the table must remain laid all the time. Even it is fast, fish may be eaten. It is also a day for commemorating the dead, when the burial places are cleaned and willow branches are put above. It is also said that on this day the dead are awaiting at the heaven gates.
As it is believed the nettles begin to bloom, they aren’t used as food anymore, this being called the “nettle’s wedding”. The nettles, eaten especially during the fast, are considered a very healthy food. In some regions, “nettle’s wedding” is on the Thursday before the Easter.
It is said that if the frogs can be heard until this day, the next summer will be beautiful. The weather on the Easter will be similar to the one from this day.
According to a legend originating in Bucovina, once upon a time there were two brothers, one possessing great wealth, while the other, named Lazarus, could barely make enough money for living. The latter, in spite of his financial misery, had also contacted a strange disease, consisting of odious blisters that covered his entire body. The other people began to avoid him; even his wife left him.
Meanwhile, the rich brother was thriving and he decided to marry, throwing a lavish party. Lazarus, however, was not invited. Desperate and starved, poor Lazarus went to his brother’s gate, imploring him for a place at his table. The rich man called him a beggar, denying the family relationship. Upon hearing this dreadful thing, Lazarus sat down and burst into tears. At this time the dogs noticed his misery and started to bring him food remains, fallen under the tables from the wedding party. The brother didn’t allow this to continue, commanding the servants to tie down the dogs.
After the party had ended, when the guests were leaving, the fiddlers noticed Lazarus and, despite they knew he couldn’t reward their effort, started singing, reminding him of the times when he had a better financial status. Hearing the songs, the rich man went outside and began making fun of the fiddlers, telling them that all they would receive will be, at best, some blisters. When the fiddlers finished singing, Lazarus indeed rewarded them this way, saying that this was the only thing in his possession. Embarrassed, the singers accepted his gift. On their way, they noticed the blisters had transformed into golden coins. Cheerful, the fiddlers mentioned to Lazarus’ wife about what had happened. Angry, she went to her former husband, criticizing him and announcing her wedding to another man. Hearing all these things, Lazarus advised her to pray before she would leave her house, facing the four directions, each one at a time. However, in her wedding day, the woman forgot about the advice and left with her new husband, in his carriage pulled by six horses. But she reminded somewhere along the road and started to pray. While she was praying, she saw the horse and the carriage disappearing and noticed that she had arrived in strange lands. She realized then that her new husband was the Devil. Even if she had only traveled for some minutes, she needed three years for returning to her village. Meanwhile, Lazarus was dying. He asked his rich brother to help him, but this replied that he had no fear of death or God. Thus Lazarus died and the angels took him to heaven.
When the rich man had to die, the devils burnt all his fortune, impaled him with a fork and threw him into the bottoms of the hell so hard that he bounced back, thus getting a glimpse of what was happening in heaven. There was Lazarus, enjoying the ultimate peace. The bad man begged him to ask God for his forgiveness, but Lazarus remembered all the evil deeds he had been subjected to on earth and refused even to throw some water on his brother, letting him burn in hell.
Another symbol of this Saturday is Lazarica. In Walachia there is a custom called Lazarel or Lazarica. In the morning of this day, several 6 to 12 years old girls gather and choose the youngest of them. The chosen one will wear white bride clothes and will decorate her hair with jasmine flowers. The girls go to the houses of the village and they form a circle in the front of one of the windows. The so-called bride, also named “Lazarita”, sits in the center of the circle and makes a few steps back and forward. Meanwhile, the other girls are singing about Lazarus.
The legend goes that he was a young man who had asked his mother to bake him bread. As she refused, Lazarus left for the forest with his flock. He climbed a tree in order to shake its leaves down for the sheep, but the branch he was sitting on broke and he fell to his death. His three sisters, seeing that he doesn’t come home, went searching for him. Finding him dead, they mourn him, bathed him in milk and buried him. Other version of the legend tells that Lazarus himself made the branch break. The girls who execute the ritual of “Lazarita”, also known as “bride”, are given eggs or money by the ones to whom they sang.
According to another story, Lazarus was a little boy who was craving for pies. As his mother did not have enough time for baking him pies, the boy died, on a Saturday. His mother mourned him and asked God not to forgive the women who don’t bake pie in Lazarus’ Saturday.
That is the reason for which the women bake pies on this day, doling them to the poor ones, especially to the families with little children. The pies are also baked in the memory of Lazarus the poor, who prays to God for the forgiveness of the human sins.
In Maramures region a small wheat bread is baked. Also called “grain flower”, it is divided between the family members, as it is believed that the ones who taste it will meet again on the other realm.
In Transylvania and Banat, in the evening of this day, girls place a mirror and the shirt they will wear the next day under a pear tree, so that the sun will rise above them. These objects are then used for love and health spells.
This is also the time when the girls plant flowers, thinking they will grow quickly. For the same reason, in some regions fruit trees are not planted, as it is believed they will only make flowers, not fruits.