Easter Sunday in Romania

Meaning and place in Romanian life

For Orthodox Christians, Easter is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. In Romania, the Romanian Orthodox Church marks the feast with services that begin on Easter night and continue on Sunday. At a service documented in the city of Roman, worshippers took part in a procession around the cathedral, sang the Easter canon and attended the Divine Liturgy.[2]

A legal day off

Romania’s Labour Code lists Good Friday and the first and second days of Easter among legal holidays on which work does not take place. The employer grants the days off. This holiday protection applies to employees; the law provides that employees of other legally recognized religious groups receive days for their own religious holidays on different dates.[1]

Some services cannot stop because of the nature of the work, and the law also provides for healthcare and food supply arrangements. Employees who work in the specified services or workplaces are entitled to corresponding paid time off within 30 days; if that is not granted for justified reasons, they receive a pay supplement of at least 100% for the work performed.[1]

Night services, eggs and Easter food

A central observance for many churchgoers is the Easter night service. Worshippers bring candles and receive a flame from the priest, then carry the light home. The red eggs brought to church may be blessed at the end of the service. During the Easter period, people tap eggs together and exchange the greeting “Christ is risen!” with the reply “Truly He is risen!”[2]

Red eggs are a familiar part of Romanian Easter meals and church observance. The Romanian Orthodox Church’s news service explains that the egg’s emergence from its shell is used as an image of resurrection. It also describes pască as a special Easter bread, traditionally round or rectangular, with a cross in the middle and braided dough around the edge. The same account describes lamb dishes as part of the Romanian Easter table.[2]

Practices vary between households and local communities. A church report from Roman records a procession, the Divine Liturgy, blessed cozonac and red eggs, and the bishop greeting worshippers by tapping eggs with them.[2]

What visitors should expect

The Labour Code establishes the employee holiday but does not set opening hours for individual shops, banks or transport services. It also allows essential health and food services to have work arrangements. For practical plans, check directly with the specific business or transport operator, since the legal holiday alone does not establish which services will operate.[1]