…usually we have Romanian lessons. We live
close to the office, so we are always late. There are too many strange
and new things and people around us, on our way to the office, that
it seems to be impossible to be on time. For example a lot of people
with baskets, wal king out of the church, every single Saturday of
Lent. Almost all of them in black clothes. We tried to guess who they
were, what they had in the baskets, or for what were they carrying it?
We have been making supposition since the beginning of March. Without
success 🙁

Last Saturday we finally decided to discover the true. With Anne we
were like Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson, fallowing two of  “basket
women”. Suddenly they stopped and started to talk to us. Despite of 6
hours Romanian classes per a week our Romanian isn’t good. I can –
shame to convince – speak only few words 🙁 And women didn’t speak any
languages except Romanian. Luckily, body language rules! One of them,
with blue hat on her white, curly hair, explained us that they
celebrate “birthday of death people”. As she was speaking, she closed
her eyes and folded hands like in prayer to perform death body. After
that she gave us plastic glass with some kind of rise pudding and
small packet with apples, ginger cake and sweet bread.

We were surprised. We had already known, that the Day of All Saints is
in Romania on the November 1st – But maybe in Romania they have more than one day to celebrate their …  – I thought.

Mystery was puzzled out in the office…

During the Great Lent, on each Saturday, we celebrate our decedents –
said Carmen – For do that, we prepare special, religious cake (some
kind of rise pudding made from boiled milk, sugar, nuts, rise, vanilla
and…rum). It’s name COLIVA and it’s quite hard to make. Only boiling
milk takes 4-5 hours!!! And this is just beginning! When coliva is
ready, on Saturday morning, we put it with a special bread – sweet and
looking like braid, candels, vine and small packets of food to the
basket and go to the church to bless it. In the way back home we
should give it to strangers and poor people. Or we should make a party
for all of our relatives and friends and distribut it out between
them. We believe that our decedents are still with us, in that way,
for that short moment of shearing things which they used to like
during their life. The base of the basket is always the same –
candles, sweet bread and coliva. But foods packet is different. To
make it, we choose food or things which particular person liked to eat
or do. For example I wish cigarette in my packet, because I love to
smoke – ended lesson of Romanian customs Carmen.