Egg, lambs and candles

... somewhere in the Romanian countryside, where lamb chops don't grow in the supermarket and on Easter Night people go to mass and light a candle for their departed loved ones.

Yes, I am the kind of weirdo who brings a tripod to the graveyard. And yes, lambs are cute and fluffy, but I bet you don't really think about that when you're eating them with asparagus or eggplant lasagna.





In spring, the villagers send their sheep in the mountains, where shepherds take care of them all through the summer; sometimes, they keep the lambs at home
On Easter, one of the lambs needs to be sacrificed; this is a very old tradition that symbolizes - in eastern orthodox belief - the sacrifice of Jesus for humanity





In the city, people are buying lamb and mutton from the supermarket; in the villages, where people raise sheep, they perform the sacrifice themselves 

Easter Day is a time of rest 



Animals around the house 

Animals around the house 

Animals around the house

This is the so-called "summer kitchen", a place where, among others, meat is smoked on a log fire; people prepare and eat food here both in summer, when it's cooler than in the regular kitchen, and in winter, when a wood burner turns the place into an oasis on warmth
Lamb pastrami and painted eggs in the summer kitchen


The wood burner in the summer kitchen

On Easter Night, at midnight, people gather outside, in the church courtyard, to receive "the light of Jesus' revival from the dead" - the priest lights a candle from which (and from one another) people will light theirs
.
On Easter Night, people light a candle for their departed loved ones 



The dog barking at the strangers that pass along the road





Easter meal needs to have: painted eggs, lamb and wine

After the Easter holiday has passed, it's the beginning of another week of work: feeding the animals, taking care of the house and of the family's land; my grandmother has been doing it on her own for years