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For Christians, Easter is a deeply religious holiday, celebrating the day Jesus arose from the dead after the Crucifixion.

Romanians start preparing for this special day long before The Easter. Firstly they start purifying their body and thoughts during the 48 days period before the Easter by restraining from meat, eggs or dairy (animal products) and by praying and going to Church more often.  This Lent period is called Postul Pastelui and is the longest lent period of the year. During this period, no weddings are being served by priests and partying is not allowed.

Free Romanian Language and Culture Class

Christian or Pagan Celebration?

Nonetheless, as in almost all countries, this Celebration is an extraordinary mixture between paganism and religious
symbols.

The Christian tradition says that when the Virgin Mary came to cry for her crucified son, she placed a basket of eggs under the Cross. The eggs turned red as a symbol of the blood that flowed from the wounds of Jesus, and since then we paint Easter eggs. So in the Orthodox Church, the priest gives only red eggs to the faithful.

But we also see the Easter Bunny delivering these eggs and we cannot stop from asking ourselves why would a Bunny deliver eggs?

Well, this tradition was taken from the Anglo-Saxon pagan tradition. There is a legend that the Goddess of spring, Eostre (Easter) found a wounded bird in winter, and the only way to save it was to turn it into a rabbit. Although it wasn’t a bird any more, the rabbit could still lay eggs, and to thank the Goddess for saving her life, the rabbit was decorating her eggs and was giving them to her savior.

The Easter Night

On the night before Easter, Romanians go to church dressed in new clothes as to celebrate Christ resurrection in His new body of light. At midnight, everyone lights a candle from the priest’s candle, which symbolizes both the return of Jesus from the dead and also the power of one powerful soul to light hundreds of other souls.

After attending the religious service which ends at about 4 o’clock in the morning, everyone goes home, carefully holding their candle and extinguishes it on the door frame.

The best place to feel the Celebation and witness it, is the Easter service in one of the churches and Monasteries you can find anywhere. Even Romanians who consider themselves quite cynical about the church, usually make the effort to go to Easter mass. While services nominally get underway shortly before midnight, if you want a decent view, or even to get inside, you will need to be at the church by around 23:00.  Otherwise you would be only able to admire a big crowd surrounding the church.

Free Romanian Language and Culture Class

The Easter Morning

On Easter morning the faithful wash their faces with water from a bowl , into which mothers put a red egg and a coin. It is said that if you wash your face with this water, you will be healthy and beautiful.

The first thing everybody eats is a red egg and this is done only after following a small ritual of breaking eggs. Two people hold two eggs, one of them saying “Hristos a Înviat” (Christ has risen), the other saying “Adevărat a Înviat” (He has Risen indeed)

The Painted Eggs

Bucovina is renowned for having the most beautiful Easter eggs “oua incondeiate” (painted eggs) which are made using a complicated procedure that requires much patience and skill. On the background color of the egg, women draw beautiful patterns with melted beeswax, turning a simple egg into an amazing piece of art.

The food

If you spend Easter in a traditional Romanian family (or at a guest house that respects the holiday tradition), you will see several specific dishes on the table for the occasion. Besides the Easter eggs Romanians eat ‘Pasca‘, the traditional Romanian Easter cake, which is a type of sponge cake filled with cheese, eggs and raisins. Sweet bread (cozonac), which is a slightly sweet yeast-raised egg bread, the lamb soup, lamb steak, haggis (drob) – which is a traditional national Easter dish that uses the organs of the lamb.

Drop us a line or comment to tell us how you spent this holiday in Romania and what impressed you most.

Romanian Language Essentials 

• “100 Days Romanian Survival Kit”
• Romanian in Six weeks.

Translate  the following sentences using the  Present Simple/Continuous ,  the Past Simple/Continuous and  the Present Perfect:

1. Alina lucrează la acest proiect de lunea trecută.
2. De zece ani călătoresc numai cu autobuzul.
3. Acum zece minute am întrebat ceva , dar nimeni nu mi-a răspuns încă.
4. Mă doare capul. Am venit acasă, am început să scriu tema la engleză şi n-am terminat-o  încă.
5. Prietena mea merge la cumpărături în fiecare dimineaţă.
6. Cum te mai simţi?
7. Colegii mei învaţă foarte bine.
8. Plouă des în Franţa?
9. Tocmai am terminat de scris raportul.
10. Nu l-am văzut de când s-a întors din călătoria de afaceri.
11. Am verificat-o deja şi nu am găsit nici o greşeală.
12. Verişoara mea face nişte prăjituri excelente.
13. De câte ori pe an te duci la teatru?
14. Tocmai am vorbit cu el şi mi-a spus că totul e în regulă.
15. De cât timp învăţaţi limba engleză?
16. De cât timp mă aşteptaţi?
17. Am vorbit deja cu ei şi m-au asigurat că livrarea se va face la timp.
18. De când tot cauţi dosarul acela?
19. Ieri am încercat toată ziua să vorbesc cu şeful meu. Azi încerc să îl întâlnesc de azi dimineaţă şi tot nu reuşesc.
20. Săptămâna trecută ne-am chinuit 3 zile să reparăm o mare greseala si în final am reuşit. Săptămâna aceasta ne străduim de 2 zile să reparăm o alta  şi încă nu am reuşit.
21. Tocmai am vorbit cu el şi mi-a spus că totul e în regulă.
22. Am verificat-o deja şi nu am găsit nici o greşeală.

Present Perfect (HAVE/HAS + V3) este utilizat în special pentru actiunile pentru care nu ne intereseaza neaparat momentul in care s-a realizat o actiune ci actiunea in sine.  Acesta poate fi un concept greu de procesat pentru un vorbitor nenativ, insa marcatorii de timp specifici, ne pot ajuta sa intelegem mai bine la ce ne referim

Time Markers: ever, never, always, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc. (expresii de timp nespecifice)

Exemple:

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
• I think I have met him once before.
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.

Cum poți utiliza Present Perfect?

Poți utiliza acest timp ca să-ți descrii experiența și realizările, schimbările și acțiunile neterminate sau recente.

• I’ve just closed a good deal. (actiune recenta)
• Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. (realizare)
• My niece has learned how to read. (realizare)
• He has never traveled by train. (experiență)
• I have been to France three times. (experiență)
• You have grown since the last time I saw you. (schimbare in timp)
• My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.  (schimbare in timp)
• Marie has not finished her homework yet. (actiune neincheiata)
• The rain hasn’t stopped.  (actiune neincheiata)

Cum se formează?

Ask your language trainer to give you further expalnation.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE (1ST FORM OF THE VERB) Is used to express:

1. Habitual actions (+often, usually, never, every day, in the morning, on Sundays) ex: My mother usually goes to the market place on Sunday mornings.
2. General truths or characteristics.  ex: The Earth moves round the Sun.
3. Momentary actions, completed almost at the same time they are performed (demonstrations, ceremonies, TV commentaries, announcements, headlines) ex: Bill gets out of bed,comes downstage a bit, and stands attentively.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE (TO BE + VB + ING) Is used to express:

1. An action happening at the moment of speaking (the action has duration and it is not completed) ex: I am not wearing a coat as it isn’t cold.
2. An action that extends over a (slightly) longer period of time, including the time of speaking. ex: I am reading a novel by John Fowels.
3. A temporary limited action (+an adverbial indicating present time). ex: I live in Brașov but I’m living in Bucharest this year.// Why are you being rude?

THE PRESENT PERFECT (HAVE/HAS + V3-past participle) IS USED TO DESCRIBE

• An action or situation that started in the past and continues in the present. I have lived in Bucharest since 1992 (= and I still do.)
• An action performed during a period that has not yet finished. She has been to the cinema twice this week (= and the week isn’t over yet.)
• A repeated action in an unspecified period between the past and now. We have visited Portugal several times.
• An action that was completed in the very recent past, expressed by ‘just’. I have just finished my work.
• An action when the time is not important. He has read ‘War and Peace’. (= the result of his reading is important)

Important note: When we want to give or ask details about when, where, who, we use the simple past.

Invata gramatica rapid si organizat. Exploreaza cursuri.

Present Simple & Continuous – 10 questions test

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Învățarea unei limbi noi poate ridica dificultăți specifice limbii, dar pentru un vorbitor român, unele limbi pot fi mai complicate decât altele. Pentru vorbitori nativi de limba română, nivelul de dificultate al unei limbi noi depinde de o varietate de factori și în special de clasa de care aparține limba studiată.

Pentru țara noastră, cele mai ușor de învățat limbi sunt, bineînțeles, cele romanice, iar engleza, cu toate că este o limbă germanică, se încadrează în top cele mai ușor de învățat limbi pentru un român. În același mod, limba română va fi relativ ușor de învățat pentru un vorbitor nativ de limbă engleză.

Mai jos puteți vedea un infografic care ilustrează cel mai ușor de învățat limbi pentru un nativ englez, inforgrafic care este valabil și pentru un vorbitor român.