Vin Floriile cu soare
Și soarele cu Florii! (Vasile Alecsandri)
Palm Sunday is a Christian feast celebrated on the last Sunday before Easter which is called in Romanian Duminica Floriilor or simply Florii. This is the day that commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The holiday has roots before Christianity, when pagans used to celebrate Floralia, dedicated to goddess Flora, the goddess of flowers. The Roman festival of Floralia is dated in 238 B.C and it used to take place around May 1st. During the five days of the festival, the participants wore flowers in their hair, conducted various rituals of fertility, played games and set the animals free. It was a celebration of spring and many of its traditions were adopted and kept by the Christianity.
Nowadays people go to church with willow branches to get them blessed, and they return with these branches home where they place them around their waist in the belief that illness will stay away. On Palm Sunday people who fast for Easter are allowed to eat fish, not only vegetables.
All women and men who wear flower names like Florin, Viorica, Violeta, Liliana, Dalia, Lăcrămioara and so on are celebrated on Palm Sunday. Another belief said that what the weather will be like on Palm Sunday, so it will be on Easter.
image source: shutterstock
Bibliography:
http://surprising-romania.blogspot.ro/2010/03/floriile-palm-sunday.html
http://www.rounite.com/2008/04/22/florii-palm-sunday/