On Maundy Thursday, the housewives make Pasca – a symbolic element of the Easter holidays

Pasca is more than a traditional product, it is a true cosmogonic symbol of the world. Each element of this special bread, which defines the Easter meal, has a profound symbolic explanation, unlike cake, which is rather a dessert. Pasca is more than a traditional product, it is a true cosmogonic symbol of the world. Each element of this special bread, which defines the Easter meal, has a profound symbolic explanation, unlike cozonac, which is rather a dessert, said for IPN Raisa Osadci, ethnologist, scientific researcher, Institute of Cultural Heritage.

Traditional cheese Pasca has its roots deep in the past. „We also have information in the Old Testament about the ancient Passover, the Passover to the Jews, which contained only water, flour, and salt. We find the same information about our ancestor, whose dough contained only water, flour and salt”, mentioned Raisa Osadci.

Passed down from generation to generation, Pasca is still one of the most important elements of the Easter holidays. Pasca in the North and Center of Moldova, both on the left and right of the Prut, has a classic shape. „It contains a circular cake, on the edges of which is placed a coil, usually of two vines. In the middle is placed across, which joins the edges of this circle, and the spaces formed are completed with cow's cheese, egg and salt”, says the scientific researcher.

Pasca is traditionally baked on Maundy Thursday, the day "the heavens open” and is full of symbolic content in the Easter Cycle. „Every circle is a symbol of divinity because we believe that from divinity the worlds were made. Thus, Pasca is also a cosmogonic symbol of the world and that vine put around like a wreath signifies the adherence to divinity. The sign of the cross in the middle is a sign taken from Christianity and signifies the place of intersection where the divinity is. And the branches of this cross indicate the rotation of the world, being the simplest formula of the rosette”, mentioned Raisa Osadci.

According to the ethnologist, in the middle of the rosette would be the divinity, which moves the worlds and can move the worlds from one state to another. „Exactly at Easter, it is considered that on Maundy Thursday the heavens open and close only at Pentecost. That is, it would be a space of time when the rigidity between states is overcome. And then, the dead are invited to come to this world and Easter is made a feast for them”, said Raisa Osadci.

And cheese is an indispensable element. „Cheese is a dairy product, and milk is one of the most important foods, along with honey and wheat. In our mythology, this is the product that ensures the resurrection.” Even salt has a symbolic explanation. „It is a product that contains crystals, high energies and has a purifying effect. And the egg, which has multiple mythological valences, is a symbol of the worlds, which have in the centre the yolk – divinity and other coverings, which show the structure of the world”, Raisa Osadci also said.

But there are also areas where Pasca has taken other forms. In some localities in the north of Moldova, but also in Bucovina, a square Pasca is made, with saltier cheese, but with the same symbolic load, „4” is the number of fulfilment. And in the southern part of Bessarabia, on Easter night, people go to church and take holy bread. "The tradition comes from the Soviet period when the churches were closed, a few men went to a locality where there was a church and brought holy bread for the whole locality,” says Raisa Osadci.

And the cake, sweet baking with nuts or raisins, has made its place on the Pasca table in time, but according to the ethnologist, it has less symbolic value. „At Easter, the cake was made in a small bowl or cup, but it was not a specific shape, but only a convenient one to be given as alms, especially to children.”

However, there are countries where the cake has become a traditional Easter bakery, such as Romania and Bulgaria. A similar cake is Colomba Pasquale, a cake specific to the Easter holiday in Italy. In Greece, there is a round bread with mayo, called Artos, which is baked on the first day of Easter. And Ethiopians eat Easter bread, sweetened with honey, throughout the Easter holidays. Or, according to the researcher, similar traditions can be found from one corner of the world to another, because we all once had the same origins.

The article was written by the IPN News Agency and published on 29.04.2021.