Slujba de Inviere

Last Saturday as I walked to the midnight Easter mass, it felt like it was Halloween. It was nearly midnight, yet the sidewalks were full of people. As I walked past my neighbor's gates, they quietly opened and out popped old ladies linking arms. People headed in every direction to the church of their choice.


Outside of each Orthodox church, the crowds gathered, waiting for midnight, when the priest starts the mass and lights candles. The light is shared, person to person. I was expected the light to spread from the center to the sides in a fluid motion, but instead most parties designated one person to go get the light and bring it back to their group.
After the candles were lit, we listened to the prayers over the loudspeaker. Apparently the mass goes on for several hours, but we only stayed for about 30 minutes. On the way back, we popped into another church, whose crowds had already headed home, and joined the bunice and bunici for the mass.