sounds of Easter

one of the things i really savor about living in Romania is the seasons. not just the four seasons (although they can be rather glorious!) .. but the other signs that a certain time of year has come. say, for instance, the week and a half when strawberries are in season, cheap, amazingly juicy and sweet, and everybody eats them while they can! or, perhaps, knowing that it is near Christmas because it smells like oranges and a sweet-bread that is made traditionally here.

Easter is clearly coming. the most obvious reason being that everyone is cleaning their rugs. and this process looks a little bit different than in the States. rugs are rolled up and carried to the nearest bar, which are probably within a 5 minute walk of just about anybody. there is an instrument, much like a racket, which is used to beat the rug over and over until there isn't much dust left in it. this makes a loud sound, which one might mistake for some sort of violence, if one didn't know better .. everyone is cleaning house before Easter and visitors, so i hear this sound often. but i take it as a reminder of what this week represents, of what happened on Friday .. and what happened on Sunday. and it's all true!