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We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life. The spirit of the Resurrection is beautifully complemented by ten Easter-themed postcards from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova, printed a century ago. These pieces were added to the museum's postcard collection over a decade ago following a successful acquisition; as the fund for Easter-themed illustrations is modest, we are in a constant search for new additions.

These postcards are "extraordinary" in terms of their postal, typographical, and chromatic effects-the primary reason for revisiting this genre of greetings. Unlike "classic" postcards, these are smaller in size (6.5 cm x 11 cm), made of cardboard (with the exception of one piece made of photographic paper in black and white), and feature "vivid" colors. Printed in Romania and Germany, they bear the marks of having been sent and circulated through the post.

The name of the holiday originates from the verb persach, meaning "to pass," a term adopted by the Jews from the Egyptians. It entered the Romanian language through the Byzantine-Latin form Paschae, signifying the "passage through death to life, the victory of life, and liberation from the bondage of sin." Easter is a holiday of tolerance and forgiveness, representing a bridge between the present and the past. The significance of this celebration is conveyed through its symbols, which are also featured on these postcards: Hand-painted eggs, the Easter Bunny and the Lamb, traditional sweet breads (cozonac and pască), biblical scenes related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Easter table also features pască-a ritual food reminiscent of ancient, bloodless "reconciliation" sacrifices. Its preparation is the exclusive task of women, the givers of life, as the leavened dough is considered "alive."

The most significant component of the Easter holiday, however, is the Light. The Ceremony of the Holy Light is associated with the miracle of the light appearing on Easter Sunday at Christ's Tomb in Jerusalem. The candle, often depicted in these images, carries a powerful message; it is with the Resurrection candle that we return home after the midnight religious service. Furthermore, the Easter Bunny represents the rebirth of nature, so eagerly awaited after a harsh winter.

Unlike Christmas, when the announcement and ritual integration of the community into sacred time was the duty of caroling groups, at Easter, "one does not go from house to house." Instead, the ritual meal is organized within each family, symbolizing a direct communion with God.


Virtual Tour


Exhibitions

”Realms of Memory in the Post-Totalitarian Society”

June 24 – August 24, 2025

The National Museum of History of Moldova organizes on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the opening of the exhibition "Realms of Memory in the Post-Totalitarian Society", dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the annexation of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Herța Land by the USSR (June 28, 1940) as a result of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and is a homage to all the victims of the totalitarian-communist regime in Central and Eastern Europe during the years 1918-1989.

The exhibition reveals aspects of the commemorative culture in the post-totalitarian society in the former socialist camp (Poland, Romania) and the ex-Soviet space (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia), with the aim of contributing to the building of a European culture of memory and to consolidate the sense of European belonging in the Republic of Moldova. The images presented in the exhibition reflect realms of memory (lieux de mémoire, Pierre Nora) that today constitute the European memorial heritage - monuments erected in train stations from where persons were forcibly taken to prisons and special settlements in the USSR, commemorative steles on the buildings of communist prisons, crosses raised near the places of mass executions, memorials in memory of anti-communist resistance fighters, mass graves of famine victims.   

The exhibition offers the opportunity to learn about history and memory, the circumstances surrounding the creation of commemorative signs, but also their evolution in the culture of memory in post-totalitarian society. However, monuments, as well as other forms of commemoration of the past (street names, anniversary dates, commemorative days, minute of silence etc.) are part of our common European heritage. At the same time, the topography of memory articulated through these testimonies of remembrance of the past helps us understand the extent of the totalitarian phenomenon and the atrocities committed by the communist regime in Central and Eastern Europe.   

Most of the pieces presented in the exhibition come from the digital collection created within the Museum of Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions of the NMHM, as result of research within the State Program "Recovery and Historical Valorization of the Memory of the Victims of the Totalitarian-Communist Regime in the Moldavian SSR during the Years 1940-1941, 1944-1953". Some of the images exhibited are the result of cooperation with colleagues from the Resistance Memorial in Sighet (Romania), the Sybir Memorial Museum in Bialystok (Poland), the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius (Lithuania), but also of partnerships developed with institutions, specialists and memory communities in the Republic of Moldova.   

The exhibition "Realms of Memory in the Post-Totalitarian Society" will be open to the public from June 24 to August 24, 2025, in the upstairs lobby of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Chisinau, 31 August 1989 Street, 121A).


 




Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

menu
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC