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.
Memoirs - important resource of reconstructing the ordeal of deportations
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
The special literature from Republic of Moldova has approached constantly in the last two decades the thematic of political repressions from the period of the totalitarian communist regime by valorizing numerous documentary evidences discovered in secret collections of the former regime and in personal archives of survivors of the Soviet Gulag.
An important resource in reconstructing the totalitarian past are memoirs of former deported persons and political prisoners.
Unfortunately, the biggest part of memorial materials signed by survivors of concentrated camps and direct witnessers of events are dispersed through news-papers and journals. Very few of them have been gathered in volumes and collections of memories. Few are also those who did not try to forget the ordeal they went through and had the courage to relive it one more time when putting it on paper. These facts leads to the need of encouraging witnessers to write their memories for researcher to collect them into a unique database, to valorize and offer the society a specialized analysis of these valuable historic evidences.
The author is proposing a series of memorial materials for analysis from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Here are names of several authors of terrible pages about the ordeal of Stalinist deportations from Bessarabia: Alexandru Pripa, native of v. Pelenia, jud. Bălți, Dumitru Berezovski, native from Drochia, Vladimir Bușilo from Comrat, Apolinarie Vataman from v. Ghica Vodă, Drochia and Emilia Vataman-Racoveț from v. Cuconești, Brătușeni, deported in 1941; Nadejda Pascal from Durlești, Fiodor Cociu, native from Hâncești and Simion Buiuc from Chiperceni, Orhei, deported in 1949.
The memoirs offer important information about the way in which the deportation operations were conducted, amazing details about the working and living conditions in Siberian colonies, the regime and daily life in Gulag, the behavior of humans in extreme conditions, inter-human relations, the spirit and attitude of former deported towards the soviet regime etc.
On base of these valuable details can be reconstructed the gloomy picture of the Bessarabian who new the deportations drama, the picture of an entire generation who had to confront face to face the soviet machine of repressions.
An epoch can be rediscovered from these details.
Elena Postică
Bessarabian prominent figures in the Romanian governments during the inter-war period
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
Considerations regarding the opportunity of Căpriana Monastery’s historic heritage museum valorization
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
The famine of 1946-1947 from Moldova in official documents and testimonies of survivors
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
Ion Ungureanu, a destiny enlightened by the Morning Star
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
The exhibition „Soviet Moldova: Between Myths and the Gulag"
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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 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.
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.
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.
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31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
