The largest decorated Easter egg in the World

The largest painted Easter egg in the world

A traditional decorated Easter egg placed in the city of Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, Romania, was declared by the World Records Academy to be the largest decorated Easter egg in the world. The egg, realized in glass fiber, is 7.55 m high, has a diameter of 4.6 m and a weight of 1800 kg. It is decorated using traditional Romanian motifs, approved by the archbishop of Suceava and Rădăuţ, and traditional colors: red (symbolizing the blood of Jesus), black (the eternity) and yellow (the light).

The greatest Easter chocolate egg was realized in St. Niklaas, Belgium (8.3 m) and the greatest Easter egg was realized in Lisbon, Portugal (14,91 m).

Image from here

The representative of World Records Academy, who homologated the record, declared: "It is a great honor for me to represent the World Records Academy in Suceava, in the fortress of Stefan the Great and Saint. There is probably no other place where the (Orthodox) Easter traditions are so well kept and so vibrant, as here, in the heart of Bukovina. This was proved today as well by the creation of this symbol of the Bucovinian traditions – the 7.25 meter high painted Easter egg. On behalf of the World Records Academy, I congratulate you for having established this new world record: the Largest Painted Easter Egg".

Panorama by Michael Pop.

Floriile (The Palm Sunday)

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Canonical Gospels Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19: the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion. It is also called Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion.

Floriile or Duminica Floriilor (the Palm Sunday) open to all Romanian the Easter cycle, which ends once the Ascension of Jesus (40 days after Easter). Evoking the entering of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, welcomed with a lot of flowers and cheers, Palm Sunday is both a celebration in which the pre-Christian and Christian elements combine happily, resulting in extremely beautiful customs and traditions. It is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year, and is the beginning of Holy Week.

The day before is known as Lazarus Saturday, and commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. On this day, is known the Lăzărelul tradition, a practice that recalls the ancient god of vegetation that died and reborn at the beginning of each spring.

The name of the feast in Romanian (Florii) comes from the Roman goddess Flora. The green branches used this day, employed both in domestic and church rituals, embodies the symbol of chastity and the annual rebirth of vegetation, a fitomorphe substitute of the goddess. The day before people gather willow branches, tie them in bundles and go to church to be sanctified by a priest. After sanctification, the branches called 'mâţişori' (approx. 'kitties') are taken home by the faithful to adorn with the icons, windows, doors, entrances to sheds or to put in wells and the eaves of houses. The women stick them on newly seeded layers, put them into animal feed or on the graves. The beekeepers go around the beehives with those willow branches, and the villagers do the same with their cattle - rituals of fertility.

Another belief said that how weather is like on Palm Sunday, so will be on Easter Day. On this day celebrate the name-day those who bear a flower name (around 1.5 million Romanians).