Hristos a inviat

Walking around town lately since Easter everyone has been greeting me with a "Hristos a inviat (Christ has returned)" and then in return I must respond, "Adeverat a inviat (It is true, he has returned)" in rememberence of Christ's resurrection. When there are hard-boiled eggs involved people will also hit the top of other person's egg with their own egg and say "Hristos a inviat!" Then the other person says "Adeverat a inviat!" I like this! It's kind of fun, and as a Christian it is what I believe!

After 6 weeks, I'm told then I say "Hristos sa inaltat" signifying that Christ has risen.
It makes me think of church and repeating after the pastor..."Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!" Where would I be had he not done this for me?? For you??

From my American perspective, this is very interesting because many people separate their daily lives from their spiritual lives in the States. It reminds me that they really are one and the same and should be treated as such. At home, I try to be open-minded and sensitive to others spiritual beliefs because our population is so diverse, but because such a large population of Romania is Orthodox it's commonplace to greet each other with religious sayings. Sometimes I feel like some cultural, spiritual, etc. traditions are lost because of over-sensitivity...does that make sense?? Perhaps the real sensitivity is just being yourself and trusting others to accept that and vice versa.