The Easter fast has started. During the Easter fast, in addition to the usual consumption of food of plant origin, grains, vegetables, and fruits, there are also certain characteristic products that are prepared only on certain days during the fast.
During the seven-week period of the Easter fast, there are several holidays. In the first week of the great fast, from Monday to Wednesday, there are the so-called Trimeri days when no food or liquid is consumed. Certain food products are prepared for the day after the Trimeri, which is the third day of the start of the great fast.
In the middle, at the home of the person who observed the Trimeri and where there was a young bride, guests arrived. The hostess had prepared cooked wheat with hemp seeds, oshav – compote of black plums, and other dried fruits (apples, raisins, wild plums), a sweet cake made of wheat flour mixed with ash, decorated with candies. Also, a spinach pie was made with sesame seeds sprinkled on top, and chopped walnuts were placed at the bottom of the baking dish. Bosa was also a mandatory drink for this occasion. Guests who came to visit also brought bosa, a sweet cake, and wheat. Seasonal fruits, especially oranges, were also bought on this occasion.
The first Saturday after the roast is the holiday of Todorova Saturday – Todorica, and the Saturday before Easter is Lazar’s Saturday, and on Sunday, there are Palm Sundays. The holiday of Annunciation is always on April 7.
For the holidays of Annunciation and Palm Sunday, the consumption of fasting meats such as fish and mollusks was allowed. Fish baked or fried in oil or prepared with rice, or with fried onions and dry black plums, was almost a mandatory dish in these days. Mollusks were roasted or boiled as a cooked dish with vegetables.
However, the Easter fast does not only mean abstaining from food. Spiritual fasting is also important. In the days of fasting, believers should refrain from bad thoughts and deeds and try to find spiritual peace, without which the fast is meaningless.
