Mucenici on the 9th of March: Tradition, Faith and the Taste of Spring

Mucenici is a Christian feast of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, a traditional holiday in Romania and Moldova. On Martyrs' Day, in popular belief, the tombs and gates of Heaven are opened, and housewives make, in honor of the saints, 40 rolls called saints, martyrs or bearded ones. Traditionally, while women make 40 celebratory toasts, men drink 40 glasses of wine. The custom of ritual drunkenness is easier to understand in the sense that, in the past, ordinary Romanians celebrated the New Year; the wine drunk on that day was transformed into work power throughout the year. In Moldova, the martyrs, called sfințișori, have the shape of the number 8, a stylization of the human form (in memory of the martyrs), and are baked from cozonac dough (flour, eggs, milk, sugar and yeast), then smeared with honey and walnuts or, more recently, with coconut. Their shape 8 is a symbol of infinity and union with the Cosmos, in line with the myth of the opening of the Gates of Heaven. In Dobrogea, the same anthropomorphic shape is preserved, but the martyrs are smaller and are boiled in water with sugar, cinnamon and walnuts, symbolizing the lake into which the Holy Martyrs were thrown.

The legend According to church writings, the martyrs were Christian soldiers of various origins: Greeks, Romans and Armenians who lived during the time of Emperor Licinius (308 - 324) and were part of the XII Fulminata Legion in Armenia. At that time, those who manifested their faith in God were oppressed. Thus, after the governor of Armenia, learned of the faith of the 40 Martyrs, he imprisoned and tortured them for eight days. Because he could not convince them to renounce their faith, he ordered all 40 young soldiers to enter naked into Lake Sevastia, which, at that time of year, was almost frozen. One of them could not resist and came out of the water, but entering the warm bath with which those in the lake were lured, died. The number of martyrs was completed by one of the jailers who, seeing the strength of the martyrs, also declared himself a Christian and entered the lake, along with the others. That night, a great miracle occurred: the water of the lake warmed up, the ice melted, and 40 shining wreaths descended on the martyrs. Because they were pulled out of the lake alive, the next day Agricola ordered their legs to be crushed with hammers and thus they all died. So that nothing would remain, their bodies were burned, and the bones were thrown into a nearby river. The 40 Holy Martyrs were: Chirion, Candide, Domnos, Hesychius, Heraclius, Smaragd, Eunychius, Valens, Vivian, Claudius, Priscus, Theodoulus, Eutychius, Ion, Xanthius, Ilian, Sisinius, Agius, Aetius, Flavius, Acachius, Ecditus, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elijah, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Domitian, Gaius, Leontes, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacherdon, Nicholas, Valerie, Philoctimon, Severian, Hudion, Meliton and Aglaia.

Recipes: Moldavian mucenici recipe: Ingredients for the dough: 600 g flour; 1 egg; 25 g yeast; a little grated lemon zest; 30 g butter; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 300 ml milk Ingredients for the syrup: 1 cup sugar; 1 cup honey; 2 cups water; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence And for the topping you need 250 chopped nuts Preparation: Put the flour in a bowl, and in the center of it add the yeast dissolved in milk or lukewarm water, then add the oil, sugar and grated orange peel. Knead until the dough takes on consistency, then add a pinch of salt and knead until you get an elastic dough. Cover the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume. After you have prepared the dough, you must divide it into equal pieces, about the size of a fist. After that, take each piece of dough and stretch it into a thin, long string. Then fold it in half and then twist the two pieces formed and overlap them so that you form the figure eight. After braiding, leave the shape to rise for an hour. After it has risen, take the shape and put it in the oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius with ventilation for 30 minutes. While they are baking, prepare the syrup. Boil the water with the sugar and the flavors for 5 minutes. After that, let it cool a little and then add the honey and vanilla essence. When the martyrs are baked, remove them from the oven, let them cool a little, then soak them well in the syrup, but just enough so that the crust is moist and the inside is fluffy. Then brush them with honey and sprinkle with walnuts.

Recipe for Wallachian mucenici: Ingredients: 300 g flour; 150-160 ml very hot water; 1 pinch of salt; 4-5 l water; 2 large oranges (peel only); 1 large lemon (peel only); sugar (about 10-12 tablespoons); 5-6 tablespoons of ground walnuts; cinnamon; rum essence Preparation: Pour the flour in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and in the center add the hot water. Knead until the dough becomes elastic and cools completely. If more flour is needed, add a maximum of 1-2 tablespoons. Divide the dough into small portions, and from each portion form long, thin strings (a little thinner than a shoelace). Form small circles that you then twist to obtain the classic figure eight “8”. Place the mucenici on a piece of baking paper, one next to the other, being careful not to stick to each other, and leave to dry. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, add the sugar, grated lemon peel and a pinch of salt. When the water starts to boil, add the mucenici and simmer over low heat. After they rise to the surface, leave them on the heat for another 1-2 minutes. Add the rum essence, cinnamon and ground walnuts and mix well. When you serve the mucenici you can add a few more tablespoons of ground walnuts and a little cinnamon.