Sfințișori (''Little saints'') or mucenici moldovenești (''Moldavian martyrs''), are traditional pastries from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

made to commemorate on March 9 (or March 22, as per

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

), the Christian feast of the

40 Martyrs of Sebaste The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty (Ancient/Katharevousa Greek ''Ἅγιοι Τεσσεράκοντα''; Demotic: ''Άγιοι Σαράντα'') were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII ''Fulminata'' (Armed with Lightning) w ...

, a traditional holiday in Romania and Moldova.

Preparation

In the historical region of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, Sfințișori were dough in large shapes of the figure 8, baked, then smeared with honey and walnuts.40 de Mucenici, sfinţişori şi pahare cu rachiu. Tradiţii şi reţete

Variants

In the

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...

and

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

regions of Romania, similar traditional pastries are named

mucenici Mucenici is a Christian feast of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, a traditional holiday in Romania and Moldova. It coincides with the start of the agricultural year. On the day of the martyrs (''mucenici''), in the popular belief, the tombs and the gates ...

. The dough is smaller and boiled in water with sugar, cinnamon and crushed nuts, symbolizing the lake where the Martyrs were cast.

Notes and references

External links

Sfințișori
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sfintisori Romanian pastries Moldovan cuisine

Preparation

Variants

See also

Notes and references

External links