#Exhibit of the Month

We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life. The spirit of the Resurrection is beautifully complemented by ten Easter-themed postcards from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova, printed a century ago. These pieces were added to the museum's postcard collection over a decade ago following a successful acquisition; as the fund for Easter-themed illustrations is modest, we are in a constant search for new additions.

These postcards are "extraordinary" in terms of their postal, typographical, and chromatic effects-the primary reason for revisiting this genre of greetings. Unlike "classic" postcards, these are smaller in size (6.5 cm x 11 cm), made of cardboard (with the exception of one piece made of photographic paper in black and white), and feature "vivid" colors. Printed in Romania and Germany, they bear the marks of having been sent and circulated through the post.

The name of the holiday originates from the verb persach, meaning "to pass," a term adopted by the Jews from the Egyptians. It entered the Romanian language through the Byzantine-Latin form Paschae, signifying the "passage through death to life, the victory of life, and liberation from the bondage of sin." Easter is a holiday of tolerance and forgiveness, representing a bridge between the present and the past. The significance of this celebration is conveyed through its symbols, which are also featured on these postcards: Hand-painted eggs, the Easter Bunny and the Lamb, traditional sweet breads (cozonac and pască), biblical scenes related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Easter table also features pască-a ritual food reminiscent of ancient, bloodless "reconciliation" sacrifices. Its preparation is the exclusive task of women, the givers of life, as the leavened dough is considered "alive."

The most significant component of the Easter holiday, however, is the Light. The Ceremony of the Holy Light is associated with the miracle of the light appearing on Easter Sunday at Christ's Tomb in Jerusalem. The candle, often depicted in these images, carries a powerful message; it is with the Resurrection candle that we return home after the midnight religious service. Furthermore, the Easter Bunny represents the rebirth of nature, so eagerly awaited after a harsh winter.

Unlike Christmas, when the announcement and ritual integration of the community into sacred time was the duty of caroling groups, at Easter, "one does not go from house to house." Instead, the ritual meal is organized within each family, symbolizing a direct communion with God.

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Publications

Journal „Tyragetia"

vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2

The museum institution in the process of globalization

ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

Lucia Marinescu-Tonu

The museum institution in the process of globalization

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

The beginning of the millennium marked the dissolution of communication borders generated by the transition from a tightly governed political system to the democratization process, from planned economy to the market one, from the rapid development of technologies to the globalization phenomenon. The postindustrial economy had stimulated the mobilization of the intellectual capital and its use in production and service spheres.

It is in the period of impetuous transformations that appears the nostalgia of stability, originality and individuality. The identity of the person, of the community of origin, ethnicity and nationality had always been one of the essential points of each cultural dialog at local, national or universal scale.

In the context of changing social-political and cultural processes, the issue of keeping and afﬁrming identity becomes an essential one; a fortiori it represents the only efﬁcient way of combating the negative and obscured effects of globalization.

The globalization process had imposed the contemporary society with a cultural globalization by redeﬁning the purpose of the museum institution which’s activity is determined by new factors:
- the market holds the arbiter role, appreciating and determining the essence of values
- the entertainment industry holds a considerable niche in the cultural sphere
- reduction of the state role and the emergence of untraditional political formations
- disappearance of intellectual borders
- appearance and development of multicultural communities
- as a result of developing new technologies appear new visions about notions of place, time, space etc.

Another aspect of the cultural globalization is the decentralization of big museums and the rapid museiﬁcation of society. We are today the witnesses of a big museum revolution; we will be able to appreciate in time whether it is a positive or a negative factor. One of the immediate changes is building new systems of museums, or of a new system of museums. In other words, building a territorial network not only diversiﬁed spatially and territorially, but also on proﬁles, levels and functions in which the different unities complete and correlate among themselves, keeping the same educational and heritage preservation objectives.

Lucia Marinescu-Tonu

Techniques for interpreting cultural heritage in the provinces of Trento and Ferrara

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Lucia Marinescu-Tonu

Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro - between science and public

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Lucia Marinescu-Tonu

Museum institution in the „globalization trap”

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Lucia Marinescu-Tonu

The exhibition “In the World of Toys”

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie