American woman stunned after discovering the Romanian custom of Epiphany: “It was very strange. (…) He sees us, sprinkles again, then goes about his business”?
An American woman settled in Oradea experienced an unexpected moment near the Epiphany, when she woke up with a priest at the apartment door. Her candid reaction, shared on social media, quickly went viral.
“I've never been so taken by surprise. Especially since the priest and I were just looking at each other as he kept walking through my apartment.”. This is how the story begins told by Tatum Nzekwesi, an American woman settled in Oradea, who discovered in a unique way one of the most famous Romanian traditions.
The wife of basketball player Emmanuel Nzekwesi, pivot of the CSM Oradea team, told on TikTok how, one of the days before the Epiphany, she woke up in front of a completely unknown situation.
While he was cleaning the apartment, the silence was interrupted by the sound of a bell, followed by the appearance of a priest who, after sprinkling the door with holy water, entered the house and continued to do the same, baptizing those at home. Without any prior explanation, the scene seemed, for a few moments, downright hallucinatory.
“I'm American and I live in Romania. At one point I hear a bell and I wonder: is it coming from outside, is my mother-in-law on the phone?! So I go out in the direction where the sound was coming from and see a priest with a bouquet of plants, probably sprinkling the apartment with holy water. He sees us too, does it again, then goes about his business. What was that? I don't know if it's a
tradition, if Catholics celebrate something, maybe it was a Catholic priest, I'm not sure, but I don't mind,” she narrates the whole scene in the viral video.
The initial confusion was doubled by the sincere desire to understand what was happening, especially in the context in which the young woman says that she is a Christian, but unfamiliar with this custom.
“I'm a Christian, but I feel like we should have talked about what happened. I have no idea, I was caught off guard. It was very strange. (…) He sees us, sprays again, then goes about his business. What was that? I don't know if it's a tradition today. Catholics celebrate something, I know. Maybe it was a Catholic priest, I'm not sure, but I don't mind.” she also said.
His post quickly went viral, garnering tens of thousands of views, likes and comments, with most users patiently explaining the tradition to him and recounting similar experiences.
What is Epiphany
The moment that took Tatum Nzekwesi by surprise is closely related to Epiphany, celebrated every year on January 6 in the Orthodox calendar. It marks the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River and is one of the most important religious holidays at the beginning of the year.
In the days surrounding the Epiphany, priests go from house to house to consecrate the dwellings with great agheas and basil, a ritual that symbolizes purification, protection and blessing. Tradition says that in this way the house and those who live in it are protected throughout the year.
For the American woman settled in Oradea, this unexpected encounter with a local tradition became not only a viral story, but also an experience that gave her a direct perspective on Romanian customs and how cultural differences can sometimes become funny.
