Colivă for a memorial: what it's made of, when it's served and how it's shared

What colivă is and what it means

Colivă is boiled wheat, sweetened and mixed with walnuts. Wheat is chosen on purpose: the grain put into the ground dies in order to bear fruit, and in Christian tradition it is the sign of resurrection. That's why colivă belongs to the remembrance of the dead and not to other meals.

It is blessed at the memorial service with a lit candle in the middle, and after the service it is shared among those present. Everyone takes a little and says “May God forgive him” (or her).

Which memorials colivă is made for

At the funeral and then at every memorial date: at three days, nine days, forty days, six months, one year and every year up to seven. It is also made for the collective memorials — the summer, autumn and winter Moși — and on the Saturdays of the dead in Great Lent.

It is never left out, however small the meal and whether the day is a fasting day or not.

What it's made of

Our colivă is made from boiled wheat, sugar and walnuts. It has no milk and no eggs, so it is lenten and fits any memorial table. A good colivă keeps the grains whole rather than mushy, and leaves no liquid on the plate.

The top is smoothed and decorated. The photo above shows one of ours, with a cross of breadcrumbs and icing sugar. In many homes sweets or the initials of the person remembered are added as well.

How it's taken to church and shared

Colivă is taken to church on the day of the service, on a platter or in a wide dish, with the candle set in the middle and the colaci beside it. After the service part of it is shared there, and the rest goes to the memorial meal, where it's served at the end together with the colaci and dessert.

It can also be made in individual cups, as in the photo: they're easier to hand out after the service, and anyone who isn't staying for the meal can take one home.

Capete: colivă on the Lenten Saturdays

In Moldavia, on the Saturdays of the dead in Great Lent, families bring “capete” to church: baskets with colivă, colaci, fruit and some cooked food, for those being remembered. The custom is called purtarea capetelor. They are blessed at the service and then shared among those present.

Since it's Lent, everything in the basket is lenten — the colivă already is. Families who want an easier Saturday order the colivă and colaci in advance and prepare the rest of the basket at home.

How much colivă to make

It's counted by the number of people coming to the service and the meal: everyone should get at least a spoonful, and some stays at church. There's no need to work it out in kilograms — tell us how many people you expect and we prepare the right amount.

Colivă from us

Colivă and colaci are part of the memorial menu, from 45 lei per person for delivered catering, with delivery included within the city of Iași. Order at least 10 days ahead, as for any meal we organise.

For Moși and the Saturdays of the dead, when many orders come in at once, it's best to call earlier: on those days we cook for several families at the same time.