Romanian Traditions Vs
Romanian Traditions Vs
Romanian Traditions Vs
AMERICAN TRADITIONS
WINTER CELEBRATIONS
Introduction
In rural Romania you can experience a way of life which vanished from the west nearly a century ago. Few people in today's world maintain
and they put the first man on the moon. They like to be modern, but they
also love old things. Christmas and New Years Eve are also important celebrations for them since these celebrations reunite american families for at least a traditional meal.
Christmas is a very important holiday for Christians: it is the celebration of Jesus birth, a time of joy, peace and quietness of the soul.
We celebrate Christmas with great pomp, hope, joy, traditional dishes and
delicious recipes. Christmas dinner is something holy for Romanians. Traditionally, the pig is killed on St. Ignatius day (December 20th), an important moment that anticipates Christmas. St. Ignatius day is dedicated to meat preparation and cure. Men and women begin to cut and prepare bacon, caltabosi (pork entrail sausages) and sangerete (pork sausage prepared with some blood).
Colinda
In the night from December 23 to 24, from midnight to the break of dawn, the streets of the villages are full of the voices of little carol singers.
With their bags on their back, they stop at every house, in front of every lighted window, and yell: Good Morning on Christmas Eve! Trick or Treat! and if the host is not hurrying to share them the presents, they start to sing the traditional song. Afterwards, the owners share the traditional Christmas gifts: apples, nuts, pretzels and the Hogmanay, prepared out of wheat meal, made in the night before. Although the text of all colinde is concerned with the events of the Nativity, certain elements of the folk rituals performed around Christmas are probably pre-Christian in origin, having their roots in the Roman Saturnalia and pagan rituals related to the winter solstice and soil fertility. Examples of colinde with religious subject are "Astzi s-a nscut Hristos" (Today Christ was born), "Mo Crciun cu plete dalbe" (Santa Claus with white hair) and "O, ce veste minunat!"(O, what wonderful news!)
The Star
Since Christmas, and until Epiphany, children visit every house of the village with the Star an old habit, encountered at several Christian nations. The star is a symbol of the star that forecasted the birth of Baby Jesus in the crib from Bethlehem, and that guided the three Sorcerers. The songs of the star are sung in the night of December 24 to 25, put they might continue until December 27. Groups of two (star-ists) or three children(sorcerers) start their journey with the Star, not only in their village, but often in the neighbour villages, announcing the Birth of Messiah
to everybody
The well-known verses represent the final part of the carol(unfortunately, the complete form of the carol has disappeared)
Soon after Thanksgiving people start sending Christmas cards and decorate their houses.
On Christmas Day people open their presents and then they prepare a traditional dinner of turkey or ham with vegetables, salads, and desserts.
Many Christmas-related tourist attractions, such as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and elaborate animated department store windows in New York City are heavily visited by non-Christian tourists from all over the world.
The celebration of the New Year's Eve in Romania has a totally traditional flavor. Romanians welcome the New Year with the customs, rituals and
conventions that have been around for centuries. The children as well as
the adults, take part in the joyous celebrations with great enthusiasm. On New Year's Eve in Romania, small school going children sing Plugusorul and Sorcova. The songs wish good luck, happiness and success. The day also has goat's game, the bear's game and the masks' game as part of the festivities. These are also old Romanian customs.
Conclusions
Within South Eastern Europe however, Romania preserved a significant number of traditional customs and winter celebrations
Each traditional people has its own identity, history, shared memory and
territory. Tradition is the most fundamental form by which identity is shaped.