November 24, 2006

How is Christmas celebrated in Romania?

Carols are of greatest importance in Romania. Everybody sings carols in front of the decorated fir tree, which should be very big and, of course, very green. Buying trees for Christmas is a tradition in Romania, but there are also some companies that offer green trees for loan during the holidays (a very smart and eco-friendly thing to do!). Most carols have religious significance and there are also international songs such as “O beautiful tree” which were adopted also by Romanians.

A week or two before Christmas, young fellows start going from building to building, singing carols, especially during the evening. It’s a very nice thing to stay in your apartement and hear beautiful songs outside, in the flat building. It is also a tradition to give to the singers small attentions or money. In the first day of Christmas, children sing a special song, evocating the magic star that announced Jesus’ birth and carrying with them a big, golden star made of board and paper.

Presents are, as in most countries, a very important part in celebrating Christmas. Santa Claus must be very loaded and he should make children’s dreams come true – because he had the opportunity to find out their desires from the huge number of letters he had received. Before the Revolution in 1989, children were given presents like oranges, chocolate or small plastic toys; such gifts were somehow special in that period, as they were hard to find. In our days, presents are as marvelous as in all other countries which have this custom, of exchanging gifts – from plush, fluffy pink toys to motor scooters and tickets for a wonderful trip (for more grown-up kids).

At the countryside, there is a specific custom which consists of sacrificing the pig. This is a very old tradition and is called ‘Ignatius’, from Saint Ignatius, celebrated on December 20. After the pig is cut there is a feast called the pig’s funeral feast or alms. At the feast the whole family friends and neighbors take part. All of them eat the rid or the skin of the bacon and also fried pork and drink wine or plum brandy.

In cities, people are eating traditional recipes, made or bought from restaurants or hypermarkets which prepare them especially for this occasion. The traditional Christmas menu contains: pound cake, forcemeat rolls of cabbage or vine leaves, sausage prepared from swine’s entrails, meat jelly, fresh sausages and plum brandy.