Romanian Christmas
traditions and
customs.
project presented by Lazar
Daria-Elena and Mandru
Elena Alexandra
• The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ
is celebrated on December 25, 26
and 27, and the evening of
December 24 is also known as
Christmas Eve. The Feast of
Christmas dates back to the
fourth century, when the Christian
Church set this date not by
chance, but to compete with the
birth of the sun god in pagan
traditions.
• The tradition of decorating the
Christmas tree and Santa Claus
Christmas traditions have been
enriched from year to year. The
little ones are waiting for Santa
Claus with white locks every year,
who comes with a bucket full of
gifts for good children, and a few
days before Christmas the
Christmas tree is decorated with
red or green ornaments. The
custom of the Christmas tree
would have appeared in Germany
The custom of caroling
One of the most beloved Christmas
traditions is caroling. On the first day of
Christmas, carolers go from house to house
with the star in their hands and announce to
people the birth of Jesus through songs and
poems. It is said that he who does not open
the gate of carolers will have a barren year
and bad luck in the house, caused by the
stinginess he showed.
The tradition of the
Eve meal and the
Christmas fast
Another important tradition is the Christmas table
itself. On December 25, his Christmas fast ended, which
lasts about six weeks. On this day, people can enjoy
traditional Christmas dishes: drum, leper, sarmale,
caltabosi, rolls, cakes, pita, cakes, salads, sausages or
steak. The meat used to prepare Christmas dishes is
fresh, as Ignat, on December 20, has another habit:
cutting the pork.
The game of
bears
• The game of bears is an archaic custom that is
practiced on New Year's Eve especially in Moldova and
consists in the interpretation of a ritual by a crowd of
haters. The group of haters who go with the bear is
made up of haters disguised as bears, bears, whistlers,
drummers; each of them playing a specific role.
Sometimes, in the fog, they can be accompanied by
iroses or masks
• Keeping the light is one of the most beloved and
old traditions in Moldova, a tradition that some
of the inhabitants of Moldovan villages still hold.
The Christmas holiday is closely linked to the
winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.
Thus, on Christmas Eve, Moldovans light a log
from the logs to keep the light as long as
possible.
• Tradition says that on Christmas Eve, garbage is
not thrown out of the house and things are not
borrowed. Unmarried girls can see their bears in
a dream, if they put small pieces of all the
preparations prepared for the Christmas holiday
at the window.
• Children and young people from Moldovan villages
are the ones who have the main occupation at the
turn of the year. They are the heralds of the
New Year, having in their repertoire a lot of
carols and specific games. Winter traditions end
with the first days of the New Year, when the
groups of children start "sowing". The sowers
throw rice grains, as a symbol of prosperity and
wealth, uttering traditional verses.
