Romanian Christmas

For all the Christians, the Christmas celebration signifies the Lord’s birth and thus an occasion for joy and hope. Every year, we relive the emotions of the God’s birth and of the news received from the angels and we open our hearts and minds to hear once again the story of the Christ’s birth. Christmas time is an occasion of great celebration for us -the Romanians who are in majority Orthodox Christians . Since December 20th it smells like Christmas; actually it smells like our traditional food based mainly on pork and that’s why pigs are being sacrificed now. Drums resound louder, not so shy as at the beginning of the Christmas Fast while the children repeat carols, and some of them sing the "Star Song".

The celebration of the Holy Infant’s birth begins in the morning of the Christmas Eve with Christmas carols and lasts until late at night. Meanwhile, in the evening everybody prepares the Christmas meal which will be served the next day.

In the morning of December 25th, everybody attends the Christmas Holy Mass and then they get together to have a special Christmas meal and to celebrate. Now is the moment when children go caroling to all the relatives or friends , telling everybody about Jesus’ birth and his worship by the three wise men.

The worship of the three wise men who also brought gifts to the Holy Infant, generated the custom of giving and receiving presents for Christmas. It was also created a mythical character -Santa Claus who brings gifts to all the children. They find their gifts under the fir tree and they are being told that Santa Claus came while they were sleeping.

In the Orthodox calendar the three days of Christmas end with St. Steven’s celebration. The three days of Christmas are an occasion for visiting friends and for everybody to get together to celebrate.

After Christmas, the adorned fir tree is still kept for a while, either because people want to take pride in it, or because they like it too much to throw it so quickly.

Romanian team - Popa Madalina

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Romanian team wishes you
a nice vacation!

The Midsummer Day

On the 24^th of June, we celebrate the Midsummer day or St. John’s Day (called in Romanian Sanzienele), the largest and the most spectacular pagan holiday of the year and the only one allowed with its original name in the Christian Orthodox calendar. The Orthodox Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist. It marks the beginning of summer, as June 21^st is the "Summer Solstice" or the "astronomical summer."

In the Romanian flora, the goldenrod (or sanziana as we call it) is a plant that grows by meadows, orchards and roadsides, in woods and near fences. The plant is called goldenrod in some places and Lady’s bedstraw in others. It is used in medicine and cosmetics, as well as in magic acts and in traditions related to its flowering during the summer solstice.

According to the popular outlook, goldenrods (or sanzienele) are good and extremely beautiful fairies, that have power over the earth and especially over the crops and they are said to protect the later only if they are properly honored on their birthday. The people believe that during this magic night, these creatures walk or float in the air, yielding fruit to crops or to married women, multiplying birds and animals, healing people from diseases and protecting crops from hail.

On Midsummer Day’s Eve the girls who want to marry meet the boys who also want to get married. The boys light up pyres, which they spin in the sense of the Sun’s motion, while making special shouts meant to speed up the weddings. The Girls go and pick goldenrods from which they twine garlands.

Holding them, the girls come back in the village and throw these garlands over the houses and it is said that if the garland remains hung up the chimneys that girl will marry on the same year.

The next day, at dawn, groups of young men pass through the villages wearing flowers of goldenrods on their hats as a sign that the garlands of the desired girl fell on the chimney. That’s why they show their happiness by yelling and singing.

After they hove carried out the bedstraw’s tradition, the girls come back running from the field and waving their head dresses .The boys wait for them at the entrance of the village, carrying pots with water with which they sprinkle the girls. Afterwards, only the girls who have taken part in this tradition, dance the bedstraw’s Hora, remembering the hore of the Sun’ s priestesses.

On the Midsummer’s night, the fern (whose bright flowers are kept for spells, charms and remedies) is said to flower. At the same time, at midnight, another flower, the milkweed also blossoms. Since it is believed to unlock all the locks it is especially sought by all the thieves.

Mocanu Georgiana - Romanian team

PASCHAL SYMBOLS