Christmas in Romania By Alvaro

Hello all of you,
I'd like to write about Christmas in Romania.

First of all, December 1st is the National Day of Romania.

During this event,  the country celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the union

of all Romanian provinces.  This event took place in Alba Lulia  in 1918.

On the 5th to 6th night Saint Nichola comes. In Romania Santa Claus and Saint Nichola are two different persons.   Children clean their boots and they are left in the window sill.  If they have been good, they would receive sweets and any little gift but if they have been bad, they would receive a stick.

On the following weeks they decorate their houses like American people with lots of Christmas

lights.

Really Christmas time begin on 20^th December with Ignat Day,  pig sacrifice day, it is a

ancient ritual which consists of killing a pig.

From this day young people rehearse Christmas songs and dances.

On Christmas Eve young people go from house to house  singing and dancing and receiving

sweets, drinks and foods and even some money from the homeowners. Meanwhile parents or grandparents prepare  special food such as carnat, cartabos, sarmale, or some special sweets such as hencles, cozonac etc.  Mos-craium comes on Christmas Eve and brings presents for everyone.

That night elderly people go to the church to attend mass at 2 o’clock. Next morning, at Christmas Day, everybody goes to the church again to attend mass dresses up with traditional clothes.

 On 25^th , 26^th and 27^th December everybody goes again to the church to attend mass.  

 Romanians are orthodox people.

Also, as traditional clothes boys wear a hat and girls place a tassel on the hat’s boy they like, so every girl choose a boy and put a tassel on his hat.

Married women wear red traditional clothes and black ones, single women.  Between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve  teenagers play a role from any act from the Bible to win some money.

New Year's Eve is like in Spain, families join together to have dinner.  But they don’t eat grapes as we do.  At midnight Romanians eat fish instead because it brings health in the new year.

On 6^th and 7^th January lots of religious ceremonies are celebrated such as, the priest coming from house to house blessing everybody and collecting money.

And finally  Saint John's Day closes the chain at Christmas holidays.

 Hope you liked the topic.  See you soon.