We Will Make United Europe

WWM.UE
Comenius Project

Prigoria Secondary School

December 2011

Christmas is an annual
commemoration of the
birth of Jesus Christ,
celebrated as a religious
and cultural holiday by
billions of people around
the world.
Christmas in Romania is
popularly known as
'Craciun, it falls on
December 25 and is
generally considered one
of the most important
religious holiday.

Advent is a spiritual season of

preparation before Christmas
celebrated by many Christians.It is
a period of spiritual preparation in
which Christians make themselves
ready for the birth of the Lord, Jesus
Christ. During this time, Christians
observe a season of prayer, fasting
and repentance, followed by
anticipation, hope and joy.
The word "advent" comes from the
Latin "adventus" meaning "arrival"
or "coming," particularly of
something having great
importance.
For Romanian Orthodox church
which use the Julian calendar,
Advent begins on November 15,
and lasts 40 days.

The coming of Saint Nicholas announces

the beginning of the winter holidays, the
Christmas and the New Year. The old
Saint Nicholas arrives in Romania on the
6th of December, every year.
Saint Nicholas is generous not only with
the children, but the adults, too.
On the evening of the 5th of December,
the boots are being happily polished in
every home. Children usually put the
boots near the entrance door, waiting for
the presents.
Saint Nicholas takes care of each
member of the family. He puts a little
present into every one's boots.
This custom is very old in Romania, and
Saint Nicholas Day is one of the most
important festivals of the year, especially
for the children.

A very important
Christmas custom
practiced in Romanian
villages is 'Ignatius', the
sacrifice of a pig in
every house in the
honor of Saint Ignatius.
A pig is specially
chosen for this purpose
and fed to make it grow
fat, often around 200
kilograme. Five days
before Christmas, on
20th of December this
sacrificial ceremony is
performed in the back
yard of houses.
Thereafter, the pigs hair
is singed.

Then, a sign of the cross is

made on the pig's back and,
after a wish of eating healthy
the pig, a small portion of the
pig's meat is immediately
fried and a feast is held. All
the extended members of the
family, friends and neighbors
are invited to the feast and
the meat is then shared with
them, along with bacon and
plum brandy. This feast is
known as the pig's funeral
feast.

On 23th December
begins the Christmas
holiday and it is
celebrated with a
party at school
where the children
prepared carols,
poems, dances to
express their joy for
Christmas coming

The singing of carols is a

very important part of
Romanian Christmas
festivities. Throughout
the Christmas season,
little Romanian children
(especially those in the
villages) together with
the priest visit every
house in the locality
singing carols such as
Steaua ('The Star'), Trei
Pastori ('The Three
Shepherds') and Mos
Craciun ('Santa Claus')
and reciting poems.

On the first day of

Christmas, many
carolers walk through
the streets of the towns
and villages. The leader
of the group carries a
large wooden star
called "Steaua", which is
wrapped up with metal
foil and adorned with
bells and colored
ribbons. In return for
such performances,
carolers receive apples,
nuts, traditional cakes
('cozonaci') and
sometimes even money
from each house.

In Romanian familes, all the women

cook for three days leading up to
'Craciun'. Christmas dinner in
Romania is a rich, multi-course
meal. On the top of the menu
comes various kinds of pork
sausages, along with plum brandy
and home made pickles. 'Sarmale' ,
an indispensable item for the festive
dinner, comes next. This dish
consists of pickled cabbage leaves
stuffed with a combination of pork
and beef, along with rice, pepper,
thyme and other spices. Other
dishes to follow are roasted pork
and turkey with red wine. The wine
is consumed to celebrate the birth
of Jesus. The last item is 'cozonaci',
a cake filled with nuts and raisins.
All the members of the extended
family enjoy the feast together.

The celebrations continue

with the decoration of the
Christmas tree on
Christmas Eve. Fir trees are
the Christmas trees here.
Gift exchanges take place
in Romania in the evening
of Christmas Eve. All the
family members receive
presents for Christmas.
Romanian children know
that 'Mos Craciun' (the
Romanian equivalent of
Santa Claus) is the one
who delivers them their
presents.

Christmas Day is
one of the most
special holiday for
all of us. It is
appropriate that
this special day to
pay special
attention to
preparing meals
that you serve with
your loved ones.
Christmas in
Romania is the time
when the whole
family gather, even
if some are far
away.