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Throwing grain at people, scary goats, large bears and vampires. It probably doesn’t get talked about enough just how serious Romania takes Christmas.
Like most European nations, Romania began celebrating Christmas once they were Christianized by the Romans, but citizens were discouraged from practicing it from 1948-1989 when they were under communist rule. Despite being banned for nearly half a century, however, many ancient – and unusual – traditions are still going strong in the country.
The Christmas season officially starts in Romania on Nov. 30 with Saint Andrew’s feast. The night before is often called The Night of the Wolf, and Romanians are encouraged to hang crucifixes and garlic on their doors to ward off evil spirits, including vampires. (It’s no coincidence that Count Dracula is from Transylvania, a region in central Romania.) Those who have managed to not get bitten can celebrate Great Union Day in the morning, the National Day of Romania. Every city has free concerts, street festivals, traditional food and plenty of opportunities to party into the night.
Ever since medieval times, Romanians have been very enthusiastic about caroling. On Christmas night, children go to houses and apartments throughout the country and sing in exchange for money or small gifts. Typically, they bring with them a large star on a pole, representing the Star of Bethlehem. However, in some villages the tradition is more specific. In certain places in Transylvania, the eldest member of the family must greet the carolers and throw wheat or corn in front of them. Hens that are later fed this grain will lay more eggs, and it will lead to a better yield if it is mixed in with next spring’s planting seed. In other Transylvanian towns, the first carolers must be men in order to bring good luck. In the northern area of Bucovina, it was once traditional for the children to gather together and ask each other for forgiveness before starting to carol.
The days leading up to Christmas in Romania involve a lot of pageantry. In addition to the singing, some villages have men and boys play traditional music while one man dances around in a goat costume. The “Capra” is adorned in colorful furs and tassels, with a flexible wooden jar that makes a clattering sound. The Capra’s job is to scare away evil spirits that might descend on the town. In the Bucovina region, men dress up like bears. The Geto-Dacians, the ancient people that once inhabited Bucovina, believed the bear to be a sacred animal. To honor that, a special ritual representing the bear’s life and death is carried out at Christmastime. Still, in other parts of Romania, the nativity play is acted out by teenagers, while drumming corps made up of unmarried men go from house to house to play in Banat.
Nonetheless, one Romanian Christmas tradition has come under fire the last several decades. One of the longest-standing customs in the country, on St. Ignatius Day (Dec. 20), is that nearly every family in a rural area kills a pig by cutting its throat. European Union law states that any animal slaughtered must be stunned first. However, when Romania joined the EU in 2007 a decision had to be made, as it was impractical for every Romanian family to be expected to have the proper equipment or to call a professional around to every house. Finally, it was ruled that Romania was granted an exception, being allowed to slaughter pigs the traditional way only at Christmastime. After killing the pig in the morning, the entire family spends the rest of the day taking the meat off the bone and melting down the fat.
As unique as many of the holiday practices are in Romania, they still share some customs familiar to the rest of us. Romanians decorate a tree, and Santa Claus arrives to bring presents. The season culminates in a large feast on Christmas Day full of traditional dishes such as pork sausages, pig knuckles in bean sauce, pig jelly with meat and garlic and finally “sarmale,” which is pickled cabbage leaves stuffed with pork, beef and rice. For dessert, it’s a cake with nuts and fruit (“cozonaci”) and plenty of the Romanian spirit “tiuca,” made from plums. Then, after it’s all over, it’s another 11 months until they have to worry about the vampires again.
Incorporating customs from different parts of its long past, the Romanian people embrace the holiday with total enthusiasm. If anything, the full Christmas tradition in Romania is an example of how interesting of a place the world can be sometimes.
Merry Christmas everyone, wherever on the globe you’re celebrating it.
