Romanian Traditions

What really defines a nation and differentiate it from the others? Among other characteristics, the three major factors that play this role, we could say that are the language, the religion and the tradition. Starting from the language, it is not really something that gives a nation 100% its linguistic identity, as many countries could use the specific language as their primary. One example is the Latin America, where almost all its countries, speak Spanish. The same things happens with the religion. More than half of the world’s countries share the Christianity and the Islamic religion. However, this feature that gives us more safe criteria in order to define it in depth, is the tradition and more specifically the folkloric tradition with its ethics and its customs. And here, in this article, we will provide a list of some very interesting  Romanian traditions. Some of them seem funny, especially to the non-Romanians, but we can meet these customs in other Balkan countries as well.

Mucenici: This custom connects basically the food -or more correctly- the bakery with the religion. It is a reference to the tragic death of 40 Christian soldiers who were killed in ancient Armenia. The sweet dough is made in the oven in the shape of number eight and it has honey and nut topping. We can enjoy it every year on the 9^th of March, the day that the Orthodox church celebrates the 40 Martyrs.

On Epiphany (January 6^th), the so called Boboteaza in Romania, there is a tradition in which local men have to swim in the cold waters of rivers or lakes and catch a wooden cross that the priest will throw into, in order to represent the baptism of Jesus. Whoever brings back the cross, he will have the blessing for the whole year as they say. This same custom can someone meet it in Greece.In the same –Boboteaza­- day the tradition says that the unmarried women can literally dream of their future love life. The only thing that they have to do, is just putting some dry basil under their pillow before they sleep.

And if no dream with the prince charming comes in their sleep, they can have a second chance later in the year, on June 23, on the night of Sanziene. This time, the single girls have to put some Lady’s Bedstraw flowers under the pillow. This magical night, it is said that the fairies dance in the forests of Romania and the gates of heaven are opening.

Calusarii: Probably the oldest of the customs, as it has its roots before the 17th century. Also, one of the most important and impressive, being part of the Unesco Patrimony. It is a group of male dancers with archaic elements that takes place on Whit Monday and marks the transition from spring to summer. They have to be brave, as the tradition has, as they will confront with the evil spirits that try to harm them. The men that form these groups are called  calusii.

Strigoii: A version of vampires, that many connect the myth of their birth in Romania. Actually, in some regions of the country, many people believe in them until nowadays, mostly older. On the night of Saint Andrew (30^th of November), who is the protector and defender of the country, it is believed that these evil creatures are more active, so according to the tradition, the people have to consume big portions of garlic in order to keep them away.

For the end, we left a funny custom of the Romanian tradition, the kidnapping of the bride. Some of her friends may kidnap the bride the day of the wedding and move her away of the party and the celebrations, asking for some symbolic ransom in order to return her back to the groom. We could briefly mention, the cracking of the red eggs on Ester, the pig sacrifice on Christmas or mask dances on Christmas and the New Year’s Eve. These are only some of the hundreds of customs which consist the Romanian folkloric tradition. Of course, they vary from region to region, but in general their concepts are the same. We are sure that many of you already experienced some of them, but for those who didn’t, it’s worth to give it a try!