Christmas in Romania - It's Christmas Time

Christmas in Romania was very different from the Christmas's I was used to in California. Even the Christmas Tree was called something else - Brad, or fir tree. Christmas is Called Craciun, and their version of Santa is called Mos Craciun.

The Christmas season starts with 6 weeks of fasting. The predominantly Greek Orthodox have many superstitions and traditions that will be observed during the Christmas season, including often having no intimate contact and other things during the fasting period. A visit from St. Nicolas on December 6th is for the children. Little kids put their shoes out at night and if they were good they will find little treats in the shoes in the morning.

The next important Day of the season is Ignat Day on December 20th. This is the day that families slaughter the pig, according to very old beliefs and rituals. Everyone takes part in one way or another, and no one is allowed to do any other work except the work associated with the slaughter and preparing the meat. I was lucky to experience this tradition, although I must say it was quite different than anything I had seen before. Seeing a pigs head on a stump and the body being bled out on the ground was not for the faint of heart.

Men are typically the ones that kill the pig and the women do the cooking and prepare the meat. Part of the pig will end up on the Christmas table, and part will be salted and saved. The intestines of the pig, after being removed, are placed in a large wooden trough where someone cleans them out, then later they are stuffed to make sausage. And there is nothing as good as home made sausage! That was my favorite part of the day, watching them make sausage.

December 24th, Christmas Eve is the second biggest celebration of the season. This is the day to decorate the tree, carolers go house to house singing, people go to midnight mass, candle vigils, and the last day of fasting. Presents would be opened after midnight followed by a big meal. I remember going to one persons house for a big meal and to "see" their tree, then going back to my friends and having to eat again! Romanians love to eat!

On Christmas Day itself another feast was served. This one friends and family would gather and the meal would last for hours, with breaks in-between the courses. Women have spent days preparing food, especially the traditional dish called sarmali, which is stuffed cabbage rolls made from pickled cabbage leaves, rice, pork, and spices covered in sauce.

I didn't know that there were several courses to this meal so filled up on the first course, and was full way before the last course was served. Sarmali, pifti (pork feet jelly- a sort of aspic), mamalinga (a sort of mush that I didn't like at all) and cozonac the traditional desert (sweet bread with nuts) were the only food items I wasn't familiar with. There were sausages made from pork, and several other meat dishes from the pig. Pork from Ignat Day was what I had, but many people now buy their pork from the butcher, especially those in the city that don't have relatives in the countryside.

Anyone visiting Romania will quickly be given something to drink, and Christmas had all of the traditional ones as well as alcohol that I knew the names of. Drinks would be Tuica, a plum brandy (homemade), Palinka (I called it Romanian moonshine as it is distilled at home and is very strong), and Red Wine. Romania makes the best wines and most were equal to many of the best ones found in the famous vineyards of California.

I was lucky and spent three Christmas's in Romania, and it was an experience I will never forget. Yes, they have many different traditions and customs but they also have many similarities. Christmas in Romania... an experience that was priceless.

About the author:
My name is Kathy McGraw and I write online as a Professional Blogger.

I also write a variety of things that interest me, and love photography related blogs. I'm the author of a Peace Corps Gift Guide and recently I opened a new site for Online Shopping - a Personal Online Shopping Guide. It is not just a link site, but is indeed a personalized one.

You're NOT allowed to reprint this article, and whenever you'd like to do so, you should ask permission to the actual author of this article, Kathy McGraw, through her "contact me" button enabled on her author profile. Pictures are also copyrighted Kathy McGraw. Thanks.