Transcript Romania

Romania’s
traditions and customs at the most
important events in people’s lives
The Romanians have always expected the arrival of a newborn child with joy . This
happiness is epitomized through the old saying: `The more children, the richer '. So, the
newlyweds’ desire is that God should bless their household with sons and daughters. There
are some ancient beliefs that might help the bride if her desire is not granted. She would
look for help in different remedies and she would consume certain beverages made of
plants.
It has commonly been believed that the pregnant woman should obey certain
rules in every step she makes , regulations which refer to her everyday life. These should be
kept after the birth so that no harm should be done to the woman or to the new-born baby.
Folk beliefs also state that the pregnant woman should stay indoor as much as possible so
that she should not be bewitched . In the past people believed that if the woman gave water
to somebody, she would have been able to give birth only if , in return, that person gave
her water to drink from his (her) hands. She was not allowed to blow on the bread in the
oven as this might have led to the birth of a child with a viciously joint tongue. Moreover,
another thing she could not do was to pass through the weaving-loom and to eat joint
berries as this might have influenced her pregnancy and she could have twins.
Other folk Romanian beliefs have said that if a pregnant woman kicked a dog, her
child might be dog-hearted. She could not be a bridesmaid as her child might die. A
woman should admit that she is pregnant as if she did not do this when people asked her,
her child might be born a mute.
A baby’s birth into this world is seen as the transition from the unknown to the
known world.
The bathing of the newborn child
Not long after the child’s birth there follows his/her bathing. The water
should not be very warm as the folk belief says that the baby who has been bathed in
it, will ward off cold, he/she won’t get scared easily because as a rule when the baby is
plunged into that not very warm water , he/she will be scared enough.
The things which are put in the water for the baby’s first bathing will be :
some basil, some silver coins, peony flower, some crumbs of bread , a lump of sugar,
some honey comb, an egg, a little fresh milk and some holy water.
The basil means that this baby, especially if this is a girl, will be clean, loved
and attractive like the basil. The silver coins are placed so that the child should be
worthy and unspotted like silver and exactly like in the case of silver, people should
love this child. As he is bathed for the first time in money, this will prevent him from
suffering from shortage of money throughout his/her lifespan. The egg will mean that
the child will be whole and healthy like an egg. The fresh milk is for the baby’s white
complexion and richness. The Holy water is also present so that the evil spirits should
not come close to the child.
There is also the custom to add some salt for
friendship.
In short, all these things are used so that the child should be :
Scump ca argintul
Dulce ca mierea,
Bun ca painea.
Sanatos ca oul,
Rumen ca bujorul,
Atragator ca busuiocul
Si alb ca laptele.
Valuable like silver
Sweet like honey
Good like bread,
Healthy like the egg.
Ruddy like a peony
Attractive like the basil
And white like snow
The bathing of the newborn child
After the child has been taken from the water , the following words will be said:
If it is a boy:
Sa fie sanatos
Let him be healthy
Si norocos
And lucky
Si mintos
And clever
Si voios
And merry
Si frumos
And handsome
Si dragastos
And loveable
Si-nvatat
And learned
Si bogat
And wealthy
Om de treaba!
A decent man!
If it is a girl:
Let her be noticed
And healthy
And lucky
And clever
And merry
And beautiful
And loveable
And learned
And rich
A decent woman
And noticeable.
Fatal Sisters
After birth, in the folk tradition, each child
receives his destiny from these fairies. They are
magical beings, sisters, fairies that nobody has seen
and just a few have heard.
They are said to come to preordain the child’s
fate always in the week he/she was born, in the odd
nights.
One thing is certain - what they predict is
always true. In Moldavia, some people say that they
are in a number of three , some seven, some nine or
twelve; in Transylvania you will hear that they are
three, seven, nine or eleven. Those in Oltenia believe
that there are three sisters , one small, one medium
and another one who is tall.
Fatal Sisters
It is believed that before going to the
child and predestinate him , they agree on
his/her fate.
There are places of the country, in
which on the third night the child was born,
the family places bread , salt, wine and
money in the child’s room so that the Fatal
Sisters should find something to eat, to
drink and money to spend.
In Bucovina, the light should be on as
otherwise they will get angry and will
foreordain an unpleasant fate for the child.
Traditions of Christening in
Romania
According to the Romanian traditions a newborn child is christened
after she/he turns 40 days old. It is advisable that the mother should not
participate in her child’s christening if this occurs sooner than the 40-day
period. It is good that the child’s family and godparents should confess their
sins before.
For the christening ceremony there will be needed:
A towel and soap which will be used by the priest. There will be a
ritual washing before committing the Sacraments of Christening. The
Towel and soap are also a kind of offering to the priest by the godparents.
In general, there are white towels which are used.
A bunch of basil which will be used to sprinkle the baby and tie the
Christening ribbon. Basil is an aromatic plant which has been used in
religious rituals since ancient times..
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A bottle with oil. It can be any kind of oil - it will be blessed and used
for anointing the baby with the "oil of gladness" during the ritual.
The candle - can be a simple one. Its adornment signifies the
happiness that a child will be christened.
With this candle ( in fact with its smoke), the priests will make the
sign of the cross at the door and then, the candle will be extinguished.
The Christening cloth - must be white. The baby will be wrapped in
this cloth after the Threefold Diving. The little one will need comfort and
safety so, he should be wrapped well. The white color symbolizes the Church’s
purity and Faith, and also, the baby’s cleanliness and purity.
The child's birth certificate (in original and a copy which should be
left to the priest)
A certificate from the family’s general practitioner or pediatrician
who has supervised the child and which states that the baby can be
christened, that he/she does not suffer from any disease that could get worse
during christening or that could endanger his/her health or the other babies
who are to be christened in the same font.
Godparents
Godparents are the spiritual parents of the child and they hold a crucial
role in the ceremony of christening. In Romania, in general, the baby receives the
same name as the Godparent or at least nowadays the spiritual parent may
choose one of the child’s names. These godparents will be the ones who will be by
the future grown-up’s side when he/ she gets married.
During the Christening ceremony the godparents confess, forsake their
forefathers’ sins and all the evil things and they worship Jesus thus
christening the child.
They have to bring:
- the clothes in which the baby will be dressed after he/she is christened
- the candle that is used
- the white cloth in which the baby will be held and a pink or a blue
ribbon about 1 m in length
- crosses to put on the guests’ chest
-the soap and towel for the priest and also some oil which will be blessed
- wine
The godfather buys earrings for the girl and the godmother a chain
with a cross for the boy.
After the christening, when parents and godparents reach the child’s
home, this one is placed in the threshold and before the mother picks her child ,
the godmother tells the mother ‘You gave me a pagan, I brought you a
Christian.’
The Guardian Angel
After having been christened, every child gets a guardian
angel that will protect him/her from all the evil things throughout
his existence. That’s why, each person prays in his childhood:
Angel, my angel
Pray to God
For my little soul
During the day and night
Till the final moment comes
The Bathing of the Christened Child
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The day after the christening is called “the bathing of the child" . This
is usually done by midwives, the godmother and mother, along with several
women: relatives, neighbours and friends. This bathing is very important for
the child, being very meaningful. Water should be taken at sunrise.
In the water there are put :
flowers - so that the child should be beautiful
money - to have wealth
holy water so that the baby should be clean like this
stones - to be strong
seeds (wheat, maize, etc.) -to be lucky and fair
basil - to smell nice
honey – to be sweet
milk - in order to be fresh
A ring – to have curly hair and be lucky in love
dill – to be like dill in food
poppy flower - to sleep better
feathers- to be as light as a feather
hemp seed - to grow fast
jewelry - so the child will be lucky in life
silver - so he would be clean, unblemished
The Purpose of getting married
The purpose of marriage for the Romanians is to have a
spouse to rely on and to have fun with, to comfort him/her in
case of suffering and unhappiness, in short, to have somebody
with whom to share joy and sadness , the good and bad aspects
of life. The second aim is to have legitimate children who will
maintain the family name so that their blood and lineage should
never perish, so that to have somebody to take care of them and
support them when they are old and after death to have somebody
to mourn for them and bury them as Christians, to talk about
them and give the alms and to pray for them so that their sins
will be forgiven. The third reason would be that nobody should say
about them that they have lived in vain.
The proper age for marriage: People should marry when they
are mature enough and know very well all the things that should
be done in a household.
The Future Spouses’ Traits
The Bride’s Traits
A girl who wants to get married before she becomes a spinster
should possess the following traits: she should be honest, reliable,
hardworking, money- conscious, careful, witty , wise, beautiful and above
all healthy. Regarding the girl’s beauty , the Romanians say:
Decat sa mananc mamaliga cu unt
Rather than eat maize porridge with butter
Si sa ma uit in pamant
And look at the ground
Mai bine paine cu sare
I’d better eat bread and salt
Si sa ma uit la ea ca la soare
And look at her as I look at the sun
which means that the Romanian men prefer a woman’s beauty to
her wealth . They believe that if the woman is ugly and they can’t even
look at her , everything is pointless; they would rather have a spouse who
is not wealthy but they can live in peace and harmony together.
The Bridegroom’s Traits
The characteristics required from a
bride are necessary for the bridegroom but
beauty is of no importance. A Romanian
saying says that “A man should be a little
bit more handsome than the devil”
In general, a bride’s parents are not
really interested in their future son-in
law’s physical appearance. They always
make sure that he has the necessary means
to support his family and at the same time
he is trustworthy, hardworking and healthy.
Parents’ Consent
When two people want to get married , they always ask for their parents’ consent from the both side.
As the following lines of folklore say:
Binecuvantarea parintilor
The parens’ blessing
Intareste casa fiilor
Stengthen their children’s house
Iar blestemul parintilor
The parents’ curse
Risipeste casa fiilor
Crumbles their children’s house
It is believed that the one who disobeys his/her parents and gets married against their wish can’t be
fortunate as in a short period of time , will be punished by God.
Cine n-asculta de mama
Who disobeys their mother
N-are-n lume nicio sama
Does not have any meaning in life
Cine n-asculta de tata,
Who disobeys their father
N-are noroc niciodata.
Does never have any luck
Nici eu nu i-am ascultat,
I haven’t listened to them either
Si Dumnezeu m-a certat.
And God scolded me.
According to the Romanians’ beliefs , the most suitable days to ask somebody’s hand in marriage, to
get engaged and get married , are on Thursdays and on Sundays. Our people believe that it is not good to get
married on Christmas and Easter Days.
Customs, traditions and symbols during the
marriage ritual
- the fir tree: the fir tree means joy as exactly as
everybody is happy to see the evergreen tree, all the
guests, the bride and groom should be merry and be
strong and joyful for a long time , the same way the fir
tree is , both in winter and in summer, evergreen.
- bathing: in the eve or on the day of the
marriage, the bride and the groom have to bathe in
fresh water in which they place ,exactly like in the
case of the newborn child ‘s bathing, some silver
coins, honey comb, fresh milk and beautifully smelling
plants, especially basil so that their whole life should be
attractive and full of love like the basil, spotless and
clean like silver and milk and sweet like the honey
combs.
Customs, traditions and symbols during the marriage ritual
Dressing and embellishing the bride early in the morning,
on the wedding day is another custom which is closely respected.
All the bride’s close relatives get together in order to get her
dressed in the clothes she has already bought before the wedding
and also they assist her while she has her hair done.
Before proceeding to the wedding , there is the custom in
some parts of Romania, that the girls should ask for forgiveness
from her parents, siblings, relatives and all the close people who are
present.
Both parents and the closed relatives forgive he and bless
her , wishing all the best to her
Dumnezeu sa te ierte
Dumnezeu sa-ti ajute,
Dumnezeu sa te binecuvanteze,
Intr-un ceas bun cu noroc.
God should forgive you,
God should help you,
God should bless you,
At a good time with luck.
Customs, traditions and symbols
during the marriage ritual
Before going to church, the bride together with two lads whose parents
are still alive, go to a well in the village. From her house to the well they
dance three Romanian round dances “hore” in three different places. Reaching
the well they take water out of it in a recipient in which they put some basil
and then they return home, repeating three Romanian round dances around
the recipient this time. The basil from the water is placed under the pillow the
newlyweds will sleep. The belief is that as long as the basil will resist under
the
pillow,
the
same
amount
of
time
they
will
live.
After arriving home from the wedding ceremony , the bride holds her
mother-in-law and if she can lift her then, she will be the boss in the
household, if not, the mother-in-law.
The wedding party is an opportunity for all
the people to meet, wear their best clothes, eat
traditional food and dance traditional Romanian
dances called : Romanian round dances ”hore”.
The wedding dress of the maidens was a proof that
the girls knew to sew and weave, which was a
very important condition for marriage.
Marriage in Muntenia
In Muntenia (Wallachia) there
has been preserved for a long time the
custom of the adorned fir tree. On the
evening before the wedding, there is
the task of the groom and his friends
to adorn a fir- tree with paper,
ribbons, bells and fruit and they will
place on top of the tree a bottle of
plum brandy and a plum cake. This fir
tree is of a great importance as it will
be carried by a lad chosen by the
groom in the forefront of the wedding
procession. After the wedding, the tree
remains at the gate of the newly-weds,
being a sign that there is the place
where a young couple lives.
As in other areas of Romania, the knot-shapedbread
plays an important role in the wedding.
These kinds of fancy bread accompany the tree and
before the bridal dance that precedes the departure
of the wedding procession to church, the bride’s
godmother
tears this knot-shaped bread
over
the bride’s head.
The dancing of the roasted chicken is a custom
which is still kept especially in villages. A woman
who is either a guest at the wedding or the cook of
the wedding , dances with a roasted chicken in front
the godfather who must negotiate a price for it. In
some places, the godfather tries to steal the chicken,
which is usually cooked by the bride’s mother.
Marriage in Moldova
In Moldova, there is the custom of calling to
the wedding. This is made by the bride and
groom , by in-laws, and by the special lads who
are the best men. They go to every villager with
a bottle of wine or brandy and bids them to have
a sip. Traditions are similar to those of
Wallachia, so here the dancing of the roast
chicken and the adorned fir tree are also present.
Moldavian marriage is a bouquet of
traditions and culture. People sit together and
are served with food and wine. Traditional
dances
also
take
place.
Specific to Moldova is the number of
godparents. In the past, people from Moldova
chose 20 pairs of godparents but this was
according to their social position. Nowadays, the
bride and the groom have
one pair of
godparents
and
very
rarely
two
pairs.
Godparents are the ones in charge with buying
accessories: the bridegroom’s flower, the bridal
veil and the wedding candles.
There is also the custom in which the
bride goes to fetch water. In Moldova she
takes a bucket which is adorned with basil to
the nearest water source where she fills it,
then with basil soaked in the water from the
bucket she sprinkles around , making the sign
of the cross. It is believed that the girls who
get sprayed with this water will marry soon.
Moldavian marriage is a bouquet of
traditions and culture. People sit together and
are served with food and wine. Traditional
dances also take place. In Moldova, people
speak of "wedding parties" instead of just
"weddings,” The wedding ceremony itself isn’t
the focus of the festivities; it can be a small,
understated event leading up to the wedding
party
proper,
usually
an
all-night.
The traditional wedding party is
magnificent in its arrangement, and intense
from the moral ethical point of view. The
singing and dancing continues until the
sunrise. At dawn everyone sits down for a
minute and the bride is given a child to hold
in her arms.
A Moldovian maxim says: "The person who has failed to build a home,
to raise a son, to dig a well and to plant a tree has wasted his life".
That's why the Moldovian villages are so green, the houses are so
beautiful and you can see wells along the streets.
Marriage in Banat
In Banat the wedding is the most important and often spectacular
event to which the whole community participate with great joy
.
A highlight of the wedding ritual is as in Moldova , the call to the
wedding which is made by the best men . They walk in the village and
invite people to the ceremony and gives them a bottle of plum brandy .
Those who accept are expected to drink at the wedding, which lasts at
least
for
two
days
with
all
the
related
traditions
.
Before the ceremony , when the groom goes to the bride's parents to
ask her in marriage, an old woman is first brought to him and then a girl
and
only
in
the
end
his
future
wife
appears.
The ceremony is followed by a feast , and the bride’s dance.
The day after the wedding, the bride and groom go to a fountain
situated at a crossroads where they take out a bucket of water and pour
water to people to wash their hands in exchange for money. During that
day, too the newlyweds go to their godparents to offer them a gift as
token of their appreciation.
Marriage in Maramures
The wedding in Maramures has the following stages : the
asking-in-marriage, the engagement and the wedding
ceremony.
Everybody has a great importance in the
wedding procession: the "callers" to the wedding, the
bridesmaids, the "socacita" (chief-cook), the musicians, the
group of lads and the wedding guests.
In Oas, even nowadays, the
bride and the bridegroom wear
traditional folk costumes made
of wool even if it is summer.
Their costumes are hand-made
but a special emphasis has the
bride’s costume which weighs
more than 2o kilos.
On this
occasion, she wears a special
wedding head dress which is
adorned with beads and it is
extremely intricate.
Marriage in Dobrogea
In Dobrogea the customs are
varied as with the passing of time its
inhabitants
have
borrowed from
Turkish or Tartar traditions.
The
wedding begins on Thursday and ends
on Sunday, but traditionally the bride
and the groom see each other only
after three days since the beginning
of the wedding rituals. At these
festivities all
members of the
community participate , whether
invited
or
not.
One superstition says that the groom
should sit on the bride's dress while
kneeling in church if he wants to have
an obedient wife.
After the bride’s veil is replaced
by the head scarf , there is the bride’s
Romanian round dance in which only
the women will take part. In turns,
each of them will dance with the bride
and they will give her money for this
honour.
Today the wedding
in
cities is more or less
different, but somehow it
maintains some of the
traditions we have talked
about so far. Anyway, the
goal of marriage has been
the same from past until
the present moment, from
one region to another:
happiness !
TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS
WHEN A PERSON
DIES
Traditions about Death
There are many customs
which signify the farewell of
the dead from this world.
The first thing is the lit
wax candle which means that
the dying person is a Christian
and that he is in communion
with everybody and his spirit
will be met with light when it
leaves the body.
There is also the custom to
close his eyes so that he should
not see the sorrow and pain of
his relatives.
After the dead person was placed on the table in the coffin, the women who are
closely related to him /her , taking off all their jewels and adornments , coming near
him/her start keening, uttering the lamenting words :
De cum de te-ai indurat
De-asa iute m-ai lasat
Ian scoala si te trezeste
Si cu noi ceva vorbeste
Macar doua, trei cuvinte.
Ca sa le tinem in minte.
Ca de cand ai adormit
Mai mult nu mi te-ai trezit
Cu noi nimic n-ai vorbit.
For how you endured yourself
That so quickly you left me
You should wake and get up
And talk something with us
At least two or three words.
To keep them in our minds
As since you fell asleep
You have not woken up a little bit
With us you have not spoken anything.
Then after other words the keening women
address to the dead person and they keep saying
Au doara nu ma auzi
Or don’t you just hear me
Au nu vrei ca sa-mi raspunzi
Or don’t you just want to answer me
Au tare te-ai maniat
Or you just got so angry
Ori imi esti mult suparat
Or are you only very upset?
Then seeing that he/she does not answer , that he/she does not give any signs
of life, they conclude in this way:
De cantat ti-as mai canta
Da mi-I fripta inima
Si nu pot mai mult canta.
Inima mi-I fripta in mine
Ca nu vad suflet in tine.
Sufletelul ti-a zburat
Sus in ceriul ce-l inalt
Si pe mine m-a lasat
M-a lasat sa patimesc
In lume sa m-osindesc,
de-al tau dor sa ma topesc.
I would keep singing to you if I could
But my heart is burnt
And I can’t sing more than this
My heart is burnt in me
As I do not see the soul in you
Your little soul flew away
High up in the sky
And you left me
You left me to suffer
In this world to be doomed
For your longing to be consumed.
The women who cry are careful that their
tears should not fall on the deceased's face, as
it is believed that they might drown his soul.
At a person’s funeral, his relatives prepare
the alms, bake the knot-shaped bread named
” colaci”, and cook “coliva” , a kind of porridge
made of wheat grains and nuts, a type of food
which is made only for the dead and which is
sweet and beautifully decorated.
In Romania there are some places in
which this dish stands for the sins of the
deceased.
People decorate a branch of a fruit-bearing
tree with different dried or fresh fruits and
knot-shaped bread . This branch may signify :
the tree of life, the spirit’s crossing to the other
realm, the recreation of the spirit after passing
the customs or the paradise tree.
When the final moment approaches, the dying man’s relatives
send for the priest, so that this person should be able to confess to his
sins and receive the Eucharist. This ritual is respected minutely in
every detail so that the dead person’s soul should rest in peace.
There are a few phases to be followed and everything is seen as a
whole .
The person who has just died is washed, dressed in his/her best
suit, his/her hair is combed and then the relatives announce his/her
death in the village. The bells toll .
During the wake there will be candles lit so that this light
should illuminate the way of the soul to the heavens (the "soul's
candle")
There will be prayers so that his/her sins should be forgiven.
There will be some objects which will be put in the hand of the
dead person among which there can be listed: money, a stick, the
knot-shaped bread.
The body stays in the house for three days
and during this period the women in the house
mourn and keen for him/hers.
People from the village or town come to the
deceased ‘ s house in order to pay their respect , light
a candle , bring flowers and stand or sit around the
coffin to keep company to the dead.
The relatives start cooking the food that will
be served after the burial. Many people come with
different types of food products when they come to
pay their respect so many dishes will be prepared
using this .
The night before the burial, at the dead
person’s house, the priest makes special prayers , the
"requiem“ is held - and at this mass, only the close
people take part.
Before the deceased is accompanied on his
last way to the church and then to the burial ground
, there are some things to be done : the alms which
will be given to those present or to poor people, the
knot-shaped bread that is for the priest, the person
who should read the psalm, the bell which should
toll, the persons who will carry the body, the persons
who will hold the candles, the icon and the
cross.Before the procession begins, the psalm reader
makes a cross with a lit candle on the walls and the
priest starts reading from the Evangelic. The
relatives are around the coffin.
The Romanians focus on religious
ceremonies which should be done so that the
soul should go to heaven but , there are also
folk beliefs that for each person , there are both
a star and a tree.
That’s why the falling of the star marks
the death of a person and the tree (a fir tree) is
cut in the forest and brought to the deceased ‘s
house. There is a song which is sung only by
women and tells about the connection which
existed between the person with this tree of life.
The song expresses the grief of the fir as it
knows that it will have the same fate as the
dead person so it will dry and die.
There is another custom at funerals
which is called the dawn song. There are some
old women who sing this song at the dawn of
the two days between the person’s death and
the funeral. This song gives advice to the
deceased and it tells him/her about the
journey he/she will make to the realm of
his/her forerunners. This is a song about the
great passage.
The end