Related to Mihaela’s post, “Epiphany and Saint John Day”, Adrian relates some ancient traditions, banned by the communist authorities, traditions that have rebirth and know today a new life.

January 6th and 7th are two special days in the Christian Orthodox calendar. The Epiphany Day (Boboteaza, January 6th) and Saint John’s Day (Santion, January 7th) are two of the most popular religious holidays, rich in meanings and symbols. For the Romanians the Epiphany Day, also called Boboteaza or Teofania, is a day of purity [...]

A feast of lights and joyfulness – this is how I remember my Christmases in Romania. The Christmas tree was a “must have” in my family – I’ve never spent one single Christmas without it. Romanian carols, although sober and quite religious, were magic. I miss Christmas. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Christmas in [...]

Although cruel, the tradition of pig slaughtering is ancient and not many Romanians are happy to let it go. But the tradition is not a symbol of cruelty – it’s purpose is not “entertainment.” This is the way our ancestors used to sacrifice pigs to feed their families at Christmas. However, it is somehow strange [...]

Today Romanians celebrate 90 years of national unity. All nations have a national holiday – the American “Independence Day” is no longer a secret for the world. Romanians celebrate their Union Day as a National Holiday. December 1st, 1918 – the National Assembly of all Romanians in Transylvania, Banat and the Hungarian Country convened in [...]