Romania Edition
Dia de Reyes leads today's complete edition for Romania.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
Kids leave their shoes out the night before and wake up hoping for a gift from the Reyes Magos. The panaderias sell roscon de reyes, the ring-shaped sweet bread with a plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby hosts the next gathering, though everyone forgets by February.
The Epiphany is celebrated with the blessing of the water, and the tradition is to swim in the icy water of the nearest river or lake. The priest throws a cross into the water, and the young men dive in to retrieve it. The one who retrieves the cross is said to have good luck for the coming year. The Boboteaza is not just a religious ceremony : it is a test of courage, and the tradition is to swim in the freezing water (the temperature in January can be -15°C). In villages along the Danube, horse-drawn sleighs carry priests from house to house blessing the water supply, and the blessed water (agheazma) is kept in every home throughout the year as protection against illness and misfortune.
You spot the solenodon and the Hispaniolan hutia as distinctive small mammals endemic to this Caribbean island. You see that Dominican households most commonly keep dogs, cats, and fighting roosters. ACADA celebrates the world's pets, and helps assure better care.