Romania Edition
Noche Buena 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.
The real Christmas. Families gather, the Viejito Pascuero (Santa Claus) leaves gifts under the tree, and the pan de Pascua and cola de mono flow. The meal is late, the conversation is long, and at midnight everyone hugs. Christmas in Chile is Noche Buena. December 25th is just the aftermath.
The real celebration is the 24th, not the 25th. The whole family gathers at midnight for vitel tone, pan dulce, and sidra. The heat is brutal, the fan is on high, and someone always sets off fireworks in the street. At midnight, the toast happens and kids run around with globo lanterns.
Christmas Eve is celebrated with the colindat (caroling), where children go from house to house singing colinde (Christmas carols) and receiving covrigi (pretzels), apples, and nuts. The colindat is not just caroling : it is a social institution, and the tradition is to sing the colinde at every house in the village and to receive a gift at every stop. The most famous colind is "O, brad frumos" (O, beautiful fir tree), and the tradition is to sing it under the window of the house. In rural areas, the carolers are divided into groups: the children's group (which sings the simple carols), the youth group (which sings the more complex carols), and the men's group (which sings the ancient carols about the birth of Christ).
The Romanian winter is rich with customs and traditions that date back to pre-Christian times. The most important is the "colindat" (caroling), which begins on Christmas Eve and continues until the New Year. The colindat is not just singing : it is a ritual, and the carolers are divided into groups (children, youth, and adults) who go from house to house singing the "colinde" (carols) and receiving gifts of fruit, nuts, and covrigi (pretzels). The most important carol is "O, brad frumos" (O, beautiful fir tree), which is sung under the window of the house. Other winter customs include the "Capra" (the Goat), a ritual dance in which a man wearing a goat mask dances through the village, and the "Ursul" (the Bear), a ritual dance in which a man wearing a bear skin dances through the streets to ward off evil spirits. The "Plugusorul" (the little plow) is a poem recited by children on New Year's Day, wishing the household a prosperous year and a bountiful harvest.
