By Scinteie Alexandru Gabriel, “Ion Ghica” Secondary School,

Iasi, Romania

No matter the weather and timing, in our country, in March, the month of the spring equinox and the month of a new “agricultural” year, the third month of the year, named The Trinket (March amulet), starts like a happiness explosion of a child who, after a lot of time, has received his toy.

The Romanian people have a very interesting and original mode to welcome the first spring day, offering and receiving trinkets. This is an old tradition, some million years old, that is kept until present day.

The legend says the first trinket (March amulet) was made by “Old Dochia”, the daughter of Decebal, when he was climbing a mountain with his sheep. The trinket, made from 2 curled threads, usually silk, white and black, latter white and red, is the union of opposites: summer-winter, hot-cold, light-darkness.

In the past, the trinket was worn on the hand or on the chest, from 1 March to the date when the spring won the battle with winter: when the cuckoo sings, when the travel birds are come back and when the the cherries are in blossom.

The orthodox church celebrates the 40 saints martyrs on 9th march every year, altogether with Christian soldiers, Romans and Greek, from the time of the king Licinus (308-324), a great Christian hater. These martyrs and soldiers were part of the thirteen legion of Armenia. “Baba Dochia” is celebrated in the same day. Old Dochia dies, according to tradition, frozen on the mountain like her sheep, and she is transformed into stone. From that day on, the whimsical days of the fight between spring and winter, are over, leaving place to “mosilor”(old men) days, hotter and “calmer” days.In that day, a lot of rituals for the banishment of the frost are initiated, like: hitting the earth with wood, saying incantations, in order to get the hot out from the earth.People from the rural areas think that day marked the beginning of a new crop year and the martyrs were like some souls, for whom on 9th March, they were making alms.40 Martyr cookies are prepared on that day, named in various ways according to the geographic area “macinici’, “saints” or “small saints”. They look like number 8 and they are anointed with honey from the bees and covered in dried, minced walnut.

Easter symbolizes, altogether with religious aspects, renewal in all the aspects of life. Cleaning the house, buying new clothes, having a ritual bath before going to church are all signs for this new beginning. Everyone, rich or poor, dresses up with their best clothes or traditional folk costumes and goes to church at midnight.

At church, everyone lights their candles and leaves with them like this, to bring the light in their houses and flats. People say that the burning candles protect them against thunder and lightning on their way home.

There is also a belief that the painted eggs represent the source of life, which led to connecting eggs to certain rituals of renewal of nature and eventually to Easter. Initially, people painted the eggs red and decorated them, but with time, painting the eggs has become an art and a talent for experts. Today, real eggs or wooden eggs are painted with complex drawings, decorated with precious stones and sold afterwards.

The habit of painting the eggs is held in Bucovina. In the Great Week, starting on Tuesday and until Friday, people paint the eggs with the painting brush or the special decorating pen and wax, being considered an art. Even though women are the ones that usually decorate the eggs, there are also families that do this together as a tradition and that teach their children this art with love and patience.

The Orthodox Christians celebrate Saint Paraskeva, known as “the miracle-working saint”, every year, on the 14 October.

To celebrate her, tens of thousands of pilgrims go to Iasi from all over the country, but also from abroad, from the Moldavian Republic, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria. They stay patiently in line for many hours and even for days, no matter the weather, just because they have the desire to pray at the relics for a few seconds.

Saint Paraskeva is perceived by the people by the people from the rural areas as having “a big body and an ugly face”, but with a good soul because she protects people against disease, hail, thunders, and the children against evil eyes. Because of this not-so-complimentary perception, the saint is also named Saint Friday, and as a result we have the expression “long as a feast day”.

The housekeepers that can and have the resources prepare a great dinner on this day, with traditional food that they share with the poor ones. The fruit with marks like the cross, nuts and cucumbers are not served on that day.

The young girls must celebrate Saint Paraskeva, in order to be honored like her. In villages, there are fires in the yards to fight the evil spirits.

For the most awaited celebration in December, Christmas , the Romanians turned equally to tradition, knowing how to accept also recent habits. Nativity brings an amount of very old practice which celebrate the winter solstice, when nature gives hope that it will be reborn .

Carols custom embedded in it not only a song and ritual gesture, but also numerous messages and symbols of an ancient Romanian spirituality. He sometimes kept associating with the Christian celebration of the big event is the birth of Jesus Christ. There is also a star songs (or Christian carols), on the subject of the Nativity .

On Christmas Eve, in the evening carols begins. Children with the star announcing the birth of the Lord are welcomed by hosts who reward them with apples, nuts and coils.

Tradition in Romania requires children to go from house to house, singing songs and reciting poems and legends star throughout the Christmas period .

New Year’s Eve is celebrated all around the world with various traditions and superstitions that must be strictly followed to start the new year well and to get rid of bad luck.

On New Ear’s Eve, in the morning, children go caroling and dancing with the nanny goat, bear and horse – masks, a habit connected to the hope of fertility, as the lyrics refer to agriculture and rich crops for the year to come.

On New Year’s Eve, the house must not be cleaned, otherwise you clean your luck away. Nothing must be thrown away, not even garbage, otherwise the house is empty all year round. The garbage can be taken out on the 2nd of January.

It is recommended to pay your debts before New Year’s Eve, otherwise you will give money to people all year round. Do not lend money, otherwise you will be poor.

For a year full of peace, do not cry or fight on that day.As everyone desires money – we do not think about health or

problems when we have it – make sure that your pockets are full of money on New year’s Eve.