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This is so fantastic. Thanks fo the info and the stunning photos.Romania is rich when it comes to Christmas customs and superstitions, and many of them are very old. Especially in the countryside, they are still kept alive and are unchanged as they were centuries ago.
For Romanians, Christmas celebration lasts 3 days (December 25th-27th). On the 20th December, Romanians in the countryside celebrate Ignat Day, where they sacrifice a pig in order to have a rich meal for Christmas.
Christmas dinner is a rich, multi-course meal, where we invite all our relatives and family friends, even the irritating ones you can't really stand but you can't do anything but to suck it up
Classic appetizers usually found on the table:
And as for main dish and dessert, these are essential
We also drink red wine and eat a lot of onion to keep healthy.
Romanian Christmas carols represent one of our oldest cultural elements. On Christmas Eve, children go out caroling from house to house, telling the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, accompanied by wishes of health, good luck and love. If they sing well, they receive in return some money.
A choral version of one famous carol
And then there's a different form of caroling, which involves costumes, masks and dance rituals. Some of them are traditional for certain parts of Romania only, while some can be found all over the country. Some examples for different areas:
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