New Year Traditions

Summary:

•New Year Tradition in Romania •The Goat Tradition •Bear Custom •The Little Plough •Sorcova

New Year Tradition in Romania The festive New Year celebration in  Romania is completely intricated  with the various New Year  traditions that were practiced by  early folks. Romanians still honor  and observe the various New Year  traditions to preserve the rich  cultural heritage and ensure that  the traditions are passed on to  future generations. 

On New Year’s Eve, children sing Plugusorul and Sorcova. In their songs, they wish good luck, happiness and success. You can hear the ringing of the bells and the bull sounds. The goat’s game, the bear’s game and the masks’ game are old Romanian customs.

The Bear, the Goat, the Bunghiers, the Caiutii, the Malanca, the Jiens and the Masked are expected to show up on New Year’s Eve. All of these stand for an original way of expressing the ritual associations of animals with almost universal worshiping of the Sun. The ceremonial structure of the custom is equally full of strength and vitality. The music and dance, both remarkable through their virtuosity and dynamism, the highly expressive masks, they all make up a unique spectacle. It is the masks that tell the most about the imagination and humor of the Romanian villager. Some of them have become genuine

An old tradition is that the year that is just beginning will be sunny and with rich harvests for the families that will leave the lamp alit on the New Year’s night until the dawn.

Also on the New Year’s morning, some traditional families toss money into the water where they wash their hands, counting on the fact that this will bring them money during the entire following year. Elderly people claim that their parents and grand-parents would put silver or even gold coins in the water when such coins were in use. Almost at the midnight of the 31st of December, the peasants foresee the weather in the following year, using large onion peels which the peel off and order by the months of the year. They put some salt on each of them. On the 1st of January, on St. Vasile’s  Day, the one able to undo witchcraft and spells shall check the level of the liquid left by the melted salt in each of the onions peels. This is how they will know if there is going to be rain or draught.

The Goat Tradition Throughout the season, teenagers and young adults especially enjoy caroling with the “Goat”. The “Goat” is actually a usually boisterous young person dressed up in a goat costume. The whole group dances through the streets and from door to door, often with flute music. This tradition comes from the ancient Roman people and it reminds us of the celebration of the ancient Greek gods. This custom is also called "brezaia" in Wallachia and Oltenia, because of the multicolored appearance of the goat mask. The goat jumps, jerks, turns round, and bends, clattering regularly the wooden jaws.

Bear Custom This custom is known only in Moldavia, a part of Romania, on the Christmas Eve. In this case a young person dresses up in a bear costume adorned with red tassels on its ears, on his head and shoulders. The person wearing the bear costume is accompanied by fiddlers and followed by a whole procession of characters, among them a child dressed-up as the bear's cub. Inspired by the crowd’s singing:

"Dance well, you old bear, And I’ll give you bread and olives", the bear grumbles and imitates the steps of the bear, striking strongly against the earth with the soles of its feet to the sound of drums and pipes.

The Little Plough

Plugusorul is a small plough. In Romanian folklore is a traditional procession with a decorated plough, on New Years' Eve. This is a well wishing custom for the field fruitfulness into the new year. This custom arises from "Carmen arvale", a Roman wish for bountiful crops. The ploughmen are teenagers and children carrying whips, bells and pipes in their hands.

Sorcova "Sorcova" is a special bouquet used for New Year's wishes early New Year’s morning. Children wish people a “Happy New Year!” while touching them lightly with this bouquet. After they have wished a Happy New Year to the members of their family, the children go to the neighbors and relatives. Traditionally, the "Sorcova" bouquet was made up of one or several fruit - tree twigs (apple-tree, peartree, cherry-tree, plum-tree); all of them are put into water, in warm place, on November 30th ( St. Andrew’s Day), in order to bud and to blossom on New Year's Eve.

Merry Sorcova,May your health be strong And you life long: As an apple tree As a pear stately As a rose bush fair Blossoming beyond compare: Strong as a granite rock Quick as an arrow’s shock Hard as an iron bar Tougher than steel by far, Over summer, over spring,May your health be great A New Year with happinessAnd in everything success.

Realizated by: •Gutu Ana-Maria e-mail: [email protected] Scoala Normala ,,Vasile Lupu” Iasi •Prisecariu Simona e-mail: [email protected] Scoala Normala ,,Vasile Lupu” Iasi

Bibliography:www.google.ro