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National and Religious Holidays in Romania

Official Holidays

24th of January – 1859 Union Day Moldavia and Wallachia united in a single state

under Alexandru Ioan Cuza

The union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918 was the last event which marked the unification of the country.

The map of Great Romania

On 1 December, Romania's National Day, there will be

held military parades, shows and special events throughout the country

1 December - National Day

1st June, Children’s Day,We can find the parks full of children playing,

drawing or taking part in special activities that the city has prepared everywhere for them.

HEROES DAY- Ascension The 40th day from the Orthodox Easter. Not

a public holiday - observed with military and religious festivities at the monuments dedicated to the national heroes (such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)

Monuments dedicated to veneration of heroes

31st of December – New Years Eve Popular tradition: “goat dance” and “plough”

– performances in which young boys go awassailing through the village. These are ment to conclude the year that just ends and to wish all the best for the year to come.

Religious days

1st of January – New Year's Day and Saint Vasile’s Day.

Popular tradition : large group of people go from house to house to greet the villagers.

6th of January – The Epiphany The day when Jesus was baptized by Saint

John. Religious tradition: the water is hallowed, the priests go in every house to prepare the households for the new year and a cross thrown in a river or lake and some young men are trying to find it and bring it back. Popular tradition: predictions of the weather and harvests of the new year.

EASTER – holiday without a fix date Easter is one of the most important religious celebrations in

Romania. Many churches across Romania hold special Easter services. Families and friends gather for an Easter lunch or dinner, where meals include:

Lamb meat, including drob (lamb organs’ haggis with vegetables).Pască, a special type of Cozonac (walnut pound cake).Painted eggs. The colors that are used are red, yellow, blue, green

and black.Romanians call the painted and decorated eggs “oua incondeiate”,

“oua impiestrite”, or “oua inchiestrite”. It is customary to knock each other’s eggs during Easter, and it is believed that people who knock each other’s eggs will see each other again after death

Rusaliile (Pentecost and Whit Monday)50th and 51st days after Easter (this was instated as a national holiday in 2010).It celebrates the Christian belief of the Holy Spirit’s descent on Jesus Christ’s disciples.we can see the Căluşarii’s dance, which is a

healing and protection ritual against mythical creatures

15th August, Saint Mary’s Day (Dormition of the Theotokos)

The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Adormirea Maicii Domnului) is an annual national holiday in Romania on August 15. It celebrates the Christian belief that God assumed the Virgin Mary into Heaven following her death.

St. Andrew's DaySaint Andrew is the patron saint of RomaniaStatues, paintings, and other artwork representing the likeness of St Andrew are seen in many churches in Romania. Garlic is used as a form of protection on St

Andrew’s Day as it is believed that souls of the dead come back in the evening of November 30.

Christmas Day - December 25

Christmas activities include decorating Christmas trees, caroling songs from home to home, and giving presents to one another on Christmas Eve (Ajunul Crăciunului). The Christmas dinners often include different types of pork dishes, Ciorba de perisoare (vegetable soup with bran and pork meatballs), Sarmale (cabbage leaves stuffed with pork), and Cozonac (fruit bread)

The Romanian traditions and customs includes carols, star songs, the plough song, Sorcova, masks dances (horses, deers, goat) – and various actions, sayings, superstitions have their origin in ancient myths or Christian stories

Traditional days

24th of February – Dragobetele

Romanian correspondent of Saint Valentine’s Day. Dragobete is a festive Romanian holiday that is associated with love and the arrival of spring. According to myth, Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia, a woman who marks the return of spring. The day is also known as “the time when birds are betrothed” because during this time of year, birds generally build their nests and mate..

1st of March – Mărţişor It is the celebration of spring. Popular

tradition: amulets with red-white thread are offered to women to were them for a few days.

“Martisorul” is a decorative object, with a red-white wire around, you gave it to a person you like and it must be kept near her heart.

1st -9th of March - Babele (the Old Lady Days).

Popular tradition: everyone choose one of these days; the weather in that day shows how the year is going to be for the person who chose that day. Source legend: as she was climbing a mountain, old lady Dochia threw one by one, day by day all 9 sheepskin coats she was wearing. In the last day, the 9th, she died and turned into a rock.

8th March, International Women’s Day,

Celebrating all women, especially

mothers who receive many flowers on this day. We organize a lot of activities and shows to celebrate and honor this day in which we sing songs and recite poems dedicated to our mothers.

9th of March – Mucenicii – All Saints’ Day

Religious tradition: a special food is prepared, is recommended to drink 40-

44 glasses of wine (one for every saint martyr) and in this day the gates of heaven are opened and the souls of the ones who passed away are among us. Popular tradition: this is the day of the vernal equinox (after the old calendar) and fires are set in every yard in order to purify the land and the lights help the sun to defeat the darkness.

24th of June – Sânzienele (Drăgaica) Goddess of the wheat fields and married

women. Popular tradition: girls are wearing coronets of flowers named Sânziana (Drăgaica) then throw them on the village houses to bring luck or to show if the girl who threw it gets married that year.