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11th February 2003
Romanian festivals
Romania has many beautiful festivals and traditions. People have
festivals for each season.
Here are some festivals that Romanians celebrate in Spring:
-The Paparuda "Rain Caller" is the ritual celebrated in Spring
on a date that varies from place to place. An old magical dance invoking
rain, this customs survived to the present day in many village of Romania.
The children knit coronets, adorning them with ribbons.
Then they dance, going from house to house.
The hostess throws water and milk after them. The children
and the young people have to receive a coin or wheat, corn, flour or bean.
-The March Amulet is a traditional Romanian custom.
Every year Romanian people knit two little tassels: a white one and a
red one. At the beginning of March, they offer this amulet to the girls
they love...
In Moldavia, part of Romania, all persons can receive a
little March amulet. Red means love for everything that is beautiful and
white symbolizes the pureness and health of the snowdrops, the first
flowers that appear in spring.
The Legend of March Amulet
Once upon a time, the Sun embodying a handsome young man, got down
from the sky to dance a "hora" in a village.
A dragon lay in wait for him and kidnapped him from among
the people and threw him into a jail. The world got sad. The birds wouldn't
flow and the children wouldn't laugh.
No one dared to challenge the bad dragon. But one day a
brave young man decided to go and save the Sun. Lots of people saw him off
and shared their strength with him. So they helped him defeat the dragon
and save the Sun. His journey lasted for three seasons: summer, autumn and
winter. He found the dragon's castle and they started to fight. They fought
for days and finally the dragon was killed.
Powerless and wounded, the young man set the Sun free. The Sun
rose in the sky cheering up all the people and filling them with joy. The
nature revived, the people got happy, but the young man couldn't live to
see spring coming. The warm blood from his wounds dropped on the snow.
While the snow was melting white flowers, called snowdrops, messengers of
the spring, were appearing out of the snow. Even his last drop of blood
dripped out in the immaculate snow. And he died.
Since then the young people have been knitting two little
tassels: a white one and a red one. At the beginning of March, they offer
this amulet to the girls they love... Red means love for everything that is
beautiful. It reminds us of the colour of the brave young man's blood.
White symbolizes the pureness and health of the snowdrops, the first
flowers that appear in spring.
Here are some Festivals that Romanians celebrate in Summer:
-Dragaica:This very ancient agrarian custom is connected with the
harvest, still survives sporadic |