The Traditions of Romanian People

by John Moshanu

I came to live in the USA from Romania in Eastern Europe. In this story, I will tell you about the traditions of the Romanians.

Romania is a country of Latin origin. The Romanians are descendants of the Dacians and have a history of 2,000 years. A traditional Romanian family is a big family with many (7 – 8) children. The birth of a child is a great joy for the whole family.

I remember from childhood, in the winter evenings, several families gathered at a meeting called a “sitting.” At these sittings, the young girls learned to process sheep’s wool to knit woolen socks and gloves. The young boys learned woodworking from the village craftsmen. Here, too, girls and boys sang, told stories and danced. The young teenaged girls and boys who wanted to get married were blessed by their parents. They chose two of their relatives to be
their godfather and godmother. Their relatives were very close to the young married people. They helped them and gave them advice for life. Their parents gave them a piece of land which was helpful for the young family.

Each family in the country has a vineyard sector. Men are masters of winemaking. The barrels would be ready to store the wine since August. Every house in Romania has a wine cellar in the basement where the barrels of wine and other food products are kept. After the grapes are harvested, they are passed through a crusher and placed in a large bowl in which the fermentation takes place. After fermentation, the grapes must be separated, and the wine poured into barrels. The wine is clarified in the barrel for two months. It is very good to drink at Christmas and New Year. When you are invited as a guest to a party, you are served a glass of wine because every family’s wine has its own taste.

This is just one of the Romanians’ occupations, but they have many trades, such as carpet weaving, woodworking, and stone carving. These crafts, along with making clay jugs and sewing national costumes, have made Romanians famous all over the world.