Winter story Good wishes, joyfulness and
Florin Puscas
Winter traditions and customs in Maramures
Romania... seen differently
As of Christmas and up to the Epiphany
(25th December – 7th January), Maramures reverberates
with songs and joy, Christmas carols and traditional
well-wishings, conveying the charm and magic of bygone
days. Numerous ancient, meaningful traditions and
customs are still preserved in villages around Maramureş,
and everyone craving a genuine Romanian Christmas, and
wishing to go back in time, is welcome to these picturesque
lands, rich in hospitable and hardworking folk.
Photo: Florin Puscas / Glasul Maramuresului
30 | Prospecting News • No. 18
includes carols about children, about young
optimism reign over the entire
winter holiday season with
exquisite Christmas carols sung,
all of which end in wishes for
health, abundance and richness
made to the hosts.
Christmas preparations start several weeks
prior, namely as of the beginning of the
Nativity Fast, when young men will gather
around the villages in groups and call on
the old men to be taught Christmas carols
and the “Viflaim” (“Viflaim” is the ancient
Romanian name for the biblical town of
Bethlehem). The “Viflaim”, as a custom,
consists in a folk theatre play recreating
the moment when the three wise men
and the shepherds appeared to profess the
birth of Jesus Christ and the conflict with
Herod the Emperor. Groups of 20-30 lads,
interpreting various biblical characters
(Jopseph, Mary, Herod –Herodes the biblical
king, the professor, the innkeeper, the angel,
the two shepherds, the three wise men, two
soldiers, Death, the Devil, the Old Man, the
watchman) gather on the evening of 25th
December in front of the village church
and act out the “Viflaim”. Each of them
must be very well prepared for the part he
is interpreting, as this also conveys one’s
dedication to the holy teachings.
An additional tradition, preceding
Christmas, and one that is deeply cherished
by residents in the region of Maramures,
consists in the so-called “Ignat“ or the pig
slaughter, at dawn on the 20th of December
(in other regions in the country, this
tradition takes place on Christmas Eve). It
is said, in the region of Maramures, that
compassionate people should not be allowed
to slaughter the pig, as the animal will sense
the human’s mercy and suffer even more. All
the activities associated with pig slaughter
must be accompanied by joyousness and
well-wishings. At the end, the women will
cook a dish from raw pork meat with onion
and bacon, the so-called “pomana porcului”
(Pig Alms), from which the first to be served
are the first guests entering their houses.
Carolling is one the most beautiful Christmas
traditions. Carols are deemed a sort of white
magic, conveying joy and optimism into
people’s hearts, due to their religious content
(announcing the birth of Jesus Christ) and
their deeply human message, relating to
crops’ yield, richness from household beasts,
successfully raising children, young people’s
accomplishment by way of marriage, and
peace of mind for the elderly. The repertoire
men and young women, as well as the elderly.
The first to go carolling are the children. On
the evening of the 23rd of December, until
past midnight, into the 24th of December,
and even up to dawn, bands of children will
go carolling from one home to the other:
Mos-Ajunul, Bună-dimineaţă la Mos-Ajun,
Colindisul [translator’s addition: titles of
carols] carolling will continue on Christmas
Day, with “ Steaua”, a carol announcing the
birth of Jesus Christ. Additionally, children
will go carolling the “ Plugusor” (literally,
little plough in Romanian) and the “ Sorcova”
(magic wand – a twig decorated with artificial
flowers). As popular belief would have it, no
home should be left unvisited. Additionally,
according to popular beliefs, the carol
singers bear luck and happiness, and their
effort should be rewarded through offerings
consisting of nuts, apples, hot “ cozonac”
(Romanian sweet bread cake) and sausages,
wine and “ horincă” (Maramures brandy).
One other particularly charming custom
that is still preserved in some villages in
Maramures consists of the mask game.
Besides the traditional games found in
basically all the rural areas in Romania,
such as the “ capra” (the goat costume dance)
and the “ ursul” (the bear costume dance),
in Maramures one can also witness “ jocul
mosilor” (the old folks’ dance).
Numerous winter holidays’ customs and
superstitions have been preserved in the
Maramures area, passed on from one
generation to the next, stemming from
ancient beliefs and myths. Thus, it is said
that on Christmas one must wear a new
clothing item, purchase a new household
item, and greet the carol singers in a clean
and bright home. Christian homes must not
lack the Christmas Tree, richly decorated, as
this is the pride of every Christian family.
In ancient times, the tree was adorned with
apples, nuts and strings of white beans, as
a symbol of the chastening of one’s soul. In
Photo:
/ Glasul
Maramuresului
Romania... seen differently
Maramures, there persists a custom where
fruit-bearing trees are tied with straws on
Christmas Eve so that they may yield rich
crops during the year to come. On Christmas
evening, in villages in Maramures, cows’
horns and hips, as well the doors to the
stables, are smeared with garlic to chase away
evil spirits. People are smeared with garlic
on their foreheads, as are the home windows
and doors, in order to remove night demons.
No laundry shall be washed on Christmas
Day, and one should not lend anything.
Further on, the household beasts must be
well fed, and they should also receive a little
piece of sourdough, based on the belief that
this will protect them from any illness.
If the animals fall asleep on their left on
Christmas Eve, it is a sign that the winter will
be long and extremely cold. There is another
belief according to which people who cry
on Christmas Eve will cry throughout the
following year. It is goodFoto:
to wash ourselves
Mihai Nedelcu
with clean water on Christmas morning,
water from a spring or a fountain into which
we have previously thrown a silver coin, so
that we may be as clean as silver and free of
illnesses throughout the year.
Izei Valley
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