Romania - Special Edition
Romanian Popular Traditions
“From a cultural and spiritual point of view, Europe becomes complete with all that the Carpatho-Balkans area created and preserved. There, where the death is seen like a wedding, there the sources are intact” –
Mircea Eliade (Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago).
The Romanian village – the countryside tourism in Romania represents one of the most relevant segments of the national tourism. Romanian customs and traditions, untouched by the present changes, have been kept inside the dwelling of the Romania village for centuries.
The major events in a person’ life (the birth, the marriage, the funeral) become reference moments in the life of the community, as well as, every person feels obliged to participate to the most significant events of the village (
Easter,
Christmas or the day of the patron of the local church).
Romanian Holidays are marked by the
profound Christian character of the celebration, as well as by preserving the unique picturesque character of the event.
Traditions and customs from ancient ages put a mark on the spiritual culture of these places. In some villages, the vigil in the nearby of the passed man it s a good opportunity to make fun and good cheer; the rain makers dance go before the take out of sacred images, miracle workers, in case of big drought, frightening masks, dances on ancient rhythms announce the
birth of Christ.
Sapanta, a village located in North of Romania, is famous all over the country for its
“joyful graveyard”. The traditional songs, the dance is much livelier than anywhere in Europe.
As referring to the material civilization, even if the village today does not resemble with the one that existed a century ago, there is a constant concern for protecting its values.
In Romania, there are numerous ethnographic museums that preserve the Romanian village life.
Village Museum in
Bucharest – one of the earliest and biggest museums in open air from Europe, it comprises over
300 buildings – arms collected from all part of the country. The Museum offers the possibility of seeing and understanding the people’s way of life. The interior are true exhibitions of embroidery, tissues, costumes, pottery, furniture, tools as well as kitchen utensils.
Romanian Peasant Museum (Bucharest) - a vigorous institution, one of the most modern and dynamics museums in Romania. For the way it managed to put in evidence the character of Romania spirituality,
UNESCO declared it
“The European Museum of 1990”.
The
Universal Ethnography Museum “Franz Bitner”(Sibiu) – it demonstrates the opening to the ethnical identity approach in all its aspects which gives it a high European dimension.
The Ethnographic and Popular Art Museum in Baia Mare – a fabulous treasure located in an area where one can encounter civilizations that reach prehistory. Here, the wood civilization raised beautiful steeples of the
Maramures churches; icons on wood as well as on glass – expression of the high spirituality that blossomed in this unique space.
Ethnographic Museum in Gura Humorului – focused on
Bucovina popular techniques. The traditional occupations (pottery, wood work, weaving) in Humor region, from Dornelor to Campulung, reflect in over 2.000 objects that can be encounter here.
Popular Traditional Civilization Astra Museum in Dumbrava Sibiului – impressive place dedicated to Romanians material and spiritual culture. Part of a unique complex, of museums, it is focused on ethnical identity issue.
But the authentic traditional values are not to be found only in these museums. Blessed areas as villages on
Olt Valley, on the heat of Transylvania, on Dobrogea are true examples that these communities from cultural identities in continuous evolution.
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