ROMANIA

Photo: (c) Cristian Nistor / Agerpres Archive

The Year divinity is born, grows, ages and dies along the calendar year and revives after 365 days, and 366 in leap years.

St. Basil is the first of the holidays celebrating the important saints of the Romanian religious and lay calendar, some of the saints are young and some are elder. On every January 1, St. Basil, a joyful young man who likes love and fun, is celebrated.

On the New Year Day, the caroling bands wish people be in good health, rich and wealthy and joyful, and they receive fancy breads, wine, sausage and money, in exchange.

Shouting over the village is a night ceremonial when lads play judges sentencing those who broke the community laws and rules Perched on hills, trees or roofs they say whipping words to the spinster, the elder singles, the old women who put bad spells on people, the men who abandon their wives, the lazy, the thieves and the drunkards.

The whole community is looking forward watching the show. For cleaning and removing the evil and the bad, and fires are lit.

On the first day of the year, on St. Basil day heavens are said they stay open and prayers come true, and beasts and animals can speak like humans. This is the day of ceremonials called the Plow and Sorcova, when people are wished well and prosperity. Newly wedded men go caroling the Plow. This is an ancient agrarian custom, a fertility rite. The plow song wishes rich crops in the arriving year. The Plow carol tells the story of the farming works like ploughing, sowing, taking care of plants, harvesting and carrying the grains to the barns. The plow carol is always accompanied by whip cracking and ringing bells, and sounds of an instrument mimicking oxen’s mooing.
Photo: (c) AGERPRES Archive / 1940

The ritual sowing is another custom, at this time of the year. The carolers bear small bags full with wheat, barley, oats grains and maize sometimes, they step in houses and throw grains mimicking the sowing in the field and wish the hosts to be in good health and harvest rich crops. They are than given apples, fancy breads or money. After they leave, the housewives gather the grains spread on the floor and take them to the stable because they are believed they should keep the cattle healthy throughout the year.

Last but not least, Sorcova is anther New Year’s day custom, and it is the delight of every child. Sorcova is a twig full of buds or a stick decorated in colored paper flowers. The name Sorcova originates in the Bulgarian word surov meaning green and tender, hinting to the freshly budded twigs. The Sorcova is slightly directed to a person and plays somehow the role of a magic wand that has the power to give vigor and youth to the person it is pointed to. The words of Sorcova song remind us of charms wishing you to be strong and powerful.AGERPRES