Romania, a country located in the intersection of the Central and Southeastern Europe, celebrates its New Year on January 1.
New Year Day is also referred as St. Vasile’s Day in Romania. All the people in Romania put in dedicated efforts to give a positive start to the New Year, which they hope to be good and positive for them too. While preparing for New Year celebrations, special consideration is put to have all traditions and customs well in their place.
Traditional New Year Celebrations in Romania
Interestingly, most of the traditions followed by the people of Romania during New Year time have some or the other connection with destiny factor. Also, many of them conclude at drawing predictions for the future, and thus many people fascinatingly become a part of those traditions out of their desire to get aware of their fate in the coming year. Also, Romanians see New Year as a time when they should be passing on their ancient traditions, cultures, customs, and heritage to the future generation. These are the factors that define the rigorous following of traditions by the Romanians during New Year’s time.
Prominent New Year Traditions in Romania
There is a prominently followed tradition of ‘Sorcova’, as a part of which small children decorate a small branch or stick with vibrant artificial flowers of different colors. Then the adorned stick is frivolously touch to the elders of the house in a pattern while congratulating them with best luck wishes and success for New Year as well as wishing them with a long and healthy life in the coming time. One can hear them, ringing bells and creating sounds of bull. There is also a conventional tradition of tossing coins in water on the morning of New Year. It is done with a belief that it will bring in enough wealth and prosperity in the entire following year. There is a tradition of keeping lamps alit on New Year’s Eve till the dawn of the New Year’s Day, as it is considered to confer them with a sunny New Year morning and rich harvests in the entire coming year.
Weather Predictions on New Year in Romania
As a part of another tradition, peasants make predictions for the weather in the coming year on the basis of large onion peels. This tradition, which is observed on the midnight of the New Year, have peasants taking unpeeling off the onion petal by petal, with each one being associated with one month of the following year. While doing so, they also put some salt over the onion petals. Then, a person with efficiency in witchcraft or magic charms check each of the unpeeled petals to check the level of liquid left in each of them by the melted salt. On the basis of that evaluation, weather for the different months of the coming year is predicted.
Vergel New Year Tradition in Romania
There is another tradition, which is rather slightly amusing with its aspects. The tradition, which is called as Vergel involves young unmarried people and their parents. As a part of this tradition, predictions are made for the young unmarried people regarding their partner in the coming year, and their chances of getting hitched in the coming time.
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