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The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees.
Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

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by Maia

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by Andrei

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In Romania, the children are those who begin caroling in the first part of the Christmas’ eve day, and, in regions like Bucovina or Maramures, they wear traditional clothes for this occasion. On the evening of the same day, older carolers often accompanied by instrumentalists take their place. If in the past, only young unmarried men could be part of these groups, today both women and men carol on Christmas Eve and even in the next days.
Carolers usually expect small food and beverage goodies, such as fruits, nuts, cookies, or glasses of wine for adult carolers, in exchange for their performances.

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Caroling is one the most popular Christmas traditions in Romania and although it’s usually related to the Christian celebration, carols go way back in time. In fact, carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago as part of the rituals of winter solstice celebration.

On the territory of today’s Romania, they were performed according to the agrarian calendar to bring good crops or to protect people from evil spirits.

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Romania

Christmas in Romania would not be Christmas without the mouth-watering dishes Romanian people cook, sometimes in oversized quantities. From pork sausages and other meat lovers delights to the traditional sweet bread cozonac, these foods are a major part of the Romanian Christmas traditions.