Christmas traditions

On this night, children all over the world are waiting for Santa Claus. For the little ones, but also for the adults, the winter holidays have a special charm thanks to carols, the most widespread Christmas tradition, along with decorating the tree.

Carols, skits with religious motifs and rich meals are indispensable, especially in villages, where customs are better preserved. Ethnologist Mircea Taban tells us where these rituals come from and what they represent.

Mircea Taban: Carols, in addition to the wishes of abundance, prosperity, joy in the homes of all people, also have the purpose of invoking the power of sunlight, to ward off evil spirits, to protect humanity from the mission of the evil one, because the basis of abundance and well-being is undoubtedly the light of the sun. There are ceremonies with masks, bears, birches, turkeys, goats. Their meaning is again quite clear. The bear is an animal dedicated to the sun, the deer as well, often brought tied to a plow and a fir tree. The fir tree is the cosmic tree, the tree of life. The fir tree means axis mundi, that is, the axis that connects the world of people and the sky.

Translated by: Radu Matei