Winter celebrations in Romania

Romanians celebrated Christmas against the backdrop of economic and social stability, as well as some positive developments following the presidential elections in November.

In a state where religious sentiment is very strong and where almost 90% of its citizens identify themselves as Christians, Christmas is a time of both reflection and joy.

Statistics show that seven out of ten Romanians bought presents for their loved ones for Christmas.

Most people in Romania spent around 65 euros on their Christmas meal, with 14% of them being able to spend more than 120 euros.

However, only 1% of Romanians were interested in humanitarian cases.

In many cases, the Christmas presents for the poor and needy came from abroad.

For example, 20,000 children aged between 3 and 13 who go to schools in the north of the country received gifts from Germany.

17 trucks full of food and hygiene products arrived in 164 towns and villages in this region and unloaded with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

The eastern city of Galati again held a charity event entitled Christmas of the Heart during which 5,000 people in need received a warm meal consisting of traditional Romanian Christmas products such as sausages and other pork dishes.

Christmas was also a good opportunity to promote local folklore, with its Christmas carols and ancient traditional customs.

Some of the local carollers even travelled abroad, such as a group of 30 young people from Drobeta Turnu Severin, in the south-west, who took part in the Vienna Carol Festival.

The many Romanians living abroad also celebrated Christmas in Romanian fashion.

The Romanian community in Madrid gathered in the city’s Virgin Mary Orthodox Church, the oldest Romanian church in Spain.

The Romanians who live abroad say celebrating Christian holidays together with their fellow nationals helps relieve some of their homesickness.

At home, Romanians are facing massive snowfalls, blizzard and very low temperatures.

Because of the bad weather, the authorities have closed a number of national roads and measures are being taken to restore electricity in areas affected by power cuts and deal with road, railway, sea and river travel disruptions.