5. Ziua Copilului (Children’s Day)

Holiday that originated from the Communist era. It was first mentioned in a Geneva Conference in 1925. It is also known as International Children’s Day as about 30 countries participate in this international event. Romania celebrates this occasion on 1st of June every year.

This is a popular holiday in Romania. All kinds of entertainment for children like games and magic shows are planned for this day. Most of the activities are for free. Candies are common gifts to children this day.

Almost all Romanian cities have a children palace (Palatul Copilor – Romanian) that is used as a recreation center for children’s needs.

Source: The Complete Insider’s Guide to Romania: 2011

6. Month of August

August is summer for the rest of Europe and in North America. It is usually warm with extended daylight time. It is usually hottest in southern and eastern Romania where 100° F is the usual temperature.

Source: Romania Tourism 

Tourist sites, like the Black Sea are crowded during this season. That is why it is wise to plan early for your vacation during this season.

This is not a bank holiday so you will see most offices are open during this period though staff are usually lesser. Since most of them have

7. Ziua Mortilor (November 1)

Traditionally a Catholic and Orthodox holiday. This is the date where people visit the grave of their love ones who passed away.

This holiday like all Romanian Holidays, people prepare for a feast by cooking special food that are mostly identical with funeral food.

Cemeteries in Banat, Transylvania and Maramures turn into oasis of lights during night time giving it a really beautiful sight.

Coming up: 

Ziua Nationala a Romaniei – December 1
St Nicholas Day – December 6
Christmas

However, the language that is most associated with this language is the Eastern Romance Language. This could be the reason why most people would ask why they speak the Romance language.

Well, here is the thing. Romania, being a descendant of ancient Rome (Dacia, the country’s name before Roman imperialism was conquered by the empire) speaks closest of the Latin language. Romanians speak the vernacular Latin, known as Vulgar Latin. Vulgar doesn’t mean profanity, but it means of speaking the Latin language in a lesser classical way. Common inhabitants of the early Roman Empire speak Vulgar Latin, while the aristocrats speak classical. It is an everyday language that even Cicero uses for correspondences.

The language simplified the Latin, the extinct language that we can only see on judicial arguments, decisions or laws our legislators write at some point.

Vulgar Latin was spoken more when the classical Latin started to disintegrate. There came a point when people no longer understand Latin that priests were ordered to preach the vernacular Latin. Since then, classical Latin has been extinct after the fall of the empire until the Middle Ages while the vulgar Latin has not, as evidenced by Romanians speaking it to this very day.

This is why a lot of people suggest that Romanians are the closest to speak Latin today.

So you or someone you know might ask why Romanian is Vulgar Latin or Romance. It is because of the reason that the core language is Latin.

And again, vulgar doesn’t equate with profanity or crudeness as the English dictionary defines. Vulgar, for speakers of the romance language means vernacular.

So when someone tells you that: “Hey, the Romanians speak a vulgar language!” Do not freak out and think that Romanians are rude people because they are not.

What are these Romanian holidays? And what makes them important for Romanians and other nationalities who visit Romania during these holidays?

1. Martisor: March 1

One of the very oldest holidays in Romania. Celebrated during the 1st of March, beginning of spring, it is widely believed to have originated in the pre-Roman or Daco-Thracian era. It used to be the start of the new year according to old Roman calendar.

The holiday is symbolic and traditional, as it correlates to women and agrarian fertility. In ancient Rome, New Year’s eve was celebrated on the first of March – ‘Martius’ as the month was to honor Mars, the god of war. But Mars, in Roman mythology is not only the god of war, but also the deity of agriculture who ensured the nature’s rebirth.

There are regional variations in honoring this festival but the most common is the wearing of amulets also known as martisor. Women commonly wore these talismanic amulets while it is customary for men to buy these for the important women in their lives.

You will see a lot of street kiosks a week before March 1 which sell these talismans. They usually sell those cheap or expensive depending on their designs.

Though Martisor is considered as a historical holiday, this is not considered as a bank holiday. So government, stores operate on this day.

2. Women’s Day – March 8

This holiday is an influence of the Communist regime (It used to be a socialist propaganda and political event). This is also widely celebrated in the whole world known as International Women’s Day.

Romanians give a lot of importance to this day, as men pamper women a lot! It is custom that men buy flowers or any gift to women dear to them. Women receive a lot of attention.

This is also not a bank holiday.

3. First of May (or Intai Mai)

Known as International Worker’s or Labour Day in Romania, the country joins more than 80 countries (except the US) in this global movement. This is the day where everybody leaves work, march the street and air their grievances about the labor condition.

In the Communist era, this used to be a big holiday since it is a known propaganda that Communism was about the “dictatorship of the proletariat (workers)”. Back then, plasters and cardboards are everywhere in rallies.

Nowadays, it is a public holiday where you see a lot of people taking off from work to visit the beaches or family in the countryside. Government and banks are closed and people are celebrating with their slanina and mici either in the beach or countryside.

4. Easter (Paste)

Holiday in any Orthodox or Catholic countries, this is probably the most important celebration in Romania. They celebrate this, based on the Orthodox date. Note: Orthodox and Catholic calculate on their own Easter’s celebration so dates between Orthodox and Catholic countries are largely different at times.

There are a lot of rituals that precedes this event. Boiled eggs are painted to be used for parlor games for children on Easter. Bells ring, rituals performed for a specific time.

This event means a tremendous rest for everyone in Romania. Banks, offices, schools and government are closed. Transportation is the only commercial activity that can be seen during this holiday. Romanians usually spend a lot of time cooking for a feast or preparing for Easter events.

Hristos a inviat! (Christ has risen!)
Adeverat ca a inviat! (Indeed he has!)

Coming up: 

Ziua Copilor
Month of August
Ziua Mortilor
Ziua Nationala a Romaniei – December 1
St Nicholas Day – December 6
Christmas

But this perception about Vlad the Impaler is a complete and popular Hollywood myth. His being an impaler is a historical account, while his being a vampire is completely false. (Do vampires even exist?!)

Vlad III (1431-1476) is the Prince of Wallachia of central Romania. He was a member of the House of Drăculești and was also known by his patronymic name, Dracula.

Vlad III of Wallachia. Image courtesy of Secret Transylvania. No copyright infringement intended.

Romanian accounts trace that in the 15th century, Vlad III spent much of his rule campaigning against the Ottoman empire’s hegemony in Europe. He is ‘The Impaler’, because of his method of impaling (piercing with a sharp and elongated object like a spear, pole or others). He is credited as one of the first figures in history to use such method of executing enemies, thus sealing his reputation as a cruel man and tyrant in Europe.

Any acts of crime in Wallachia from stealing to lying at the time were punished by impalement.

His cruelty is widely feared in Romania. It was accounted that he used the method of impalement to his enemies who betrayed him in the past. He also used this tactic when Sultan Mehmed II of Ottoman empire sent Hamzha Panza, the Bey (chieftain) of Nicopolis and his 1,000 soldiers to make peace or eliminate Count Dracula. Soon when they were passing the north of Giurgu, they were surprised by Vlad’s attack. The Wallachians defeated and almost impaled the Turks.

Impalement was Dracula’s law that has proven to be effective in preventing crime, corruption and wars. Based on historical accounts, he used impalement to kill around 20,000 people (criminals and Turkish Prisoners of War) and threw them on the road to the capital of Wallachia, making the Turkish soldiers turn back after encountering these corpses along the river of Danube.

Despite this diabolical cruelty, Vlad III was hailed as a Romanian and Bulgarian hero for making use of impalement in implementing his laws for honesty and order.

While he was widely regarded as a hero who saved Wallachia from the Turkish empire, he was known as a leader who alienated a lot of camps in Wallachia. An example of this was his own brother Radu cel Frumos and the Boyars, who he thought of weakening Wallachia due to their constant power struggles.

This would cause his downfall. Later in his life, he will find himself defeated and overthrown by Radu and the boyars. He retreated to Hungary and asked help from Matthias Cornivus, King of Hungaria and Croatia. He failed to secure his alliance and later found himself imprisoned for more than 10 years.

He was able to reign again after Radu’s death and securing Hungarian’s help. His last reign would be short because he was assassinated two months into his rule. It remains a debate as to the exact location and date of his death, but it is widely believed to be between 1476-1477 between Giurgu and Bucharest.

He died, disproving the myth that he was a vampire (Vampires, if they exist shouldn’t die, should they?).

The immortality of Count Dracula has been sealed in the novels and films, making him one of the most popular literary protagonist (or antagonist) of the recent times. But apart from the myth that he was a vampire, there remains a legacy of Vlad the Impaler, the Count Dracula, that deserves to be told.

What other stories have you heard or read about Count Dracula of Romania?

But no, no, no, the two are not similar. It is neither a corn mush that are often seen in Southern United States. You might be expecting a shocking and elaborate process while cooking mamaliga, but its only a boiled corn meal, which makes it very simple.

You have to understand that Mamaliga is a very staple food in Romania. It is historically known as a peasant food, readily available and affordable. It used to be a substitute for breads.

Mamaliga is traditionally cooked by salt, cornmeal and boiling water in a cast iron pot.

It is such a simple dish to prepare that I am going to teach you today how to cook it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of cornmeal (stone-ground)
4 cups of water
Salt, to taste

Materials for cooking:
Cast iron pot, or any regular pot that you have in your home
Authentic Romanian long handled spoon

Note: Ratio of cornmeal to water is 1:4

Instructions:

• Boil the water and salt into your pan
• Reduce the heat to the lowest temperature
• Pour the cornmeal gradually. Don’t dump everything at the same time. The secret to making a perfect Mamaliga is to pour the cornmeal and stir it slowly while cooking.
• Cook the mixture covered or stir, occasionally until it thickens.
• Never, ever allow the Mamaliga to burn. Test a spoonful of it and when you see it gels up, you’re all done!
• That’s it you’re done cooking! You can now transfer it on a plate.

There are other tons of ways to cook Mamaliga, like adding cheese (feta cheese would be a perfect ) and eggs. You are certainly free to do anything with your Mamaliga. No one will stop you from doing so. But it is highly advisable to prepare and eat it plainly, to have an authentic taste of a traditional Romanian cuisine.

How do you prefer Mamaliga cooked? Do you have your own version? Share it with us!

Image courtesy of ExploringRomania.com. No copyright infringement intended. 

The dish Mici, is often a simple cuisine made from ground beef with lamb and pork. The meat are usually ground together and flavored with spices like paprika, black pepper, lots of garlic and cumin.

Mici is very easy to cook and extremely inexpensive to buy. These are often sold in large packs at grocery stores. You can easily cook it by grilling. This is also perfect during picnics. It is also best to be eaten along with mustard and beer.

Mici is a festival food that you can easily prepare anytime. Let me teach you how to do it.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (ceafa, pronounced as chah-fah, back of the neck)
1 lb ground pork
½ lb ground lamb
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp thyme
¼ tsp star anise
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of beef stock
½ cup warm water

Instructions:

• Get your ingredients altogether.
• Combine the spices and salt. Set aside.
• Prepare beef broth. Set aside.
• Mix ingredients altogether. Blend in the baking soda.
• Slowly add warm water until well combined.
• Form meat into cylinder shapes about 3 inches long and 1 ½ inches in diameter.
• Brush all sides of the mititei with oil.
• Grill (you may also fry, but it wouldn’t be as tasty as grilled). Turn every about 3-4 times until cooked. It may take about 10 minutes to cook.
• Serve with mustard. You can now enjoy your home cooked Mici! It would be better for this to be served with beer!

Image courtesy of Erumania. No copyright infringement intended. 

Pronounced as keef-tay-lay, the dish is consisted of beef and lamb meat combined with eggs, salt, pepper, onions, garlic, oil, minced potatoes and carrots and flour.

Historically, the word chiftea (singular form of Chiftele) came from the Turkish language Kofta (Middle Eastern meatball). The was because of the strong presence of the Ottoman empire in Romania for  many centuries thus the huge influence over their cuisine.

The only difference between the two? Kofta doesn’t use pork as it is considered as “sinful” or haraam. Chiftele, having pork, is one of its variation.

Today’s Romanian recipe will be about Chiftele. Here is how to cook it.

Ingredients:
500 g lamb (or pork)
500 g beef
2 pcs of eggs
6 cloves of garlic, diced
1 potato
1 carrot (large)
1 onion, diced
Flour, as needed
2 tbsps of parsley
2 crusts of bread (without crust, moist in water)
salt and pepper, as needed
1 cup of oil, for frying

Instructions:

• Peel carrot, potato and onion and shred into small pieces. Peel garlic and crush into very small pieces.
• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl together except flour.
• Make all little balls with your hands and roll them on flour
• Fry the meatballs in hot grease for about 5-7 minutes per side.
• Cool on a paper towel.

Now you’re ready to serve your very own Chiftele! It is best to serve this dish with tomato sauce or ketchup, steamed rice, french fries, salad or anything!

Image courtesy of Authentic Vacations Bucovina. No copyright infringement intended. 

Romania used to be synonymous with Nicolae Ceausescu and its political past. But a million of other interesting things deserve discovery and recognition.

If you once travelled Europe, you might have read or heard of a lot of beautiful praises about the United Kingdom, Spain, France or Italy. But very few accounts are untold about Romania, perhaps with the exception of Dracula and Transylvania. This explains my intense desire to unravel Romania in front of your eyes.

Romania is filled with rich history, beautiful natural landscapes and splendid cities that you need to see. There are a lot of landmarks that contribute to its great architectural history.

The country is certainly not poor contrary to some rumors. While many will quip about the poverty that was prevalent after the Cold War, the Gross Domestic Product was reported by World Bank to be around $267 billion with a per capita income of $12,476 on 2011. The country also has a high growth and low unemployment rate. Inflation? That’s nonsense as it declines in Romania. Taxes? The Romanian government set a 16% flat rate for both personal and corporate incomes, which makes it a lesser financial burden in the European Union.

The country is very safe too, unless someone told you about the rubbish about Dracula. That is nonsense (we will go about this myth soon.) Rape, abduction, robbery or other high crimes exist but most of the time they are seen in the news infrequently. Even undomesticated dogs shouldn’t be a threat to you. Ask many Europeans who travelled there and they will tell you that Romania is a safe place to visit.

It is best to travel Romania armed with a lot of knowledge about this beautiful country. I hope you learn with me as I share with you tons of wonderful insights about this country. You maybe someone lost in the ruins trying to make sense of how to set a marvelous adventure in this country. I wish this site to be of a big help to you.

Let this website serves as your travel guide as you meet its hospitable community, the magnificent culture and tradition and the breathtaking landscapes you should see. There are a lot of things to be discovered, and I am absolutely enthralled to help you take your journey to Romania.