In Romania in this period are specific the carols (“COLINDE”) , wonderful songs of Christmas who marked the Nativity or “ Mos Craciun” and “Mos Ajun”. Other traditions of our country: the “Star”, the “Goat”, the "Bear". For the last customs some young people are dress oneself in goat (for the Christmas) or in bear (for the New Year) and they play where are the girls who go to married. Also, In the eve of the New Year, the children go with the "Uratul" to the people of our town, village, to announce through sound of jingle bells a better New Year and more rich than the last year. In the first day on the New Year, children go with "Sorcova”.

In traditional Romanian rural society, preparations for colinde started well in advance (sometimes weeks) before Christmas. Then, starting on Christmas Eve, the groups would go to different houses and begin singing. In some villages, they go first to the mayor's house, followed by the teacher's house, whereas in other parts there is no pre-established order. The families would them invite them into the house, and give them different small gifts such as nuts, dried fruits and pretzels.Examples of colinde are "Astăzi s-a născut Hristos" (Today Christ was born), "Moş Crăciun cu plete dalbe" (Father Christmas with white hair) and "O, ce veste minunată!“ (O, what wonderful news!).

PIFTIE (MEAT JELLY)

Regular cabbage rolls/ Sarmale cu varza dulce

1 large cabbage, 1 3/4 lb/750 g ground meat (mixture of pork and beef is recommended), 4 large onions, 2 tablespoons rice, 1 bread slice, 3 tablespoons lard, 5-6 tomatoes or 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, salt, pepper, chopped dill, 1 qt/1 l borshGrind the meat with the crustless bread slice (previously soaked and squeezed dry) and a raw onion. Place in a bowl and mix with rice, dill, pepper, salt and finely chopped onion slightly fried in two tablespoons of lard. Mix everything well. Core the cabbage with a sharp thin knife and then blanch it with borsh. Then carefully remove the cabbage leaves, one by one, so that they do not tear. Cut larger leaves in 2 or 3 and then place a little meat in each cabbage piece and roll in. The smaller the rolls are, the tastier they are. Place a layer of rolls in the pan (take a deep one), then cover with a layer of chopped (julienned) cabbage, then a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Do this layering until all the rolls are made. The last layer must be tomato slices or add tomato sauce. Add a heaping tablespoon of lard, pour the borsh and let simmer on top of the range for 30 minutes. Then place in the oven so that the liquid is reduced. Serve with sour cream.

A plate of sărmăluţe cu mămăligă, a popular Romanian dish

One of the most common dishes is mămăliga , a cornmeal mush, long-considered the poor man's dish (N-are nici o mămăligă pe masă - He hasn't even a mămăliga on the table), but it has become more appreciated in recent times.

ALEXANDRA

Soup with meatballs (Ciorbă de perişoare)

Mix well by hand:2,5 lb ground pork (or ground pork and ground beef mix) 1 onion finely chopped ½ cup cooked rice 1 egg finely chopped fresh dill and parsley to your taste salt and pepper. Make meatballs ca. 1 inch in diameter, roll them in flour, and set them aside. Fill about half of a 4 quart stock pot with cold water. Add to the water the following vegetables:2 carrots shredded 1 parsley root ¼ celery root 1 onion or a few green onions a handful of leustean (lovage) herb, bruised (reserve for later) When the vegetables are softened, add 1 cup of rice. After the rice is cooked, add the meatballs one by one. Let the meatballs cook through then add 1 chopped tomato, 1 chopped green pepper, parsley, and celery leaves.Sour with fresh lemon juice to taste - start with the juice of one lemon (or brine from sauerkraut or a mixture of both). Add lovage herb. Simmer for 5 minutes.These soups are meant to be reheated and taste better with age.The sour soups are traditionally soured with borş, a liquid made out of wheat bran mixed with water and left to ferment. They are sometimes soured with sauerkraut juice. The soups may be traditionally thickened with a mixture of sour cream and/or egg yolks.

Soup with meatballs (Ciorbă de perişoare)

Cozonac is a sweet bread, to which milk, sugar, eggs, butter and raisins are added.

In Romania, the recipes differ rather significantly between regions in what concerns the trimmings.

At Christmas time Romanian mothers readied the dough for baking these delicious breads with a variety of fillings. The smells of Cozonac baking would stir my senses.

4 cups flour

1 cup milk, heated

3 eggs, beated lightly

1 fresh yeast cake

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar, plus

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3-4 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

COZONAC