Christmas in Romania

The seven-week Advent season in anticipation of Jesus Christ's birth is obligatory for all Eastern Christian Romanians.

[5] Customs say everyone should hang plenty of garlic and a crucifix next to all doors and windows on the mansion, to keep evil spirits and spells away from their home.

[citation needed] Free music concerts and street festivals are organised annually in every Romanian city.

There are also numerous Television specials, most notably ones broadcast by Pro TV,[9] which bring famous or important Romanians into the spotlight.

On December 24, Christmas Eve - Noaptea de ajun - is traditionally the day children usually start caroling their neighbors.

Colinde are performed in all parts of Romania (including Moldova), with regional variations in terms of the number of participants, the exact timing of different melodies and lyrics.

The village youth (usually boys) would begin to form groups in different places and designate a leader to practice singing in unison.

There are also adaptations from international hit carols into Romanian, for example "Noapte de vis" (from "Silent Night") or "O, brad frumos!"

Examples of colinde with religious subject are "Astăzi s-a născut Hristos" (Today Christ Was Born), "O, ce veste minunată!"

For example "Moş Crăciun cu plete dalbe" (White-Haired Santa Claus), "Colindiţa", "Pluguşorul" or "Scoală gazdă" (Awaken, Host).

They ask the host to whom they perform the colind to give them a colăcuț, claiming their mother didn't have the tools and ingredients to make it.

Rock & Roll singer-songwriter and actor Ştefan Bănică, Jr. has a now-traditional concert series to honor Christmas, ever since 2002.

R&B singer Andra also released a Christmas album in 2007, entitled "Vis de iarnă" (Winter Dream).

The title single benefited from a music video in which Andra is traveling home to gather with her family for Christmas.

Singer Elena Gheorghe also covered the song "Silent Night, and alongside band Mandinga released a Christmas album "De Craciun".

Label fellow Horia Brenciu also had some Christmas hits in the Airplay Chart, for example, "Noapte de Crăciun".

Radio station Magic FM only broadcasts Christmas songs exclusively from December 5 to January 5 starting 2008.

all charted simultaneously (the record was previously held by Michael Jackson after his death in 2009 but it was once again broken in 2011 by Rihanna (with five entries).

Romanians most usually bake Cozonac (spongecake), a kind of Panetone made of flour, yolks, yeast and many other ingredients, flavors, condiments and additions.

You can fill the sponge cake with walnuts, cocoa, raisins, Turkish delight and in Transylvania: poppy seed paste (cozonac cu mac).

Plates heaped with small pastries and cakes (corni și baclava) are prepared to serve to carollers when they call.

A molded vegetable and chicken salad held together with mayonnaise and decorated with olives and boiled eggs are often prepared.