Winter holidays occupy a special place in the hearts of Moldovans, with all kinds of folk traditions, customs, traditions, one more beautiful than the other. The Moldovan people have rich traditions that give their culture a unique character. Moldovan winter holidays begin with St. Andrew’s Day on December 13 and last until St. John the Baptist on January 20. It’s a combination of traditions, customs and customs with Christian religious holidays. St. Nicholas, celebrated by Orthodox Christians as the patron saint of the poor, is the one who, transformed into “Santa Claus”, brings gifts to children. The children have been preparing their Santa’s little boots since the evening. For those who have been naughty, Santa will bring a ‘little nut’, which has also, over time, become a toy. Christmas Day, December 24, is the most important Christian feast of the winter, but Christmas Eve comes first. On the morning of this day, in some areas the evening before, groups of children go from house to house caroling. For their carols, sung in the night, by the doors, by the windows, the children receive pretzels, colacs, cakes, bread, apples, nuts and all sorts of other gifts. In addition to the children’s groups, there are also priests who carry icons from house to house to sprinkle the people’s homes with aghiasma and announce the birth of Jesus Christ in song. The caroling begins on December 24 and may continue for 2 or 3 days. The carols are usually attended by groups of children, adults, the elderly, girls only, boys only, young married couples, etc., depending on the ethnographic area. Caroling takes place in the courtyard of the host, in the house or under the window. Often, carolers are welcomed into the home because they are said to bring good health and a prosperous year and are rewarded with nuts, apples, raisins and, more recently, money. In Moldova, Christmas is an important holiday. New Year, December 31 – January 1. Researchers see in the folk customs, which take place during this period, rites of symbolic renewal of the world, the banishing of evil spirits, or divination. A complex of ceremonies and superstitions that make this time of year one of the richest in popular customs, a period of transition between two cycles of vegetation or work, with the New Year as the threshold. Just as Christmas is dominated by carols, so the New Year is marked by “hurrahs”, made by means of several popular rituals: the plough, the Sorcova, the Buhaiul, the Vasilca, mimic games with animal masks: the goat, the bear, the horse, the ram, the stag, the rooster or peasant characters. There are also carols, but these now have a different role, to herald the new year. They are customs that are still preserved, perhaps because of their spectacular nature, but also because they are an opportunity to party. The star. Another custom that has lost its significance over time is the ‘star-walking’ – an ancient custom found among all Christian peoples.
The songs about the star come from different sources: some from Byzantine Orthodox literature, some from the medieval Latin literature of the Catholic Church, some from the Calvinist literature, and many of them even from local traditions. The Little Star Choir, which enters the house on Christmas days, sings “The Star Rising High,” as well as other songs. New Year’s Eve is the height of festivities, but above all of revelry, a secular feast full of lavish meals, parties and great entertainment. Christmas, January 7, old style. A 6-week fast is observed before Christmas. On the Christmas table there is no Christmas cake, sausages, piftia, pork sausages and red wine, and there is also a lot of mămligă. Bands of boys go trick-or-treating. St. Basil, old-style New Year, January 14. Orthodox Christians mark the eve of St. Basil’s eve traditionally, on St. Basil’s eve, bands of hare-goats, masquerading as the Goat or the Plough, go to people’s houses with the “uratul”. The housewives prepare in advance to welcome the haters with the best they have – sweets, apples and, last but not least, money. On the morning of January 14, children go sowing, or Sorcova, throwing wheat grains, pea pods, oats and bless the family. The seeds, thrown in the yard or home symbolize faith in a more prosperous year and rich fruit. Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, January 19. It is a religious holiday, priests consecrate the water in church, and people carry it home and sprinkle it on their households, objects, animals. The winter cycle ends on January 20 with the feast of St John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan. It is said that on the morning of St. John’s Day, people should sprinkle themselves with holy water to ward off illness throughout the year. Also, according to popular tradition, it is said that after St. John the frost is baptized, i.e. temperatures begin to rise.