The Winter Holidays

The winter holidays represent, in the Republic of Moldova, the richest period of customs in the entire year, stretching from Christmas to Epiphany. It is a time in which Christian faith is interwoven with ancient customs, and the villages resound with carols, good-wishing verses and masked plays, in an atmosphere of joy, plenty and the renewal of the year.

Carolling

On Christmas Eve, bands of carollers go from house to house, announcing the Nativity of the Lord and bringing wishes of health and plenty. Men's group carolling — in which unmarried young men cross the village singing ritual carols and receiving symbolic gifts in return — was inscribed in 2013 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as an element shared by Romania and the Republic of Moldova. It was the first file through which Moldova inscribed an element in UNESCO heritage. On Moldovan territory, the custom was forbidden during the Soviet period, especially between 1970 and 1990, and only after 1991 was it openly resumed, being preserved above all in the south of the country.

The New Year and the good-wishing verses

At the New Year, children and young men go with the Plugușor (the Little Plough) and the Plugul cel Mare (the Great Plough), reciting wishes of agricultural plenty, accompanied by the cracking of whips and the sound of the buhai and of little bells. At this time too people go about with the Goat, the Bear, the Little Horses, the Malanca and other masked plays, spectacular processions with pre-Christian roots, meant to drive away evil and bring fruitfulness. The Sowing, on the morning of 1 January, involves throwing grains of wheat, as a wish for rich crops.

Epiphany and the present

The cycle ends at Epiphany (6 January), with the blessing of the water and with customs linked to foretelling one's fate and marriage. Today, the winter holidays remain alive above all in the villages of Moldova, being a powerful occasion for families to reunite, for those who have left to return home, and for the preservation of a shared cultural identity. Carols, good-wishing verses and masked plays are also showcased through folklore festivals and competitions, which bring together bands from different localities, contributing to the transmission of these customs to children and young people, so that nothing may be lost of the spiritual richness and the particular beauty of the Moldovan winter holidays.