Romanian Saijiki

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Romanian Saijiki - ROMANIA

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Introducing Romania
This Website is intended to assist travellers who are planning to visit Romania or those who would like to learn more about this country.
http://www.romaniatourism.com/

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General Remarks about this Romanian Saijiki

Romania is a middle-sized country for European standards, but displays a huge diversity in matters of geography and climate. The diversity is even more striking in matters of different cultures represented and the way they interact and influence each other. I have tried to the best of my abilities to reflect that, while avoiding to get too “regional” except for my part of the country (southwestern Transylvania) where I feel more at home.


Religious Festivals and Celebrations

Romania is a very religious country:a recent survey showed that 93% of the population believes in God and 87% identify themselves with one of the recognized religious denominations. Indeed there is no trace of the secularism found in most of western Europe;in this respect, Romania looks more like Mexico or the Philippines.

While most of the country’s inhabitants are Orthodox, Romania also has a significant Catholic population, belonging to three different rites, which has been there since time immemorial. The interaction of the two spiritual and liturgical traditions has shaped the Romanian soul as it is now, a fact recently recognized by the political class, the media etc., who now tend to regard the two Churches as equal-ranking, traditional Churches (a situation similar to that in Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary etc.

I chose to reflect that by listing the religious feastdays of both traditions. It should be noted that the Romanian Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian calendar for all celebrations except Easter and the mobile celebrations depending on the date of Easter (a situation similar to that in Bulgaria and Greece, and unlike that in Russia, Ukraine or Serbia).


Legal and Civic Holidays

(by “civic holiday” I mean a day which is officially commemorated-including those by Government sponsored events-, but is not a legal holiday, i.e. people don’t get a free day from work).


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Abbreviations used:

-for categories: N=nature; OT=Observances and traditions; H=humanity (includes food and elements pertaining to modern life)

-for sections: E=early; M=middle; L=late; 3=all three

-for Religious festivals and celebrations :
C=Catholic, O=Orthodox; O/C=both


For more information about Haiku Activities in Romania see the
EUROPA SAIJIKI
Saijiki for Europa ..... (WKD - EUROPE)


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.. .. .. SPRING .. .. Season “timpul fără mere”/”no-apple-season “starts (mid-April). Apples grown in Romania may roughly be divided into “winter” and “summer apples”. In-between there’s a gap, commonly said to start on St.George’s Day (Apr.14th ) (M) Văraticul începe/Shepherd’s summertime starts. Also roughly on St.George’s Day, flocks move up to the highlands, where they find better pastures. .. .. Heaven “zăpada mieilor”/”lamb snow”. Name given to the easy-melting snow fallen in the 1st half of March. Seen as winter’s “farewell”. (E) Snow (yuki) .. .. Earth .. .. Humanity “School Olympics Week” (usually mid-April). School contests by subject (from Chemistry to Philosophy and from Computer Sciences to Latin), aka the School Olympics are held throughout the schoolyear. The national finals last for a week, generating a beehive-like atmosphere in the school and a youthful and celebrative atmosphere in the host cities. .. .. Observances Mărţişor (March 1st) an “amulet” given by Romanians to all the important women in their lives. Symbolizes the advent of spring.(E) Martisor (Amulet) "Zilele babelor”/“Old-women-days”(March 1st to 8th) Based on an old legend, one is supposed to pick one of these days with inconsistent weather; if it snows on that particular day, it’s a bad omen, if it’s sunny, it’s a good omen for the rest of the year.(E) Vopsitul/încondeiatul/ciocnitul ouălor de Paşti/Painting/drawing/knocking of Easter eggs. No chocolate eggs for Easter! For the Romanians it’s real eggs, hard-boiled,painted (usually in red), or turned into breathtaking artefacts by complicated drawings. One knocks them open by saying “Christ is risen/Indeed he is risen” at each Easter meal (not the ones with drawings!) (M) Easter . “Udatul”/“Watering”(the week after Easter). Originally a Hungarian tradition it entails men(especially single) sprinkling women(especially single) with perfume. Customary in Transylvania now, regardless of ethnic group or denomination;unknown elsewhere. (M) .. .. Animals Întoarcerea păsărilor călătoare/cuibăritul berzelor/Migrating birds return/storks nesting(mid-March-mid-April). Storks’nesting is especially important to farmer families because of the bonds existing between humans and those birds.(M) Puii ies din ouă/Chicken hatching (mid-April). An important event in rural and semi-rural areas.(M) Piţigoi/Titmouse. This bird should be a spring kigo. It is commonly believed to have two kinds of songs in spring, one heralding a wet summer, the other a dry one. No one cares which “aria” it sings in the rest of the year! (3) Cărăbuşi/Cock chaffers. Seen around May Day, they don’t outlast the 1st week of May. (L) Rusalii/Mayflies;”înflorirea râurilor”/”river flowering” These ephemera live their short spectacular lives on the rivers in the Far North and Far West, the resulting phenomenon sometimes called “river flowering” (L) .. .. Plants Ghiocei/Snowdrops . The spring kigo par excellence. “Early snowdrops”(late February) are a good omen, their total absence in a year a very bad one. (E). Flori de liliac/Lilacs. Flowering in May/early June, some early poets associated their scent with unreciprocated love(L)

.. .. .. SUMMER .. .. Season .. .. Heaven Furtuni de vară/Thunderstorms. Very common from late May to late August but hardly occur at other times during the year. (3) Typhoon (Japan) .. .. Earth .. .. Humanity Anul şcolar se încheie/Schoolyear ends (June 15th) A very festive occasion for everyone!(E) Graduation (Melancolia de) Extrasezon fotbalistic/”out-of-soccer-season”(blues). Soccer season ends in early June and during the few weeks without their favourite pastime and conversation topic,(at least part of) Romania’s male population may suffer from a (scientifically diagnosed!) mild form of depression. (3) Mersul la mare/Going to the seaside. The wonderful Black Sea beaches are attractive as early as May Day, but get crowded after the end of the schoolyear(3). Festivaluri şi concerte în aer liber/Open air concerts and festivals. A lot of them take place everywhere in summer. A special mention should be made of the Sighişoara Mediaeval Festival which lasts for a whole month (either July or August) (3) .. .. Observances Sânziene: June 24th (nights before and after). Formerly associated with magic, divination and matchmaking, they are now occasions for parties and dances celebrating summer. (E) Pelerinaje/vizite la mănăstiri/ Pilgrimages/ visits to monasteries. These increase dramatically on and around Dormition/Assumption Day (Aug.15th );I would rate it as a late summer kigo. Pilgrimages .. .. Animals Ciocârlie/Skylark. A symbolical bird for Romanians, it is closely associated with the wheat harvest(3) Urşii se întorc în bârlog/Bears start hibernating (August) (L) .. .. Plants Cireşe/Cherries (June) In the traditional calendar,June is called “Cireşar” (cherry month). Girls sometimes wear them as earrings - a delightful sight. (E) See also : Cherry Blossoms Mere de vară/Summer apples. Powerfully scented, but arguably less nutritious, they can be found from June to mid-August (3). Sanziana (Galium verum) Lady's Bedstraw, Yellow Bedstraw and Sanziana Midsummer Rituals Treieratul grâului/Wheat harvest (3)

.. .. .. AUTUMN .. .. Season .. .. Heaven Ploi mocăneşti / slow-dripping rain Actually intraductible, but named after a certain category of shepherds, they are the long, slow-dripping rains which make one drowsy and the autumn all the gloomier) 3 .. .. .. .. Rain in various KIGO (Japan) Prima brumă / First hoarfrost (as early as September) M Primul îngheţ / First frost (usually November) L see > Frost (shimo, Japan) .. .. Earth Stoarcerea strugurilor / Wine pressing (usually October) M One of the almost ritual agricultural activities: gives an opportunity for joyful family reunions: Romania has a wine-drinking culture, so from the noble vineyards scattered all over the country down to the urban areas where grapes are grown for maybe only 10 litres of wine each year, it’s a busy season! Grapes and Grape Harvest, Vendanges Culesul fructelor / Fruit harvest (Sept.-Oct.) 3 The standard image for autumn in our schoolbooks was that of a girl, proudly smiling, surrounded by baskets of fruit. Need I say more? All fruit growing in autumn may be autumn kigo, I gave one of them a special mention in the “Plants” section. Fruit Harvest (Romania) .. .. Humanity Schoolyear begins (Sept.15th ) Almost a public holiday, it is-also for those no longer attending school-a day to remember their teachers, living or dead. E Schoolyear begins Must / Sweet wine In October, even cityfolk get to enjoy sweet wine in (sometimes open air) locales. A whole range of urban folklore has flourished in connection with this Must. Grapes and Grape Harvest, Vendanges Pastramă / (a sort of) pemmican. Thicker than the American version and inextricably associated (by cityfolk) with sweet wine, it is eaten in the same locales and atmosphere as described above. Shepherds and peasants eat it all the time during autumn anyway. M Pemmican (Romania) .. .. Observances Sf. Dumitru/St. Demetrius (Sept.19th ) (O) Patron saint of Bucharest, the capital.In the folk calendar, this is the day when all contracts concluded on St.George’s Day (see Spring) expire and are renewed or not. All payments due as salaries, rents etc. had to be made on this day at the latest and more generally all old scores had to be settled before new deals could be struck. E Iernaticul începe / Shepherd’s winter starts Roughly on St. Demetrius’Day (Sept. 19th ), flocks return to the plains to avoid the harsh highland winter. E Sheperds Winter (Romania) Naşterea Sf. Fecioare Maria / Nativity of the Virgin Mary; aka “Sântămăria Mică” / ”Little St. Mary’s” (Sept.8th ) (O/C). Regarded as the beginning of autumn in the folk calendar. See also the “Animals” section. E Sf.Paraschiva/St.Paraschiva (Oct.16th ) (O). Patron saint of Moldavia (East) M “Sâmbra oilor”. A Maramureş (Far Northwest) tradition linked to the Shepherd’s winter : when wool, cheese etc. are divided among the sheep owners and shepherd aides hired on St. George’s Day receive their pay, according to a certain ritual and not without songs and dancing. Originally a very localized tradition, it became widely known because of tourism. E Sheperds Winter (Romania) Toţi Sfinţii/All Saints’Day; Ziua Morţilor / All Souls Day (Nov. 1st /2nd ) Nov.1st is All Saints, whilst the following day is All Souls Day. And these would normally only appear in a Catholic calendar, since the Orthodox have similar celebrations after Easter (see Spring). But in Transylvania, conservative Catholics imposed their custom of commemorating the faithful departed already in the afternoon / evening of Nov.1st while virtually forgetting about the actual All Souls Day . Orthodox Romanians wanted to follow suit and Orthodox priests were very accomodating on this. Nowadays it is a common custom across Transylvania. Elsewhere in Romania, the respective calendars are observed as such (at least for the time being) Western-style Halloween is meanwhile also establishing itself (especially in school parties) but is still far less popular than in the West. Anyway, it is a late autumn kigo. L All Saints’ Day All Souls' Day .. .. Animals Plecarea păsărilor călătoare / Migrating birds leave (Sept.-early Oct.). Swallows and wild geese are said to leave around “Little St.Mary’s” (Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Sept.8th ), storks and cranes somewhat later. E Migrating Birds .. .. Plants Crizanteme / Chrysanthemums The floral autumn kigo par excellence. M Chrysanthemum Gutui / Quinces All fruits harvested in autumn-from plums to nuts- can be autumn kigo, but quinces deserve special attention, due to the semi-rituals connected to them. First, fresh-harvested quinces are still too hard to eat, so our mothers used to place them somewhere in the house (window sill, shelf etc.) for softening up; a patience exercise for the kids. They were kept like this sometimes till the onset of winter. No traditional Romanian autumn escapes their image or delicate scent. Secondly, making quince jelly or pell mell is a delicious autumn experience. One should note, however, that, unlike some Slavic peoples, Romanians do not attach any sexual symbolism to quinces. 3 Quince

.. .. .. WINTER .. .. Season .. .. Heaven .. .. Earth Haiga by Alex Serban January 2011 .. .. Humanity mist in the wind quietly roams the village - Santa freezes carved houses embroidery frozen - winter mark Alex Serban, January 2011 .. .. Observances National Day of Romania - December 1 Great Union Day - History of Romania Let's celebrate ! Alex Serban .. .. Animals .. .. Plants Painting by Alex Serban

.. .. .. Non-Seasonal Haiku Topics .. .. Season .. .. Heaven .. .. Earth .. .. Humanity . Sculptor Constantin Brancusi . 　 . Author Ion Luca Caragiale . . Inventor Henri Coanda . . Poet Mihai Eminescu .　 . Painter Nicolae Grigorescu . 　 . Tudor Gheorghe - Musician . 　 . Aurel Vlaicu - Pilot . 　 .. .. Observances .. .. Animals .. .. Plants

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