Romanian festivals fall into four groups: those linked to the Orthodox religion, with its twelve Great Feasts and hosts of lesser festivals; those marking events such as marriage, birth and death; those marking stages in the agricultural cycle; and secular anniversaries. While the last are national holidays, and never change their date, other festivals are less predictable. The Orthodox Easter is a moveable feast and still reckoned according to the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar that's used in the West and for secular purposes in Romania. Rural festivals take place on a particular day of a month, the actual date varying from year to year, and they can also be advanced or delayed depending on the progress of the crops. The place to check dates is the cultural office in the county prefecture.
Festivals specific to particular places are listed at the appropriate point in the guide; we've given an overview here
Winter festivals
Christmas
(
Craciun
) and
New Year
(
Revelion
) celebrations are spread over the period from December 24 to January 7, and preparations often begin as early as December 6 (St Nicholas' Day) while on December 20, pigs...
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Easter and fertility festivals
With the onset of spring in
April and May
, agricultural work begins in earnest, roughly coinciding with Easter, the holiest festival of the Christian year. Urbanization and collectivization have both affected the nature of
spring...
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Summer festivals
The Cherry Fair at
Brāncovenesti
on the first Sunday of
June
anticipates other harvest festivals later in the month, and the round of great
summer fairs
known as
Tārg
or
Nedeias
. In the days...
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Public holidays
January 1 & 2
Easter Monday
- (Good Friday is not a holiday, but women are usually given the day off to shop and cook)
May 1
December 1
- Unification of Transylvania with Romania
December...
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