Traditions and customs observed by Christians who celebrate Christmas in the old style
Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas today, January 7. On this day, just like on December 25, when we celebrate Christmas in a new style, carolers come to people's houses to announce the Nativity of the Lord, and the housewives thank them with sweets, fruits or money. What traditions do Christians observe on this day, we find out further.
Both on December 25 and January 7, on Christmas days, people give alms to the poor, bake Christmas cookies, bake cakes and invite relatives to the festive table, folklorists told Radio Moldova. According to them, in some villages they go with the carol, and in others with the star.
"One of the most well-known Christmas customs is carolling - a tradition that comes from the Christian religion," folklorist Iulia Paliț told Radio Moldova. According to her, the people who walk with carols from house to house are meant to announce the Birth of Jesus Christ. Iulia Paliț also stated that in the past some of the carols were dedicated to housewives, housewives or unmarried girls, but this custom is rarely practised nowadays.
"*On December 25, in the north and south of the Republic of Moldova, in the districts on the banks of the Prut and part of the districts on the banks of the Prut in the North, but mostly in Bessarabia, they went with the old-style Christmas carol. Recently, many fewer people take into account the tradition that Christians should go from house to house and announce to the householders the coming of Jesus Christ to this world", says Iulia Paliț.
For the old-style Christmas day, housewives prepare meat and cakes, folklorist Mariana Cocieru from the Institute of Romanian Philology "Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu" told our radio station. The scientific researcher in the field of folklore also claimed that on these days people give alms to the poor and invite relatives to the table.
In some villages of the Republic of Moldova, these days, they also walk with the star. The children make a star together with their parents, after which they go from house to house with the carol "The rising star" or other carols in which the song tells about the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi to the place of Jesus' birth. Folklorists also claim that many customs from Bessarabia are on the way to extinction, and these are more common in Bucovina.
