Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Romanian Christmas is filled with traditions, superstitions and customs transmitted from generation to generation. Family, food, caroling and traditional outfits (picture below depicts traditional outfits from Transylvania) can be found in each corner of Romania, especially at the country side where customs are more preserved. I am from Transylvania and, for me, the excitement of Christmas begins on December 5th. This is the day every child will shine their shoes and wait for Saint Nick. Who’s Saint Nick? Well, I never knew the religious meaning, but I knew that if I was a good kid all year round and if I shined my shoes, I would get some candy in my shoes in the morning. If you were naughty, you were told you would get a stick.

My father never failed to keep up with the traditions, and even if I didn’t shine my shoes, he managed to keep the tradition going (pictures below are what I got this year from Saint Nick – apparently, I wasn’t good all year 😉 ). Christmas Eve and Christmas Days always call for a feast with lots of foods and drinks. Stuffed cabbage rolls with sour cream, polenta, homemade sausages, Romanian moonshine and wine are crowd favorites at Christmastime. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!