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EveryParampara

Traditions of Bucharest

The Romanian capital where Mărțișor red-and-white strings welcome March and Easter is a long midnight feast.

Bucharest, once called Little Paris, is a city of belle époque buildings and a large Soviet-era palace. Romanians keep a calendar of customs in which spring, harvest and Easter are the most important. The mărțișor, a red-and-white string with a small charm, is given on 1 March to wish health and luck.

Bucharest
Photo: seisdeagosto, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mărțișor and Easter

On 1 March, friends and relatives exchange mărțișoare, strings of two twisted threads, which are worn through the month and then tied on a tree. At Easter, Orthodox Romanians attend midnight service, carrying lit candles home, then eat lamb, drob, and painted eggs, which they crack in a game of tapping.

At the table

Mici, small grilled sausages, are eaten with mustard and beer. Sarmale, cabbage rolls, and ciorbă, a sour soup, are staples. Papanași, fried doughnuts with cream and jam, are a famous dessert. Cozonac and pasca are baked at holidays. Țuică is a brandy.

Signature traditions of Bucharest

MărțișorThe spring string.

Also part of it, and being written: Sarmale (The cabbage rolls.), Mici (The sausages.), Papanași (The doughnuts.).

A trail idea for Bucharest

  1. Village Museum See rural houses.
  2. Old Town Walk Lipscani.
  3. Obor Market Buy cheese and honey.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 7 moreHorahoră (Romanian), хоро (Bulgarian), оро (Macedonian), הורה (Hebrew) A circle dance from Southeast Europe, danced at weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 5 moreRomanian Language DayZiua Limbii Române A single day, 31 August, given to the Romanian language in three countriesCeremony 🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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