Christmas fairs originate in Germany, but today they are held in many
\ncountries around the world. In Romania, the tradition of the
\nChristmas fair is a recent adoption, but very popular around the
\ncountry. In Sibiu, in central Romania, for example, it goes back to
\n2007, when Sibiu held the title of European capital of culture. Cluj,
\n Timi\u0219oara and Bra\u0219ov have also adopted the practice and are
\nattracting more and more visitors each year. Bucharest is no
\nexception, with various fairs being held in different parts of the
\ncity, such as the big main one in Constitution Square, and others at
\nthe Children’s Comic Opera House, in front of the National Opera
\nHouse and at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Christmas fair in
\nthe city of Craiova, in the south of the country, ranked third in a
\nclassification compiled by European Best Destinations after those in
\nthe Hungarian capital Budapest and the Polish city of Gdansk. Fairs
\nare held in five different areas of Craiova: in the Michael the Brave
\nSquare, the Historical Centre, in front of the National Theatre, in
\nthe Doljana area and in the park in front of the St Dimitry
\nCathedral. We find here a 20 m high tree decorated with over a
\nmillion light bulbs and a 700 square metre ice rink.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nBack to Bucharest, we caught up with Nicoleta Ionici, who has her own
\nstand at the Village Museum fair, and who told us more about her
\noffer:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nWe sell traditional Christmas figurines, baubles, Christmas trees
\nmade of fur, funny-looking candles with nose, eyes and a smiling
\nmouth; decorations to hang on doors, shaped like a moon or flowers;
\nand a big snowman with hat. There are many people at the fair, and
\nforeign tourists are particularly interested in these figurines
\ndressed in traditional costume. I also have a Dracula figurine, but
\nit looks funny, it’s not scary at all. Next to it I put a young
\npeasant woman, who’s supposed to be its next victim.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nIon Botnariu, who is a bee-keeper, sells all kinds of products made
\nfrom honey. He told us more:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We
\nsell mead, which is a kind of wine made from honey, apple juice and
\npollen. It’s very refreshing and good for blood circulation and
\ndigestion, not to mention that it is also an aphrodisiac. We also
\nsell vinegar made from honey, which contains a lot of organic
\npotassium from apples. Another product that sells very well is the
\ncoriander honey, while children love the ice cream cones filled with
\nhoney instead of ice cream, an original idea which has been catching
\non. At first children were a bit hesitant, but seeing how appetising
\nthe cone looks, they agree to have a taste and realise this mix of
\nhoney and vitamin is extremely tasty. They always come back for more.
\nFor the honey cones we use a type of honey that is rich in minerals
\nand is very creamy and fragrant, a propolis tincture with a 50%
\nalcohol content and pollen from the banks of the Danube, extracted
\nfrom the wild plants and flowers that grow in the Danube Delta, such
\nas St. John’s wort, thistle, yellow clover and mint. It’s an
\nirresistible combination, not to mention very healthy.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Winter
\nholidays are traditionally welcomed with carols, folk theatre
\nperformances and mask theatre, and the masks used in such
\nperformances can also be found on sale at the Christmas fairs.
\nStelian Popa from Bucharest has been collecting these masks for more
\nthan 30 years, ever since he first started to make them himself at
\nthe workshops hosted by the Village Museum. He told us more about the
\nmasks he sells at the fair:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These
\nare traditional carolling masks from Bukovina used from around
\nChristmas until St John’s Day on 7th January in
\ndifferent carolling rituals. They are made from sheepskin, with a
\ntextile lining, and are decorated with tassels and other elements.
\nThe carols in which these masks are used are meant to drive off evil
\nspirits. In Bukovina they only make a single type of mask, but in
\nother areas they make different masks for women, men and children. I
\nmake the Bukovina model because I like it best.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nChristmas fairs are also an opportunity to sample traditional
\nChristmas dishes, not just to buy decorations and presents. Various
\nconcerts are also held for the duration of the fair. As for the
\nbeverage offer, whether or cold or hot, it includes mulled wine,
\nmulled schnapps, kinder punch, apple juice, tea, coffee and hot
\nchocolate, among others.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christmas fairs originate in Germany, but today they are popular around the world, including Romania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":137399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42520],"tags":[43153],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-137398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-romania","tag-christmas-fair"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n