Uploaded December 2006 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
On Christmas Eve, groups of children or men go to the other village houses and sing traditional carols named colinde. These carols have kept until our days the oldest form of the Romanian folk poetry. These songs communicate wishes of health, good harvests, handsome young men and beautiful working girls, marriages, success in various occupations the major problems of the peasant's life.
The name of colinda comes from the Latin calendae. At Romans, the calendae were the first days of each month. Calendae Ianuarii marked the beginning of the new administrative year. On this occasion, wishes were sent, gifts were given and the future was predicted. In the Eastern Roman Empire especially, people disguised themselves.
Filmed and produced by Rofilco Film Studio, Iasi, Romania
On Christmas Eve, groups of children or men go to the other village houses and sing traditional carols named colinde. These carols have kept until our days the oldest form of the Romanian folk poetry. These songs communicate wishes of health, good harvests, handsome young men and beautiful working girls, marriages, success in various occupations the major problems of the peasant's life.
The name of colinda comes from the Latin calendae. At Romans, the calendae were the first days of each month. Calendae Ianuarii marked the beginning of the new administrative year. On this occasion, wishes were sent, gifts were given and the future was predicted. In the Eastern Roman Empire especially, people disguised themselves.
Filmed and produced by Rofilco Film Studio, Iasi, Romania
