CONTENTS
What are the Romanians like? …………………………………………. 1
Lifestyles in Romania ……………………..…………………………….. 4
Pastimes ……………………………………...…………………………... 6
Cinema …………………………………………..………………………. 7
Music……………………………………………...………………………15
Fashion …………………………………………...………………………20
Philosophies of Life ………………………………...……………………22
Attitudes to War ……………………………………..…………………..25
Opportunities for High School Graduates ………………………...…...27
Comenius Calendar 2002 ..………………………………………………29
What are the Romanians like?
1
Romania shares much with other Eastern European countries, but at the same time is distinct. Historically, the Romanians are descendants of two very old peoples: the Dacians, the ancient inhabitants of the land, and the Romans, who conquered the country in 106 AD.The population is made of Romanians (about 90%) and minorities: Hungarians, Germans, Ukrainians, Serbs, Croats, Russians, Turks and Gypsies.
The Transylvanian Germans and Hungarians have a particularly strong community that tries to preserve their traditions and culture.
The Russian minority lives in the Danube Delta. They call themselves "Lipoveni" and are very different from the typical Russians. They lost all contacts with Russia, but they still love drinking vodka. The Lipoveni are traditionally fishermen, and know by heart the intricate maze of chanels of the Delta. Naturally, they gave Romania a multiple Olympic and World Champion in canoeing - Ivan Patzaikin.
The Romanians for the most part are well educated by the time they graduate from high school. Most of them know a lot about their poets and writers, such as author and playwright Ion Luca Caragiale, poet Mihai Eminescu, composer George Enescu and playwright Eugene Ionesco.
The state religion of Romania is Orthodoxy. There are Orthodox churches all over the country, as well as many monasteries. The history and decor of these churches make them worth visiting. There is a real sense of loyalty to the Orthodox church and almost all Romanians will attend, at least for weddings and funerals.
The Romanians love to have guests. They are very hospitable. They will not want you to leave until they have offered you everything in their house. Often guests will be offered "tuica" (plum brandy) and "sarmale cu mamaliguta" (minced meat balls in cabbage leaves with polenta), Romanian traditional drink and food. Many Romanians also take pride in their home made wine.
Giving gifts is a part of the culture and it is an insult not to accept a gift. A very special gift, mostly for women in Romania is the "Martisor". On the first day of March, people wish each other health and happiness and place a decoration made of red and white woolen threads on their clothes or on their wrist. This is called "Martisor" and it symbolizes the end of the winter and the coming of the spring. It also includes a charm in the shape of a figurine, or a gold or silver coin.
In Romania, it is polite to offer your seat to an elderly person when travelling by bus or by tram. Also, men use to kiss ladies' right hand as a form of salutation. The Romanians communicate in an indirect manner and may be a little insulted by too much directness.
When the Romanians talk, they will often stand very close to each other and use many gestures and physical contact. Sometimes it will seem that two people are arguing, but in reality they are just discussing things loudly. A friend not seen in a while will usually be greeted with a kiss on each cheek.
The inhabitants of the towns usually dress casually; only on special occasions like weddings or parties they like to wear elegant clothes.
Romanian peasant costumes are distinctive to their regions, local occupations and crafts. Both men and women wear colorfully embroidered wide-sleeved shirts. Women have bright aprons worn front and back, and either white silk or black patterned head scarves. Men wear wide belts with punched motifs or braided strips, embroidered sheepskin vests, boots and hats representing their specific region.
The folk art of Romania is rooted in the region's distant and tumultuous past. Situated at the crossroads of many historical civilizations - Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Oriental and Occidental - elements of this cultures were absorbed by the local people, resulting an original vision found throughout Romania's art, crafts and music.
A type of Romanian artwork is seen on painted eggs. Intricate and colorful designs painted on hollowed eggshells are one of the most popular folk art decorations.
The wooden gates of Maramures, a northern province, are the finest examples of wood carving. Large wooden portal gates are covered with beautifully carved designs, dominated by the signs of the sun and the rope (which symbolizes the thread of life).
Romanian folk song and dance is a joyous music, best witnessed during one of the many seasonal or traditional festivals around the country. The music is usually accompanied by clapping of hands and vocal singing.
Some of the most popular folklore genres are the ballad and doina. The ballad, also called the old-age song, is sung on the occasions of gatherings. The masterpiece of the genre is the pastoral ballad "Miorita". Doina features a musical style of a lyrical nature, which conveys feelings of sadness, longing, nostalgia.
The picturesqueness of the dances lies in their sincretic nature - the dance is combined with music, poetry, costumes, gestures, ornaments. One of the most spread is "Calusarii", a dance with a magical load. It is performed by young men and it is related to fecundity and to the initiation in the ancient cult of the Sun.
Actually, in spite of the changes brought about by time, and especially by this century, governed by modern technologies, in all the regions of Romania the folk craftsmen continue to exist, to build up houses of wood, to shape the gates of their households into triumphal arches, to make their tools and objects necessary to the household, to make pottery and painting on wood, eggs and glass.
In general, the Romanians are an extremely friendly people, who love gaiety and jokes, but they are also sophisticated and clever, rich in knowledge, skills and family values.
Oana Comanici 10M1
1
Lifestyles in Romania
1
Lifestyles change because of various reasons : the social conditions, the political regimes or just because the world is in progress. For 12 years the Romanians have been trying to regain their social and economical democracy and freedom. This has had a significant impact on their lifestyle.
In learning our manners, the family plays one of the most important parts, because it helps creating a character from the first days of our lives. At the age of seven, every child has to go to school, where our models become our teachers.Good teachers are loved and their manners can pass on to their pupils.
Probably as everywhere, politeness is appreciated in Romania, so even the youngest members of our society know that you must treat elderly people with respect. It is considered an act of rudeness if you do not let someone finish what they were saying or if you mock at someone older than yourself.
Despite the influence of historical events, the most important traditions and values of our people have been preserved. It is most common for a Romanian to be very attached to his family. Relatives usually meet at anniversaries, baptisms, weddings, funerals, which are the most important moments in one's life.
Religion is also important for us. The people from the countryside go to church more often than the people in cities, but in the last years a lot of young Romanians have gathered in and around churches at Easter and Christmas Eve. There is a sort of orthodox revival among young people because religion has been taught in school as well since 1990.
The Romanians like eating and that is why our traditional kitchen is diverse and also tasty. Most women cook quite a lot because we eat all the meals in the family. Rarely do the Romanians go to restaurants to have dinner and when they do there must be a special occasion. Men like to prepare alcohol drinks (wine and the traditional plum drink) in their household and drink them with their family and friends.
If men sometimes go fishing or to a pub to watch a football game, women spend their free time at home. Still, in most of the cases, men and women spend the weekends together with their families.
Being a woman in Romania is quite challenging because she has to devide her time between her family (children, husband, household) and her profession. Women in Romania are neat and elegant which means they, surprisingly, find the time to go to the hairdresser's or shopping for themselves. In the last six or seven years there has been remarked the woman's emancipation in that women prefer making a career and taking care less of their household.
The teenagers obviously have a completly different lifestyle compared to their parents. They spend their free time on the Internet, watching music programmes, going to discos, parties, movies, or just meeting and walking with friends.
The children, the teenagers and many adults dress casually, most likely in jeans. However, everyone likes to be admired in their elegant clothes worn at anniversaries, weddings, or when celebrating the New Year's Eve.
Speaking of anniversaries, one should take into consideration that the Romanians offer gifts frequently : at birthday parties, at weddings, when inaugurating a newly built house and even when friends visit each other after a long period of time. We like flowers and that is why we like to offer them as a token of love, respect, friendship.
The Romanians like their homes, which makes them very good hosts. Their hospitality is a characteristic feature of their nature and they like to impress their guests by offering the best food and accomodation in the most pleasant atmosphere.
The Romanians concern themselves with various cultural aspects such as buying or reading books or surfing on the Internet. Theatre and opera goers are less and less, because in their rush to do extra jobs for extra money, people simply do not find the time for this kind of entertainment. They prefer to watch TV quite a lot as it is time and money saving and more comfortable.
Having suffered from an imposed alteration of the traditional values and a denial of religion during the long years of communism, the Romanian society today seems to undergo a revival of what is essential for any people : the love and respect for their predecessors, the concern for the material and spiritual wellfare of their children.
Lavinia Constantin 10 M1
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1
Pastimes
1
In a world of globalization, it is natural to assert that the pastimes favored by young Romanians are almost standardized, because they are not very different from those enjoyed by other European teenagers.
On the one hand, this is due to the MTV "culture" which imposed itself in teenagers' lives. Young Romanians are influenced by this particular "culture" because music and television gained an important place in the hierarchy of their priorities.
On the other hand, Romanian youngsters prefer group activities, because they enjoy spending time with their friends. However, individual hobbies are important, because most of them don't like to depend only on their group of friends, they also preserve their independence.
For instance, young people in our country enjoy a lot of different pastimes, from the most relaxing ones, like watching TV or a movie at the cinema, to those that require a lot of energy, such as snow-boarding or other extreme sports. As a matter of fact, among all the pastimes that the Romanians prefer, two are more popular within teenagers: sports and music.
Indeed, in Romania, a lot of people like practising sports and even a higher number enjoy watching them. The "king" of sports is definitely soccer. We have a great number of teams playing in four divisions, from A to D. Then, there are other different sports that Romanians like, such as: handball, basketball or rugby.
But sports aren't the only thing we are interested in. The other important pastime -music- includes a lot of different activities, like hanging out with some friends in discos or clubs, going to a party, to concerts or music festivals.
Furthermore, there are also some new pastimes that have become very popular really quickly, like surfing on the web, or playing computer games at internet-cafes.
All this considered, young Romanians, like all the young people from other countries, want to have fun as much as possible, whether with friends or on their own.
Stefania Mohoreanu and Sebastian Trentea 12M2
Cinema
Types of films in Romania
Nowadays, the role of television in our life gets more and more important. The TV programs influence our life, our way of thinking.
The main attraction of television is the movie. It doesn’t matter what kind of movie it is: action, comedy, tragedy, science fiction.
In my opinion the movies in our country are not so varied. They have similar plots and, by far, action films are on top. Although people want less violence, action movies have the biggest audience.
We sometimes see a TV film again and again for two or three years and that happens because new movies are expensive to buy.
On the other hand, soap operas are getting more and more famous. On every TV channel there must be at least one soap opera. I believe that this kind of movies is totally unimaginative and I really don’t understand why some Romanians like it so much.
In cinemas, the situation is not so bad. New films are brought weekly. It’s true the movies don’t get very fast in Romania but we all must have patience. What I consider remarkable is that Romanian films are promoted more and more. And that as a step forward, because our national values are recognized irrespective of international movie competitions.
In conclusion, we can say that we have many options regarding movies. However we should not be so much influenced by these films.
Raluca Popa 11M2
Film plots
1
The Courier
USA, 2002: directed by Corey Yuen
Cast: Jason Statham, Shu Qi, Matt Schulze
An ex- member of the Special Forces, Frank Martin is living a relaxing life on the Mediteranean Coast taking up every now and then job of a “special” courier. All he has to do is to transport things from one place to another, without asking questions. But one day, one of his packages starts to move and Frank brakes his own rules and takes a look to see what is all about. From that moment on, his life is in danger and he has to go all the way in breaking the rules to save his back.
The film, produced and partly written by Luc Besson, has scenes of sheer action, even though some seem stupid, yet the coherence of the story is not as good as we have expected. However that might not bother you too much as the main character is played by a brilliant British actor from Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch”.
Asoka
India 2001. Directed by Santosh Sivan
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Danny Denzongpa
In the third century BC Asoka becomes the new ruler of India.The young man starts his reign by leading the attack meant to unify the whole peninsula, but the love of two women will transform the warrior king into one of the most peace-loving rulers of his time.
Expensive and shiny, the film describes am important part of Indian history, filled with extraordinarily created battle scenes. They alternate with scenes when actors sing and dance and shots of a man and a woman looking in each other’s eyes, silent, burning with passion, but without kissing, as you are not allowed to do that in Indian films.
The man with no past
Joint production, 2002. Directed by Aki Kaurismaki
Cast: Markku Peltola, Kati Outien.
Barely arrived in Helsinki, a man is attacked and beaten so violently that he loses his memory. He doesn’t know who he is, where he comes from and what he’s doing in the city. His only option is to try to survive without money, ID and a place to live; so he ends up at the outskirts of the city. Then he tries to make a living and find out who he is. In his elliptic style, the director focuses more on intelligent lives then on the social condition of his main character. Then sudden changes from comedy to tragedy during the film, the dry humour may cause some confusion to a normal viewer, but the fans will really enjoy the experience.
Great Expectations
Release date: 30 January 1998
Cast: Ethan Hawke- as Finn, Gwyneth Palthrow - Estella Robert de Niro - as Lusting, the convict Anne Bancroft - as Miss Nora Dinsmoor