STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

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Special Treat - Christmas Contest Submission ??“ ? Geo Rusu

Dec 26, 2005

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I am so very pleased to announce another new writer for Storytime Tapestry, Geo Rusu, is writer #?  277,?  and our very first writer from Romania.?  Please email him and tell him what you think of his wonderful story.

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? All special treats will be Christmas Contest entries from now on.?  This way I can maximize on the number of stories I can get out to you.?  Please do not influence your vote because you see a writer has a special treat.?  I will pick a story at random for this selection.?  The soul purpose of using the special treat section is to get out my Christmas stories to you.?  You will still vote for your favourite writer at the end of the contest whether or not they were slotted for a special treat or remained published in the main newsletter.

Carol Roach

? And now for today??™s selection:

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A Romanian Christmas Story? 

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? By Geo RUSU

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? ?  If we go far in the East of the World we can encounter more traditional archaic customs which are still alive as they were from the thousands years ago. So it is in Romania.

Most of the old tradition are still alive in the Northern Part of the country, in Maramures, Bucovina regions, but also we can have the pleasure to participate on that wonderful winter seasonal customs for Christmas Eve and for New Year Eve and for 1^st of January in the South art also.

In fact these customs are originated in pre-Christian period, but certainly were adapted for next period.

These nice customs can be found even in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

A group of 7-10-12 young boys who are dressed in Romanian traditional folk costumes, and some of them are dressed with the skin and masks of goat, bear, and one boy holds a long stick and at the top of it there is a big Star.

This old traditional custom is called `The Star` and the young boys, teen age, or professional group of men are going from house to house singing a nice and little-story songs.

These songs are many in number and have same title ???COLINDE???, a Christmas carol. These groups represent a kind of wanderers who are going from house to house to wish nice and beautiful blessings.

? In the plain English the words of ???COLINDE??? can be translated as :

` Wake up, wake up, everybody,

? ?  Because the wanderers of Christmas coral came,

? ?  Do not sleep, do not sleep,

? ?  Now is not the time for sleep,

? ?  You have to decorate

? ?  With Silver ornaments and decorations,

? ?  Wake your servants to clean the garden,

? ?  We came in the mid of the night,

? ? ?  To wake you up and wish you,

? ? ?  To see the Heaven and in the Heaven

? ? ? ?  You can see a table with three chairs,

? ? ? ?  And who are sitting on the three chairs,

? ? ? ?  St. John with Jesus his godson,

? ? ? ?  And Mary, with her nice face,

? ? ? ?  The Mother of Christ,

? ? ? ?  And St. John is rejoicing,

? ? ? ?  And with Jesus is talking,

? ? ? ?  And the Mother is listening, ...`

? All these songs are pretty long and there are different versions, depends on the region of the country. The above one is from N.E. part of Romania.

In general, the story is same about Paradise, St. John, Jesus and Mother Mary. The story is like a prediction for the life of Jesus after his Birth, his sad story about his betrayal by Judas and all of these are explained by the Mother to St. John.

The wanderers are compacted in one group who has a little orchestra, with violin, bells, drums, percussion instruments and Romanian specific instrument, which is named `BUHA` or `BUHAIU` which looks like a drum, but only one side is covered with the lather of cow, ox, and the other side is free is empty. How it works? In the middle of the lather there is a hole in which there is passing a long cord made by the tail of horse, or another animal. The player pull that cord trough that leather and this makes a noise like ox or cows `mooo`, belowing, that means beside men there were at Jesus Birth Place also?  cows and goats and others.

The singing group is very picturesque and colourful dressed in folk costumes with ribbons of Romanian National Flag which is like rainbow, blue, yellow and red. All the members of the group are singing with big voices and all the time they wish for those houses, for those families `to have a good health, prosperity, abundance,...`.

The family who get the Christmas coral from the `COLINDE` group, or we say `Colindatorii`, that means the Christmas corals wanderers give to them pork sausages, cakes, apples, juice or if they are students, mature men a glass of red wine and money, etc.? ? 

In Bucharest there are professional team of students from different private art schools and also the kids who are coming from another parts of the city, who play the wanderer role for Christmas.

Romanian Christmas Season begin with the Day of St. Nick(olas),

The 6^th of December, than Christmas on 25^th, and New Year, and then the Day of St John, the 6^th of January.

These customs belong to Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, like Greek for example.

We imported, Western Holidays also, so we have St. Valentine`s Day, Halloween, etc.

I can say that in these days there are mixed Western and Eastern traditions on the same places, here in Romania.

There is the moment of the year when we have to let all our worries, to let the past, and to give from our depth of our being all our Gratitude to WHOLEONENESS. We have to be happy for everything what happened to our lives, to our destiny, all those things that happened to us made us who we are now very eager to understand and love the life on the very deep level of its and to be more and more free in our Life.

Happy, Happy, Happy Holidays, no matter what your faith.

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Geo Rusu

geosays@gmail.com

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About Me:

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My name is Geo RUSU and I was born in 1956, Bucharest, Romania.

I passed first 6 primary classes in Tokyo at the one of the elementary Japanese school.

In 1971, at 15 years old I become first official Japanese-Romanian??“Japanese translator for Romanian National Travel Agency,

In 1980, I graduated Physics Faculty, physics engineer section of Bucharest University,

1980-1990, I was chief of final control at non destructive control with X-rays, ultra-sonic Laboratory at one of the Bucharest electronic factory.

1981-2000, lecturer of Japanese Language, Culture, Civilisation at Dalles University-Bucharest,

1991, I graduated Japanese Language Institute-Tokyo as Foreign Teacher of Japanese Language,

1986, I graduated post university-consultant in marketing at Economy Science Academy-Bucharest,

1987,I graduated post university of Techniques and Methods for Stimulating the Creativity, Economic Science Academy of Bucharest,

1971-2000, international guide interpret for Japanese, Romanian Teacher at Japanese School of Japanese Embassy, Bucharest, teaching Romanian, English via Japanese and versus.

Conferences, seminars about Japan and its People, History, Society, Arts, Civilisation at Dalles University,?  Bucharest.

2000--till now I am learning, studying and researching by travel foreign cultures, people, languages, civilisations.? ? 

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