Winter is the period of the year when nature seems to be asleep. However, traditions and customs are numerous and various during this period.

Unfortunately many traditions are increasingly hard kept, being one of the globalization’s effects.

I live in Poland during all winter and I can say that the winter traditions, excepting Christmas, are almost inexistent in Łódź and in Nowosolna commune. It is sad to know that a part of Polish culture you can hear only from grandparents or you can read about it in some books. But no matter how big imagination you have, you can’t feel and imagine perfectly all aspects of the traditions.

The only thing that remained for me to do it was to search on internet and I hope I found enough information about the traditions of this period, tradition that not so long time ago you could see with your own eyes.

The most known tradition is called Kulig. This winter tradition has the origin in the time of Polish aristocracy (szlachta).

Kulig was a very popular sleigh ride in which the participants went from house to house. After arrival at these houses, they entertained themselves with hearty meals followed by dances.

Nowadays, this tradition is kept only in some regions of Poland like in the mountain regions.

Koljada is the celebration of the winter solstice when people disguised in animals and they were rambling in village. Very often they were disguised in a goat costume with its head supported by a stick and with a blanket which covered the person to not be seen. The same it was in the case of disguising in other animals.

Another habit of this period it was a boy from a group who carried the symbol of spinning sun which was lit with a candle inside. Later when the Christianity appeared in Poland, the symbol of the sun was replaced with a star.

This group used to go from house to house and sing wishes to hosts. These songs included invocations of feast’s gods and goddesses, prayers and best wishes to those who listened, expecting to receive gifts in return. The gifts were called "koljada" and were usually pastries ("korovka") which took the form of a cow or goat. These products were traditionally baked by grandparents. After receiving gifts, one of the singers beat them easily with hazel twigs, wishing them health and happiness in the New Year. The twig was left to the host, who fixed it with nails above the door for wealth and protection.

Sometimes fires were lit, and the souls of deceased ancestors were invited to warm up.

Also in this period when a parody of the funerals used to take place, when a person who was pretending to be dead was carried into the house. A girl was chosen and traditionally kissed the "deceased". After it, the "dead" rose, symbolizing the rebirth.

New Year's Eve (Sylwester) is celebrated in towns and villages of Poland usually by organizing parties which take place until the morning. But in the villages there used to be different traditions, most of them taking the form of jokes.

For example, in Żywiec there was the custom that groups of boys disguise in devils, bears and beggars and ramble in the village accompanied by the clatter of empty cans. They docked any young woman who came in their way and beat her with snow, but all of these were forgiven because it was believed that in this way people will pass over the old year.

Another important habit during New Year's Eve was that grandparents who baked bread which took the shape of animals (sheep, rabbits, geese, cows or birds). Grandparents often offered these breads to grandchildren. In some areas of Poland donuts were baked to ensure abundance for the New Year. Breads shaped like a ring and cross were hidden under the table during dinner and they were used as oracles. If someone found ring-shaped bread, it meant that the wedding is close and if he found a cross - it meant the entering in priesthood.

For this day existed many proverbs like: "On New Year you must wake up early to get up early during all year", "Touch the floor with your right foot when you up to expect good luck for the rest of the year" and "To become rich, put coins in a small bag and run on the field shaking it making a lot of noise."

Traditionally, this period was the right time for predictions such as finding out who is the girl’s soul mate by looking in steamed mirror after a bath in the New Year’s Eve.

After the New Year, on 6^th January the Feast of the Three Kings (Trzech Króli).  take place On this day, the priest visits the Catholics homes and write with chalk on the entrance doors the initials K + M + B (Kaspar, Melchior and Balthasar). In mountain regions, people go to church to bless chalk and when they return to their homes, they write the initial entrance doors. These initial have the aim to prevent from disasters.

A custom common for almost all Europe cultures, including Romanians and Poles, is that in December people bring in their homes a sprig of mistletoe, symbol of peace, eternal life and acceptation that they are devoted Christians. Girls will be often kissed under the mistletoe for love, friendship or even luck, after which the boy will take a white mistletoe berry. After finishing all of the mistletoe berries, people will no longer kiss under the mistletoe.

What is characteristic for Romanian culture, it’s the rich folk with a lot of traditions related to agriculture work and shepherding. Traditions from ancient times are kept in villages and towns, but they hardly resist to globalization’s pressure and modernity. Through their variety and importance, winter traditions have a special place in the life of Romanians.

Winter holidays begin with Advent (15^th November), but they increase in intensity from the feast of Saint Andrew and having its apogee in the period 20^th December – 7^th January.

On 20^th December households celebrate Ignatius, an old tradition preserved from father to son. It is assumed that this tradition would have originated in antiquity. The central significance of the ritual is death and rebirth, in this sense they slaughtered the pig to increase the powers of Sun. With the appearance of Christianity, this tradition has been assimilated and dedicated to Christmas traditions. However, the Romanian people still sacrifice pigs on this day, but now it has other connotations and meanings.

The pig slaughter ritual is precise and is transmitted from father to son. The day before being slaughtered, the pig does not receive food to be easier to clean the intestines. In the morning of "Ignat” household with some help of men from village take the pig out of its sty, they immobilize it, and one of them stabs it. After the pig was bleeding to death, the pig is singed with straws.

Then the pig is washed and rubbed with salt, for a soft rind. After that the pig forehead is marked with a cross and then the pig is sliced.

The pig use to predict the weather. Since old times it’s said that the pig’s spleen is the best advice on the duration of winter. If the spleen is thick at the end of it, the winter will be hard, with plenty of snow, but the summer will be with a rich harvest. If the spleen is thin, it shows that the winter will be frosty with little snow, spring will come soon, and the next year will be not so rich.

After slicing the pig, housewives begin to prepare sausages and other pork specialties.

At the end everyone who took part in the slaughter of pigs will eat dishes prepared with its meat.

In the winter solstice ancestors used to climb the mountain with lit torches to greet the rising sun and to pray to it. After the prayer, there were held parties near fire, people sang and danced until the sunset, then people went back to their homes. After Dacia was conquered by the Romans, the native substrate of the winter traditions was enriched with Saturnalia.

Perhaps the most widespread tradition of Romanians during winter is caroling, a scenario composed of ceremonial texts, magic formulas, dances and gestures, played on the streets or in people's yards. By caroling, people make wishes for health, wealth and fulfillment of whishes in the next year.

Depending on the days of December and regions of Romania there are many kinds of caroling – I preset them below.

Carols are songs sung by children who announce the Jesus birth starting with the evening of 23^rd December and ending with the morning of 24^th December. Carollers receive from host: pretzels, nuts, apples, knot-shaped breads or other sweets.

Another old custom that was found in almost all Christian populations is the one in which children walk with the star between Christmas and Epiphany. Through this custom there is a recall the star that announced the Jesus birth and guided the three wise men to him.

Since Ignatius and ending with the New Year’s Eve, there are boys who walk with the goat - "țurca” or "brezaia”. All these are games with masks of devils and old men, shouting, whistling, with funny movements, trying to bring joy to all those who are looking.

The dance of goat is played by a boy who is disguised in goat as others sing. The goat is an agrarian ritual that was meant to bring fertility of soil and abundance of crops.

Another custom similar to goat’s dance is the bear’s dance, originally from Moldova region. Bear is played by a boy wearing a head and a fur of a bear. Bear is led by a leader, accompanied by music. In the rhythm of drums, flute and other musical instruments, the leader provokes the bear which walks cradled like a bear. The custom symbolizes purification and fertilization of soil for the coming year.

Pluguşorul (the plough) is a custom held on the entire surface of Romania during the New Year's Eve. On this day, groups of children go from house to house to wish health and prosperity for the next year. They are accompanied by the sounds of bells, the cracking of whips and the friction drum ("buhai”), that sounds similar to an ox. The wish is a long poem composed of lines that describes the agriculture work from ploughing to the blossoms of the trees.

In the first day of the New Year, kids wake up early in the morning to wish health, happiness, wealth and prosperity to people for the whole year. This custom is called "sorcova” and this ritual is performed with a twig decorated with flowers.

On 6^th January, orthodox Romanians celebrate Epiphany. On this day, priest blesses houses and the water with which householders splash the animals to be healthy. A custom in the cities near the Danube is that a priest throws a wooden cross into the water. After it a group of men jump into the cold water to retrieve it.

Part of people's lives, traditions and customs of this period resist increasingly difficult with the changing of the human life style and its transition from mainly agricultural activities to other types of activities, such as industrial or services.

I hope these beautiful traditions do not remain like a simple memory or just a mention in a book, because traditions and customs are part of one country’s culture, making countries different and special in the same time.