Understanding Romanian culture

Contents

Key historical events

1^st Century – Trajan’s Dacian Wars and the Ethnic Makeup: The Roman Empire conquered Dacia and the new nation and language was born – Romanian language has a Latin origin
For many centuries, Romania didn’t exist and the country that we know today was divided in three countries: Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia
19^th Century – First Union between Wallachia and Moldavia formed Romania, but it was only in 1918 when Transylvania was also united with Romania and formed The Great Romania
WWII: after the WWII, Romania was under the influence of The Soviet Union until December 1989 when the uprising against Communist Party and the dictatorship of Ceausescu took place
2007 Romanian joined the European Union

Majority belong to Easter Christian Orthodox church (86.5%)
Minority are Roman Catholics, other Christian sects or have no religion
Pagan elements are incorporated into religious festivals, such as Easter, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve
Traditions and superstitions are important to most
Fasting before Easter and Christmas as well as on certain days throughout the year is an important ritual as part of the religious tradition

Those living in cities, reside mainly in tall flat complexes. Each flat is usually small with only around 3 rooms in total
Unemployment rate is 5.6%
6% of the population is rural, making Romania one of the least urbanised countries in Europe

Staples are potatoes and corn
Favourite Romanian dishes are Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls) and Mămăligă (polenta)
Romanian cuisine has lots of dishes from nations that conquered Romania throughout the centuries, mainly from the Turkish cuisine
Romanians enjoy eating lard and pork belly fat with bread and these are considered independent dishes
Romanians also eat lots of soups and Tripe Soup is considered a delicacy

Religion is quite dominant
High aspiration for education
Strong family and friendship values
Age and position are respected, and older people are viewed as wise because of their life experience
About 10.5% of the Romanian population is represented by ethnic minorities with their own language and traditions: Hungarian, Romani, German, and Greek
Many people in Romania speak English

Romanians prefer to remove shoes at home and wear slippers
Romanians are known for bringing a small gift to express gratitude to any ‘catch-up’ with family and friends
Some communities observe a 40-day mourning period. They also have memorial ‘feasts’ on key anniversary of the death
1^st March marks the beginning of spring and Romanian women are known to wear ‘Mărţişor’, a traditional brooch with a red and white string symbolising the revival of nature
8^th of March, the International Women’s Day is widely celebrated in Romania, with schools organising assemblies where children sing songs and recite poems to celebrate their mothers
Easter is an important religious festival consisting mainly of fasting, helping the poor, going to church, especially on Easter Eve, painting eggs and cooking traditional dishes to share with family and friends
Bread and salt are often put on the table to represent life and hospitality

Romanians don’t often participate in ‘small talk’ They will usually say how it is
It is normal for Romanians to use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ less than in the British culture
It is uncommon to hold eyes and to smile at strangers
Romanian language derives from Latin, and it is a Romance language same as French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

Romanian families are used to warmer homes
Tap water in most parts of Romania is not drinkable
In the summer, children have a long holiday of 12 weeks
Typical holiday destinations are countryside to visit grandparents or relatives, seaside (Black Sea) or mountains (Carpathians)
It is very common to address an older person in a formal way as well someone with a greater position in society (e.g., teacher, doctor, manager)
The most important meal of the day is lunch when people eat a two-three course meal – however, this is slowly changing due to new working patterns