Two Chances: Part III
One of the most kept Moldovan winter traditions is "Urator-ing". (Okay, I added the "ing" to make the word flow well with the the English grammar structure of that sentence). The truth is, there is not a real translation for this verb (a ura). Which means, according to my dictionary: to go door to door granting good wishes on new year's eve. But it's more than that. I guess, if I had to make a comparison to American traditions and practices, it would be a combination of Christmas caroling, trick or treating and halmark greeting card given on new years eve.
The tradition is, that kids dress up -- not in the traditional "fancy" costumes that they wear in things like school concerts and dance performances, but in traditional Moldovan daily wear. What does this mean? Furry vests, tall hats for the boys, head scarves for the girls. Then they go door to door on new year's eve (usually on "old new years" -- 13th of January) with an "urator" to chant (not sing) to their neighbors. The kids usually go in groups, by neighborhood, class or family. The poems they recite they have made up themselves -- and personalized for their audiences. The poems all follow the same rhyme and meter; and they all have to do with well wishes for the coming year. The chanting, which usually ends up more like yelling, is accompanied by tiny bells that the girls ring randomly throughout the urator. The whole thing usually takes about 3 or 4 minutes at every house. The boys, meanwhile, are in charge of the other instruments. The first being a whip, that one boy proudly holds and sounds randomly throughout the performance. (It is harder than it seems to get a good sound out of these whips). Next, two boys are usually donning a donkey costume. Why? I don't know, "tradition" I was told.
Then finally, two boys are working together to play another traditional instrument, that I don't know the word for. It is homemade. Out of a bucket and some twine. The twine hangs out of the bottom of the bucket. One boy holds the top of the bucket. The other one grabs the twine (which is stuck through the bottom of the bucket and doubled up) and runs his hands along the rope. (his hands have been soaked in a water and vinegar mixture). And it makes a really interesting errr sound. Anyway, they "play" that instrument intermittently through the carol.
Before putting on this performance at every house, the kids need to ask the permission of the people in the house. This was my favorite part of the day/night. You stand at the door (all 25 of us), swing it open and scream "Will you receive carolers?" -- in Romanian of course. And then if they say yes, everyone just piles in. After the performance, the hosts usually wished us great things for 2008 as well -- but also, according to the traditions, served us with wine, bread in a circle (traditional moldovan braided bread), candy and money. It seemed to me like a lot, but that is, as they say, tradition.
This year, our youth group put a little twist on the tradition. I'm really proud of them for thinking this up, as I obviously would never have because I did not even fully understand this tradition. They always complain about how my fundraising ideas won't work here in Moldova -- but this is a new twist on the old. Instead of only going on New Years Eve, this year we went around to local businesses, the mayor's office, the calhouz (collective farming agency), the nearest hospital and stores in the nearest city caroling as a means to raise money. It was strange I think for businesses to see us; most don't expect carolers, which is traditionally an at home activity. Also it was strange that we were 4 days early from the earliest new years, and the fact that the students were older (usually by the time people reach high school they have abandoned this practice). All in all it was a really fun and really exciting and really tiring experience. I got to ring a bell and say two lines. (The President of our Raion (kind of like a governor) said it was the first time he ever saw or heard of an international "urator" -- meaning by my presence there). And in the end, we did raise quite a bit of money for our organization. 10 hours is a long time to be walking though. Good thing we had all the candy to sustain us, and the wine, of course, to keep us warm!
pictures: visiting the hospital. This little boy (through the doorway) was so cute and so shy. He wouldn't come out of his room, but was literally sitting on the edge of his bed listening. I like this picture. / On the left you can see two boys playing the Moldovan bucket instrument I explained before. The one on the left is holding it, the one on the right, playing it. The boy on the far right has a whip in his right hand. / This is how we were received by workers at the local Moldovan soda company. Instead of talking to the management, they took us right into the factory -- had to stop the machines to hear it though. They weren't expecting us so didn't have candy and instead gave us soda -- which was nice, but we had to lug it around the rest of the day. / next comes the whole group, at our first stop of the day (8 am) our local mayor's office. / and finally, me dressed in Traditional Moldovan winter lady's clothing, holding the holiday bread, waiting at a bus stop in a nearby city for the bus back to our village.
Our New Years Eve came and past relatively uneventfully. We dont' even have tv to watch any balls fall anywhere. But, that's okay. I think it probably fell anyway, and the calender year changed anyway.
Next was Moldovan Christmas on the 7th of January. Although it was Christmas, it is also the day that the husband of my host mom died, so instead of celebrating the holiday we had a praznic, or feast, in honor of him. All of their relatives from out of town came. And although Christmas for them is not a real gift giving holiday (kids here do not believe in Santa Clause, and they laugh hysterically when I tell them kids in America do -- nor do kids here receive anything from Santa Clause). No Christmas trees. Kids get a few presents. Much different thing. My favorite part of this day, though, was my host cousin who lives in the South of Moldova bought me a present -- two kilos of beans! Yes, you heard it right -- BEANS! We, in my village, are out of beans. The drought really affected the fields and this has just been a bad year in general for agriculture, so maybe there are more beans -- but no one is selling them. This was a huge problem for me, because they are one of my staple protein sources here, and I love them. So I was overjoiced -- I hope I can ration them to get me through the winter. (the thought of winter stretching on here is rather depressing because it is so cold and there is such a short supply of food -- not short in amount, no one is going to go hungry -- but short in diversity and vitamins). Sometimes my body just wants an orange.
Also, we did, eventually get a white christmas. A white Moldovan Christmas! It snowed and was covered (and still is) in the fluffy white stuff for Moldovan Christmas morning. While this put hazards on already bad roads for travelers, I loved it. I have yet to take any pictures in the snow, but I will make sure to take some soon -- Moldova is beautiful in the snow!
Oh well, winter might still have 2-3 more months here -- but at least there is one more winter holiday to keep us lively. Stay tuned for reports on Moldovan New Years, in one week! :)
"Opriti Pluga. Ho, AHO! Sarbatoare Ferecite!"
The tradition is, that kids dress up -- not in the traditional "fancy" costumes that they wear in things like school concerts and dance performances, but in traditional Moldovan daily wear. What does this mean? Furry vests, tall hats for the boys, head scarves for the girls. Then they go door to door on new year's eve (usually on "old new years" -- 13th of January) with an "urator" to chant (not sing) to their neighbors. The kids usually go in groups, by neighborhood, class or family. The poems they recite they have made up themselves -- and personalized for their audiences. The poems all follow the same rhyme and meter; and they all have to do with well wishes for the coming year. The chanting, which usually ends up more like yelling, is accompanied by tiny bells that the girls ring randomly throughout the urator. The whole thing usually takes about 3 or 4 minutes at every house. The boys, meanwhile, are in charge of the other instruments. The first being a whip, that one boy proudly holds and sounds randomly throughout the performance. (It is harder than it seems to get a good sound out of these whips). Next, two boys are usually donning a donkey costume. Why? I don't know, "tradition" I was told.
Then finally, two boys are working together to play another traditional instrument, that I don't know the word for. It is homemade. Out of a bucket and some twine. The twine hangs out of the bottom of the bucket. One boy holds the top of the bucket. The other one grabs the twine (which is stuck through the bottom of the bucket and doubled up) and runs his hands along the rope. (his hands have been soaked in a water and vinegar mixture). And it makes a really interesting errr sound. Anyway, they "play" that instrument intermittently through the carol.
Before putting on this performance at every house, the kids need to ask the permission of the people in the house. This was my favorite part of the day/night. You stand at the door (all 25 of us), swing it open and scream "Will you receive carolers?" -- in Romanian of course. And then if they say yes, everyone just piles in. After the performance, the hosts usually wished us great things for 2008 as well -- but also, according to the traditions, served us with wine, bread in a circle (traditional moldovan braided bread), candy and money. It seemed to me like a lot, but that is, as they say, tradition.
This year, our youth group put a little twist on the tradition. I'm really proud of them for thinking this up, as I obviously would never have because I did not even fully understand this tradition. They always complain about how my fundraising ideas won't work here in Moldova -- but this is a new twist on the old. Instead of only going on New Years Eve, this year we went around to local businesses, the mayor's office, the calhouz (collective farming agency), the nearest hospital and stores in the nearest city caroling as a means to raise money. It was strange I think for businesses to see us; most don't expect carolers, which is traditionally an at home activity. Also it was strange that we were 4 days early from the earliest new years, and the fact that the students were older (usually by the time people reach high school they have abandoned this practice). All in all it was a really fun and really exciting and really tiring experience. I got to ring a bell and say two lines. (The President of our Raion (kind of like a governor) said it was the first time he ever saw or heard of an international "urator" -- meaning by my presence there). And in the end, we did raise quite a bit of money for our organization. 10 hours is a long time to be walking though. Good thing we had all the candy to sustain us, and the wine, of course, to keep us warm!
pictures: visiting the hospital. This little boy (through the doorway) was so cute and so shy. He wouldn't come out of his room, but was literally sitting on the edge of his bed listening. I like this picture. / On the left you can see two boys playing the Moldovan bucket instrument I explained before. The one on the left is holding it, the one on the right, playing it. The boy on the far right has a whip in his right hand. / This is how we were received by workers at the local Moldovan soda company. Instead of talking to the management, they took us right into the factory -- had to stop the machines to hear it though. They weren't expecting us so didn't have candy and instead gave us soda -- which was nice, but we had to lug it around the rest of the day. / next comes the whole group, at our first stop of the day (8 am) our local mayor's office. / and finally, me dressed in Traditional Moldovan winter lady's clothing, holding the holiday bread, waiting at a bus stop in a nearby city for the bus back to our village.
Our New Years Eve came and past relatively uneventfully. We dont' even have tv to watch any balls fall anywhere. But, that's okay. I think it probably fell anyway, and the calender year changed anyway.
Next was Moldovan Christmas on the 7th of January. Although it was Christmas, it is also the day that the husband of my host mom died, so instead of celebrating the holiday we had a praznic, or feast, in honor of him. All of their relatives from out of town came. And although Christmas for them is not a real gift giving holiday (kids here do not believe in Santa Clause, and they laugh hysterically when I tell them kids in America do -- nor do kids here receive anything from Santa Clause). No Christmas trees. Kids get a few presents. Much different thing. My favorite part of this day, though, was my host cousin who lives in the South of Moldova bought me a present -- two kilos of beans! Yes, you heard it right -- BEANS! We, in my village, are out of beans. The drought really affected the fields and this has just been a bad year in general for agriculture, so maybe there are more beans -- but no one is selling them. This was a huge problem for me, because they are one of my staple protein sources here, and I love them. So I was overjoiced -- I hope I can ration them to get me through the winter. (the thought of winter stretching on here is rather depressing because it is so cold and there is such a short supply of food -- not short in amount, no one is going to go hungry -- but short in diversity and vitamins). Sometimes my body just wants an orange.
Also, we did, eventually get a white christmas. A white Moldovan Christmas! It snowed and was covered (and still is) in the fluffy white stuff for Moldovan Christmas morning. While this put hazards on already bad roads for travelers, I loved it. I have yet to take any pictures in the snow, but I will make sure to take some soon -- Moldova is beautiful in the snow!
Oh well, winter might still have 2-3 more months here -- but at least there is one more winter holiday to keep us lively. Stay tuned for reports on Moldovan New Years, in one week! :)
"Opriti Pluga. Ho, AHO! Sarbatoare Ferecite!"
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 2:37 PM.
