Home » Christmas » Christmas in Romania Christmas in Romania   IRomania, the den of the Dracula has much more to offer than mere spooky, creaky floors of the towering fairy tale Bran Castle. Romania’s breathtaking landscapes, picturesque castles and mansions shrouded in mystery stand as silent witness to its elegant past. Though the hip nightlife of Bucharest and Cluj Napoca (that put other western contemporaries to shame) and the bohemian lifestyle of the medieval town of Brasov have relegated the spooky myths to the background, there is no denying of the fact that once you have had a glimpse of the breathtaking landscapes, the picturesque Castles and the sizzling Heights of the Carpathian you would not wonder why Romania provides such a perfect setting for the Dracula movies. Grab the opportunity and experience a blasting Christmas in Romania. Christmas in Romania is popularly known as Craciun and Santa is popularly referred to as Mos Craciun. Romanian Christmas customs are to a considerable extent influenced by its folklore and ancient traditions. Colors play a pivotal role as they are religiously symbolic with the three traditional colors, Red, black and white representing the dark wintry night, vibrant finery of the children carolers and the clear snow under the starry sky respectively. At about 10 o'clock on the Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree is decorated with color paper wrapped walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, candies, apples and chocolates. Then the children dressed up as carolers set out through the neighborhood or village, caroling from house to house, an act, which fetches them traditional treats like the "covrigi" and doughnuts. After the Midnight Mass, the children place the best pair of their boots at the front door for Santa Claus to fill in with gifts. The traditional Christmas food are "Racituri" or "piftie," Fresh pork sausages seasoned with "muraturi", "toba," "caltabos," "babic" and "ghiudem," while "Ciorba de perisoare", "Sarmale" form the main dishes. "Cozonac" is the favorite dessert. On Christmas, a pig is slaughtered on every Romanian farm, which is meticulously transformed into smoked ham and charcuterie products. This age old tradition takes place on the St. Ignatius' day. For more details on Christmas in Romania log on to 123Christians.