Below is an excerpt from Sărbătorile de iarnă: Winter Celebrations by Peace Corps Moldova staff. "In the morning of the New Year, friends, neighbors, and family seed each other. This is a tradition when people throw corn and rice at each other and it's a continuation of the "plugușorul” or ”urătura” that happened the night before. This is called ”semănatul” and it is to wish the family good luck and also for a rich crop for the coming year. It is also called ”sorcova”. And as for the New Year's Eve tradition we give our good wishers a gift to thank them for their good wishes. Usually this is fruit, candy, money, and nuts, but anything can be given depending on who you are and how well you know the person." Here is a sample Semănatul/Sorcova from that same book with my translation: Sorcova veselă, Să trăiți, să-nfloriți, Ca un măr, ca un păr, Ca un fir de trandafir, Tare ca piatra, Iute ca săgeata, Tare ca fierul, Iute ca oțetul. La anul și la mulți ani Cheerful sorcova, Live and flourish, Like an apple, like a pear, Like a rose bush, Strong like stone, Swift like an arrow, Strong like iron, Strong like steel. To this year and many to come! I've now heard several with the line "Să traiți, să-nfloriți, ca mere, ca pere în mijlocul verii” which I understand as ”live and flourish like apples and pears in the middle of summer”. I really love this line” This video shows a folkloric ensemble from Romania performing a semănatul: This shows a more mature group practicing the same tradition, showering a mayor's office with seeds/grains and well wishes:
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Rebecca LehmanHealth Education volunteer serving at Boris Dînga Middle & High School in Criuleni, Moldova. Archives
May 2017
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