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| 7 am on January 11th |
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| traditional Moldovan dress |
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| Parade of Winter Celebration |
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| We line up for the parade |
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| Crowd assembles on Casa Cultura steps |
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| local band adds color |
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| We wait our turn to perform |
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| Ala and Daria |
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| Mos Craciun and Zapada Alba make an appearance |
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| Post performance reception |
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| fruit, bisquits, and a slug of wine |
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| We head back to our rutiera |
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| entrance to Piatra's school |
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| This is the religion classroom in school |
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| Anyone hungry? |
On Saturday morning bright and early, the colindatorii (carolers) of Piatra were ready to hit the road. Our destination was the Village of Susleni which is 15 kilometers to our east. The Orhei raion was holding a contest of sorts for local folk groups. It was called the "Alaiul" or parade of winter celebration. Its theme is "sa traiti, sa infloriti" or To live and bloom. Back in the States I believe we call this "forcing Spring." We were lucky that it was a nice sunny day in the mid 40's as all the activity took place outdoors. At first we were directed to a staging area a few blocks away from the "casa cultura". In about an hour, all the groups were assembled and we formed a "parade" which marched down the street to the steps of the "casa cultura". As you can see, we had a sign identifying our group as from the "s. Piatra". "S" stands for "satul" or village. The performances of the various village folk groups would take place on the front steps of the "casa cultura". A local band was present to add some ambient music in between acts. Here are some cameos of our handsome group. And after we sang our colindii, we were invited into the casa cultural for a small reception of treats. By 11 am we were on our way home again. But we had a second engagement later in the day at our local school in Piatra. It was the day to "bless" the school. This is connected to a religious holiday commemorating the Baptism of Christ. You can see the table prepared with loaves of braided bread or "colaci" and two buckets of water are ready to be sprinkled throughout the school by the priest of the village.
Just before he arrives, the candles or "luminare" are lit. The priest uses a large sprig of basil to spray the water around. And when the ceremonies are through, its time for a "masa" or meal. Appropriately we are located in the school cafeteria. "Pofta Buna" or hearty appetite to you!
