My Birthday in Moldova

Ambassador William and Maria Moser

PC Country Director Janet Utecht

I think I'm behind the pillar.

Sergiu presents me with present

Mmmmm yum, beet and herring salad

Wow!  Real Moldovan church candles.

The unplanned candlelight desert.

US Embassy?   Yes, wonderful coincidence, Ambassador Moser invited all the Peace Corps volunteers in Moldova (100) to his house for a holiday party....on my birthday!  William and Maria Moser welcomed us to their elegant home in Chisinau.  Our PC Country Director Janet Utecht was there to introduce each of us as we arrived.  All the Christmas decorations were still up and very artful.  The table was set with many favorite American finger foods, like raw broccoli and dip.  Oh, turkey and cranberry sauce too.  Candelabra and cookies.  And of course, generous servings of wine.  This is Moldova!  Somehow the secret got out that it was my birthday and I was presented with a cookie and candle.  A great chorus of Happy Birthday by all present was quite a present indeed.  I easily blew out my candle.  That was Friday.  Sunday night, my host family had a supper for my birthday at home with out extended group of married sister and children.  Then on Monday, after work, my co-workers had a "masa" for me at work.  I popped the cork on a bottle of Cricova champaigne.  Sergiu presented me a gift from all the staff and we enjoyed the fine Moldovan sarmalies made by Iulia and tartina, and salada.  It was my favorite, beets with onion and herring covered in mayonaise.  Then it was time for cake and candles once again.  Not just ordinary candles, these are true Moldovan candles, the type you take to church with you.  The cake was so good, everyone wants to know where I got it.  Well I got it at "Tatiana's" in the Orhei piata.  As we enjoyed desert, the lights went out.  Not planned.  The ice storm that was brewing all afternoon had finally done in some connections.  We were without electricity for the next 20 hours.  The rest of that evening was nothing but candle light.  Well winter has returned to Moldova.  But not for long!  Ground Hog's Day is coming soon.

Colindatorii Hit the Road

7 am on January 11th

traditional Moldovan dress

Parade of Winter Celebration

We line up for the parade

Crowd assembles on Casa Cultura steps

local band adds color

We wait our turn to perform

Ala and Daria

Mos Craciun and Zapada Alba make an appearance

Post performance reception

fruit, bisquits, and a slug of wine

We head back to our rutiera

entrance to Piatra's school

This is the religion classroom in school

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!

January 7th Christmas Caroling

January 7th is the Feast of Christmas on the Orthodox calendar and it is a two day holiday here in Moldova.
The 7th is for celebrating and the 8th is for recovering.  A group of youth and adults from the village dressed in Moldovan folk outfits went around the village singing colindi to help families celebrate with traditional songs.  We even had our own caruta driver to carry us around the town.  Our first stop was the church where the Liturgy had already concluded but we added some extra holiday flair along with an appearance of Mos Craciun who gave out bags of treats to all the children. Usually Mos Craciun asks the children to recite a poem for him.  The caravan moved on to many houses and at each house we sang our special colindi and then were rewarded by our hosts with an offer of wine, or candies, or fruit.  At most houses, we stand outside and are also treated with holiday bread which is baked in a braided circle and called colat.  Some of our hosts invited us into their kitchen for a quick snack.  While the colindi are sung, some one of the colinditori usually rings a small bell, a clodita.  You can see us at many of our stops in the pictures above. There's a short video file inserted here.  If it works for you, it will give a little taste of what Moldovan colindi sound like.  Stay tuned for more adventures of the wondering colinditorii of Piatra-Jeloboc.