Moldovan customs
the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongolian Tartars and Hungarians invaded, and the Dacia people gradually divided into three branches: Moldovans, Walachians, and Transylvania. Ancient Moldova was named Dacia Trajan, which later formed the three countries of Romania, Moldova and Transylvania.
The Republic of Moldova (Moldovan: Republic of Moldova), abbreviated as Moldova, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, bordering Romania and Ukraine. The country covers an area of 33800 square kilometers, is 350 kilometers long from north to south, and 150 kilometers wide from east to west. It is shaped like an upside down grape cluster. It is a small European country. The country is divided into 32 districts, 3 municipalities directly under the Central Government (Chisinau, Borz, and Bender) and 2 local administrative districts (Gagauz Autonomous Administrative Region, Transnistrian Administrative Region). The capital, Chisinau.
Moldovans and Romania have the same ancestry and are both descendants of the Dacia people. The total population of the country is 3.5576 million (statistics as of January 1, 2014, excluding the population of "Dezuo" and Bender City), of which 75.8% are Moldovan, 8.4% are Ukraine, 5.9% are Russians, 4.4% are Gagauz, 2.2%, Bulgarian 1.9%, and other ethnic groups 1.4%. The official language is Moldovan and Russian is the common language. Most people believe in the Greek Orthodox Church.
Over the centuries, the Moldovan nation has formed unique national costumes. Adult men wear a white gown and white trousers, a suit vest made of wool, a leather vest or wool vest in winter, a short sheepskin coat, a lambskin hat, homemade leather boots on their feet, and a wide red, green, or blue belt around their waist. The belt length is generally 3 meters. Men's belts are not only of practical value, but also highly decorative.
Women wear a large square scarf on their heads, a colorful embroidered shirt on a white background, a coat with a knee-wide hem, and a wool or linen apron on the outside. Moldovan women's skirts are generally made of dark pure wool fabric. The skirt is embroidered with colorful geometric patterns. The skirt is equipped with a narrow waist belt at the waist. In winter, both men and women wear homemade fur coats. At the beginning of the 21st century, ethnic costumes were still preserved among the elderly in rural areas. Young people rarely wore them and were mostly used in movies and stages. They have gradually become an artistic symbol of the Moldovan nation.
Wedding is a grand festival among Moldovan families. The wedding ceremony, which lasted for several days, was rich in content and unique. Autumn is the season for Moldovan people to hold weddings. Before the wedding, ceremonies such as proposal, engagement, and gratitude must be carried out. Weddings are usually held at the same time at the homes of both men and women, and then the groom carries gifts to his mother-in-law's home to pick up the bride. After the bride's parents expressed their blessings to the couple, they took out the dowry and sent the bride to her in-laws 'home. Then a very grand banquet was held at the groom's house (Masamare).
At this time, a couple had to hold candles and take the "fire of love" symbolizing life, light and good luck from the "Long Open Flame" room, and salute their parents to show their gratitude and respect. The entire wedding process was filled with poetry readings, dancing and singing. Relatives and friends attending the wedding party reveled until dawn. At dawn, everyone squatted for a moment and let the bride hold a baby in her arms to wish her many children. Then the husband and his wife walked to the door. Before the newlyweds crossed the threshold, everyone sprinkled food on their heads and bodies, wishing them plenty every year.
Every major festival, men, women and children in Moldova wear national costumes and take to the streets to dance and sing. "Dance is the soul of Moldovan people" is no exaggeration. Moldova's national dances are passionate, poetic and slightly melancholy, fully reflecting the character of this nation. The national dances "Hora Dance" and "Ruoke Dance" are famous at home and abroad. Moldova's folk poetry is rich and full of strong national characteristics. The lyrical song "Doina" is the essence of folk poetry and is widely sung.
The staple food of Moldovan people is bread, and they like to eat all kinds of vegetarian dishes, fried meat, mutton and dairy products. The traditional ethnic food is hot cornmeal porridge, served with goat cheese, fried onions, butter, tomatoes, etc. Typical foods are vegetable soup, smoked fish, cured meat, cheese filled green peppers, vegetable rolls made of grape leaf rolled meat, shredded onions mixed with peas, garlic paste, etc. Moldovan women are good at making various small dishes and making wine. They pickle a wide variety of small dishes and taste delicious; the wines they brew are sweet and sour, and the aroma is refreshing. During the holidays, housewives must prepare frozen chicken and frozen pork for their families.
Vegetables and fruits in Moldova are seasonal. After the season, they cannot be eaten because the local area advocates relying on the weather for food and there are no vegetable greenhouses popular in China. But locals can still eat out-of-season fruits and vegetables, but they are not fresh, but homemade cans. Homemade cans are an important folk custom in Moldova. In autumn, Moldovans buy back piles of vegetables and fruits, various seasonings, as well as large and small glass bottles, caps and sealing tools to make cans.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, and red peppers-wash them one by one, blanch them with boiling water, drain off the water on the surface, then add various seasonings, mix well, sub-pack them into bottles, seal the mouth with tools and bottle caps, and move them to the basement for storage. A family takes whatever they want, and a winter slowly passes with the decrease of these canned vegetables. There are hard-working families who make more cans and have food for a year, or even for several years at a time.
If you visit a Moldovan home, you need to note that when dining at the same table, the owner forbids others to play with knives and forks or bump the tableware. It is also very unsightly to pick up the plate to eat vegetables and drink soup. When sitting guests in other people's homes, do not break into the owner's bedroom or sit on the bed without the owner's permission. This is extremely impolite behavior.
What is particularly worth mentioning in theis grapes. The life of Moldovan people is inseparable from grapes and wine. Grapes are the oldest plants in the land of Moldova, and their planting history dates back to 3000 BC. In the countryside, every family has a wine cellar. People regard grapes as a symbol of wealth, and the host will present home-made wine when entertaining guests. When wishing each other, I like to say the most,"May our lives be as fruitful as the vines in late autumn."
Moldova also has the world's largest underground wine city. More than eighty meters deep in this wine kingdom, crisscrossed by streets named after various famous wines. Without traffic signs, your car cannot get out of this wine maze. On both sides of the street are neatly arranged large wine barrels with a capacity of about 20 tons. The barrel must be made of sophisticated oak to facilitate fermentation and give the wine a fragrance.
In the local area, there is a drink called "Morwado Tea" that is a daily must-have drink for men and women of all ages. This beverage bag is brown but exudes the fragrance of wine, but it is not tea, but a beverage brewed with pure grape juice after fermentation. It is somewhere between wine and juice, much like rice wine and water wine in some places in my country, with only a few degrees. Whether it is a village or a town, almost every household must brew "Morwado tea" and prepare a year's supply.