Epiphany - when the priests bless the homes of the faithful with holy water - concludes the string of celebrations dedicated to the birth of Christ the Savior, which see the display of the richest and most beautiful traditions of the year."At the blessing of the water, the priest sends a believer to the river with a religious banner, and as the priest puts his hand in the Epiphany water in the barrel or in the caldron and utters the words 'this water is sanctified' and the bells are rung, the believer with the banner dips the tip of the cross three times into the village body of water, then returns with the banner to the church. The blessed water is kept all year in clean bottles, a part is taken to the people's estates and orchards, and as they sprinkle their assets, the troparion of Theophany is sung and the carol stick is placed on the biggest tree of the estate as a sign of God's blessing," Father Zaharia Peres, archpriest of the western Timisoara city told Romanian media.Ethnologist Maria Mandroane from the Banat Region Village Museum says that in the local villages, certain customs that portend the well-being of the household are connected to the arrival of the priest in the respective home on Epiphany Day.According to her, the priest must step into the house with his right foot and sit down for a few moments so that suitors come for the girls in the house and the hens go broody.A special custom sees the girls go to a running water to wash their faces and then talk to the stream, transformed on this day into the "pure water of the Jordan", asking for the fulfillment of their wishes.
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, congratulated Pope Leo XIV for succeeding Pope Francis on Thursday, May 8. He expressed confidence that the new pope will continue to promote "the spirit of dialogue, peace, and cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church." "In a world facing multiple spiritual, economic, and […]
The organizers of the Untold festival announced they will offer a RON 150 (EUR 30) voucher toward the purchase of a festival pass to anyone who votes on May 18, during the second round of the presidential elections. In an online message, Untold representatives emphasized the connection between civic participation and the future of every […]
The Open Streets program, which sees the city's major arteries close for car traffic and become pedestrian areas, returns this weekend with a program of exhibitions, concerts, and a Festival of Lights. On Saturday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m., the public is invited to the Made in Romania exhibition, which presents a selection of civilian […]
Joseph Stiglitz, the famous economist and professor at Columbia University in New York, and winner of the Nobel Prize in economy in 2001, told an audience in Cluj, Romania, that governments must stimulate exports and key sectors when facing deficits. Stiglitz was in Romania on Thursday, May 8, to receive the title of Doctor Honoris […]
The Constitutional Court unanimously validated on Friday, May 9, the results of the first round of the presidential elections. It also rejected as unfounded a request to annul the elections filed by Sebastian-Constantin Popescu, the presidential candidate of the New Romania Party, it announced. The runoff, set for May 18, will see ultranationalist leader George […]
Bucharest's culinary scene welcomes back OLEA, the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel's celebrated Mediterranean destination, now reimagined with a fresh concept that blends authentic coastal flavours with contemporary sophistication. Following an extensive transformation, OLEA reopens its doors to offer guests a refined journey through the Mediterranean's sun-drenched culinary traditions, right in the heart of Romania's […]
