Best Christmas in Romania: Traditions & Carols (2026)

Christmas in Romania is one of Europe’s most enchanting winter celebrations, blending Orthodox faith, ancient folklore, and warm family gatherings into something truly unforgettable. Romania has kept its old soul alive: village streets fill with costumed carolers, midnight church bells ring over snow-covered rooftops, and every home brims with the smell of sarmale cabbage rolls and sweet cozonac bread.

The heart of the celebration is the colindă — the traditional Romanian Christmas carol. On Christmas Eve, singers called colindători walk door to door carrying the steaua (a star lantern), singing ancient blessings for each household’s health and prosperity in exchange for apples, walnuts, covrigi pretzels, and coins.

This 2026 guide covers everything that makes Christmas in Romania special: the history behind the feast, the magical world of colinde carols (Plugușorul, Sorcova, and the famous Capra goat dance), the festive foods of the Christmas table, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day customs, and the country’s most beautiful Christmas markets. Crăciun Fericit — Merry Christmas!

Last updated: September 18, 2026

Jump to:

• A Short History of Christmas in Romania
• Colinde: Romania’s Magical Christmas Carols
• Romanian Christmas Foods: Sarmale, Cozonac & the Festive Feast
• Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Customs
• Christmas Markets & Winter Scenes Across Romania
• Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas in Romania

A Short History of Christmas in Romania

Christmas in Romania is celebrated on December 25, the Nativity feast of the Eastern Orthodox faith followed by most Romanians. Churches fill with candlelight on Christmas Eve for the midnight liturgy, and the faithful observe a 40-day fast (postul Crăciunului) in preparation. The roots run deeper still: the region’s pre-Christian peoples marked the winter solstice with fire rituals and masked dances, and those old customs were woven into the Nativity feast rather than erased — which is why Romanian Christmas feels like a living museum, from star-topped steaua carols to the ancient Ursul bear dance.

Colinde: Romania’s Magical Christmas Carols

The colinde are the soul of Christmas in Romania — each carol is a short musical prayer wishing the household health, wealth, and happiness. Caroling runs from Christmas Eve through the first week of January, shaped by four beloved customs:

Steaua — The Star

Children honor the Star of Bethlehem, carrying a decorated star-shaped lantern from house to house while singing carols like “Steaua sus răsare” (“The Star Rises Above”).

Plugușorul — The Little Plow

On New Year’s Eve, groups of boys carry miniature plows, bells, and whips, chanting a rhythmic poem that begins “Aho, aho, copii și frați” (“Aho, aho, children and brothers”) — wishing the household a rich harvest as bells clang and whips crack to scatter bad luck.

Sorcova — The New Year’s Blessing

On New Year’s morning, children visit neighbors with the sorcova, a wand decorated with colorful flowers, gently tapping their shoulders while reciting: “Sorcova vesela, să trăiți, să înfloriți” — “Merry Sorcova, may you live and bloom like the apple tree, like the rose.”

Capra — The Goat Dance

A performer in an elaborate goat costume — a real goat head decorated with ribbons and beads — dances, leaps, and falls “dead,” only to spring back to life, symbolizing the death and rebirth of nature. Drummers and pipers accompany the Capra troupe through villages and town squares, while Ursul (the Bear Dance) of Moldavia features performers in real bear skins.

Romanian Christmas Foods: Sarmale, Cozonac & the Festive Feast

Christmas Day is the glorious breaking of the 40-day fast, and the feast is a true marathon. The stars of the table:

• Sarmale — cabbage rolls stuffed with minced pork, beef, and rice, slow-cooked with smoked meat. Every family swears theirs are the best.
• Cozonac — sweet leavened bread swirled with walnuts, cocoa, or Turkish delight (rahat).
• Salată de boeuf — beef-and-vegetable salad with mayonnaise, decorated with olives and pickles into festive patterns.
• Piftie (răcituri) — jellied pork aspic served cold with horseradish, prepared from the pig on Ignat Day (December 20).
• Cârnați and caltaboși — homemade pork sausages served with pickles (murături) and hot peppers.
• Colaci — braided round breads, given to carolers alongside apples, nuts, and covrigi pretzels.

No feast is complete without vin fiert (hot mulled wine with cinnamon and orange) and țuică, the strong plum brandy that warms every Romanian gathering. Families cook for days, and nobody leaves the table hungry.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Customs

Christmas Eve (Ajunul Crăciunului) is a day of sacred quiet. Families fast until evening, decorate the tree together — traditionally with walnuts, apples, candies, and foil-wrapped chocolates — and attend the midnight liturgy, where candlelight and ancient hymns fill the Orthodox churches. Only afterward does the long-awaited feast begin.

For families

On Christmas Day, children wake to gifts from Moș Crăciun (Old Man Christmas, Romania’s Santa Claus). They polish a pair of boots and leave them by the door for him to fill, then the day is spent visiting grandparents, godparents, and neighbors.

For visitors

Always open your door to carolers — refusing them brings bad luck — and keep small treats or coins ready. Wash your face in the morning with fresh water for a “bright and fair” year, and don’t throw out the garbage on Christmas Day itself, lest you throw away your luck with it.

Christmas Markets & Winter Scenes Across Romania

The Bucharest Christmas Market in Constitution Square is the largest — handmade crafts, roasted chestnuts, vin fiert, concerts, and an ice rink. Sibiu’s Christmas Market in the Grand Square is widely considered the most beautiful, set against medieval Saxon architecture straight out of a storybook. Brașov in Transylvania offers Council Square beneath the snow-capped Tampa Mountain, with horse-drawn sleighs gliding through the old town. And for the most authentic Christmas of all, head to Maramureș — wooden churches glowing with candlelight and carolers whose songs have echoed through the valleys for centuries.

More Christmas Inspiration

Keep exploring holiday traditions from around Europe:

• 40 Best Merry Christmas Wishes in Romanian
• 25 Best Christmas Traditions in Hungary
• 30 Best European Christmas Traditions
• 10 Best Christmas Traditions in Switzerland

Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas in Romania

What is colinde in Romania?

Colinde are traditional Romanian Christmas carols — musical blessings sung from house to house between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, rewarded with sweets, fruit, and coins.

What is Plugușorul?

A rhythmic New Year’s chant performed by boys carrying miniature plows, bells, and whips. It wishes a rich harvest while clanging and whip-cracking drive away bad luck.

What does “Crăciun Fericit” mean?

Crăciun Fericit means “Merry Christmas” in Romanian — Crăciun is Christmas and fericit is happy.

What do Romanians eat on Christmas?

The centerpiece is sarmale (cabbage rolls with minced meat and rice), plus salată de boeuf, piftie (pork aspic), homemade sausages, pickles, and cozonac — sweet walnut-filled bread — for dessert.

When is Christmas celebrated in Romania?

On December 25. The festive season stretches from Christmas Eve through early January, including caroling, the Plugușorul on New Year’s Eve, and the Sorcova blessing on New Year’s morning.

What is Moș Crăciun?

Moș Crăciun (“Old Man Christmas”) is Romania’s version of Santa Claus. He brings gifts on Christmas Eve night, and children polish a pair of boots and leave them by the door for him to fill.

Crăciun Fericit and Happy Holidays from the Merry Christmas Wishes team!