Also a must at Christmas are the red wine and the Christmas cake. Not everybody had a plentiful meal, but even the poor ones got parcels with food for their Christmas table to be full too. The spirit of Christmas was best felt in rural areas, where tradition and customs are carefully observed. Carolers went from home to home and, in exchange for their wishes of good health and wealth, they got bagels and nuts, reminding of the old times when the pagan carols were born, the forerunners of today’s carols. In big cities people spent Christmas skating, watching movies, eating pizza or shopping at the mall. Like every year, many Romanians chose mountain resorts to spend the winter holidays, combining tradition with winter sports.

For those who went to Poiana Brasov, for instance, in the Prahova Valley, the resort with the largest number of ski slopes in Romania, Christmas marked the official start of the winter season. Tourists who chose the Black Sea coast had a nice surprise. In a small gulf in Eforie Sud, one of the many resorts on the coast, 20 swans found shelter for the winter. Both locals and tourists were happy to see them there and have made sure swans are well fed. When the sea gets angry, the swans move to Techirghiol Lake, where they also enjoy the attention and care of both locals and tourists.