Radio România Internațional

Tag: new year’s eve

  • How Romanians spent the New Year’s Eve

    How Romanians spent the New Year’s Eve

    Traffic jams have these days been a common sight on motorways leading to Bucharest as many Romanians are coming back home after spending their mini holiday in the mountain resorts of the Carpathians as well as in various guesthouses in Bukovina, northeastern Romania or in the picturesque region of Maramures in the country’s north. Road traffic was also very intense during the winter holidays and the first days of the New Year also at Romania’s border checkpoints. Between December 18th and January 1st, over 2 million people transited the borders, a 15% increase as compared to a normal period of the year. 970 thousand people have left the country while over 1.1 million have entered it.



    The most transited was the western border area as well as the border checkpoints with the Republic of Moldova. The police have recommended those leaving the country to use all the 11 checkpoints of the Romanian-Hungarian border. Measures to ease road traffic will be in place in the next days as new traffic jams are expected at Romania’s border with the Republic of Moldova. Preparations have also been resumed in the Romanian guesthouses and hotels whose owners are now expecting a new wave of tourists, who this time are the Oriental Orthodox believers who celebrate Christmas on January 7th and the New Year on the night between January 13th and 14th.



    For all those who are already in 2018 and who decided to spend the New Year’s Eve at home, live outdoor musical concerts and fireworks were staged in Bucharest as well as in other major cities across Romania. In downtown Bucharest, tens of thousands hailed the end of 2017 and the entry into 2018 in front of a stage of 500 hundred square meters on which a Broadway-inspired show was taking place. The largest outdoor performance in Romania involved the participation of some of the most popular singers and bands right now such as Holograf, Directia 5, Voltaj, Andra, Loredana, Delia, Mihail or Carla’s Dreams. 100 Romanian hits of pop, rock, dance and hip hop music delighted the audience.



    Those who decided to spend the New Year’s Eve on the streets of Cluj, western Romania, were delighted by an impressive show of lasers, light and fireworks. And in order to properly celebrate the entry in 2018, the municipality had provided all the participants with no less than 700 bottles of champagne. In Constanta, on the Black Sea coast, the city’s historical centre saw a party with more than 10 thousand participants while in Timisoara, western Romania, the outdoor performances had a special guest in the person of pop-Latin singer Lou Bega. (Translated by D. Bilt)

  • New Year Dishes

    New Year Dishes

    The New Years party in Romania has its specific food, stemming from both traditional countryside and more recent traditions. Most of the main dishes are made of pork, predictably, since the New Year party comes a very short time after the break of Nativity Fast. Typical entrees are deviled eggs, cheeses, or fish roe with olives, among other things.



    However, the absolute must of every Christmas meal is the obligatory dessert, Christmas cake, which is a variation on whats known as pound cake. In fact, it is more like a loaf of very airy and very well knead bread, which is made by rolling up a filling into the stretched out dough.



    You need the following ingredients: 1kg of flour, 50 g of fresh yeast, 500 ml of milk, 100 g of butter, 250 g of sugar, 5 egg yolks, a teaspoon of salt, grated lemon and orange zest, and 2 bags of vanilla-flavored sugar. For the filling you need 250 g of ground walnuts, 5 egg whites, 100 g of sugar, two tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt, and essence of rum.



    First sift the flour 3 times, about an hour ahead of making the cake. Also remember to keep the butter at room temperature before using it. Warm up the milk in a bowl, add the grated lemon and orange zest and the 2 bags of vanilla-flavored sugar, and mix well. Separately mix the egg yolks with 250 g of sugar. Then break up the lump of yeast and mix it with a teaspoon of sugar to obtain a homogeneous mass, then add 3 tablespoons of warm milk and a tablespoon of flour, and mix a little. Put the entire amount of flour in a large bowl, make a hole in the middle and place the leavening mixture there, and then leave to rise for 15 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, the rest of the warm milk, and the egg yolks mixed with sugar.



    For the pound cakes to rise, you will have to knead the dough well for about 30 minutes. When kneading the dough, make sure to oil your hands. Leave the whole mixture to rise in a warm environment for about one hour. While the dough is left to rise, you can prepare the filling.



    Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt and add 100 g of sugar gradually. Mix the ground walnuts with the cocoa and rum essence, and trickle into the whisked egg whites for the mixture to stay foamy.



    When the dough has risen, divide it into 4 equal parts. Spread flour on a flat area and spread the dough until its diameter is equal to that of the cake tray. Spread ¼ of the cocoa filling on each of the 4 pieces of dough and then roll.



    Place baking paper into the trays and oil. Place the rolled dough in the trays and leave to rise in a warm environment until the dough doubles its volume.



    After the dough has risen, baste the cakes with a mixture made of one egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Place in an oven heated at 180 degrees C and bake for about one hour. Check if your Christmas cakes are baked using a toothpick. This is a difficult recipe involving a lot of skill, so take your time, and we hope you enjoy it as much as everyone here.



    Enjoy!


    (Translated by C. Cotoiu)

  • January 11, 2016

    January 11, 2016

    The Romanian Government is signing a memorandum with the World Bank in Bucharest on Monday meant to boost the efficiency of public administration and to support structural reforms. Under the partnership concluded with the WB, the public administration employees will be assessed, without the assessment involving layoffs. Also a continuous professional training system will be set up and mechanisms will be created in order to prevent corruption, the Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş explained. On Wednesday the Government will continue talks on the modifications of the new Fiscal Code. Talks will also focus on exempting people without incomes from paying contributions to the public healthcare system.



    The new head of the IMF mission to Romania, Reza Baqir, will visit Bucharest between January 12 –15, in order to be introduced to the Romanian authorities, the IMF resident representative for Romania and Bulgaria, Guillermo Tolosa, has said today. He will replace Adrea Schaechter, the head of the IMF mission for Romania, Ukraine and Kosovo, who has ended her two-and-a-half-year mandate, in accordance with the common job rotation policies. Reza Baqir has been working for the IMF since 2000, as chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division.



    The Romanian ambassador to Oslo will hold talks on Wednesday with the representatives of the Norwegian Ministry of Children on the case of the 5 minors coming from a mixed Romanian-Norwegian family that were taken over by the Norwegian authorities and entrusted to a surrogate family. Thousands of Romanians from Romania and abroad have protested over the past days against this decision, which takes away from the natural family children aged between 4 months and 9 years old, claiming that their parents allegedly inflicted physical punishment on their children and tried to religiously indoctrinate them.



    The Hungarian feature film “Son of Saul” featuring Romanian actor Levente Molnar, was awarded in Los Angeles the Golden Globe Award for “Best Foreign Language Film”. “Son of Saul” is Hungary’s proposal for nomination to the category of best foreign film in a foreign language other than English to the 2016 Oscar Awards. It is the debut film of Hungarian director László Nemes and it was awarded the jury’s grand prize at last year’s Cannes Festival Awards. In another move, the films “The Revenant” by Alejandro González Iñárritu and “The Martian” by Ridley Scott won the best drama and best comedy awards. Actresses Brie Larson and Jennifer Lawrence and actors Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio are the winners of the Golden Globe Awards for best performance.



    The German authorities publish on Monday the first detailed report on the investigation of the acts of violence perpetrated on the New Year’s Eve night, which casts a shadow on Chancellor Angel Merkel’s stand on the refugee issue, France Press reports. In parallel, in the evening, a manifestation against refugees and the German chancellor will be held in Leiptzig (in the east) by the local branch of the anti-Islam movement Pegida, after a similar protest was held in Cologne at the weekend, when the protesters clashed with the police. The number of complaints about the violent acts committed on the New Year’s Eve night in Cologne reached, Sunday, 516, of which 40% were sexual assaults. Similar crimes took place on the New Year’s Eve night in Hamburg as well. Most of the aggressors are of North African and Arabic origin, which fueled debates over the German chancellor’s decision to receive more than one million immigrants in Germany in 2015. Criticized for her policy that favors asylum-seekers, Angela Merkel promised to toughen legislation in the field.


    (News translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • December 31, 2015

    December 31, 2015

    The year 2016 will bring tax cuts to Romanians. As of January 1st the VAT will drop from 24% to 20% and the tax on dividends from 16% to 5%. Also, employers who have more employees will pay income taxes of 1% while those who don’t have employees will pay income taxes of 3%. All these measures account for almost 2.2 billion euros from the budget, which the Government hopes to partly recuperate from the economic growth expected in 2016. In another development, the Government decided to raise the minimum salary as of May 1st 2016.



    More than 37 thousand policemen, firefighters and gendarmes have been mobilized for the last day of the year to enforce public order at the events to be organized on the New Year’s Eve across Romania. According to a communiqué of the Romanian Police, on the New Year’s Eve 162 large-scale public events will be organized across Romania, in 40 counties and the capital Bucharest. As many as 200 thousand people are expected to participate in these events. Until January 3rd the troops of the Special Intervention and Action Service will be on duty in the crowded areas of Bucharest and other big cities of Romania, in airports, marketplaces as well as at the events organized on the New Year’s Eve.



    Concern over the threat of terrorist attacks has led to the implementation of enhanced security measures all over the world on the occasion of the festivities marking the start of the new year 2016. The fireworks shows on the New Year’s Eve in Paris and Brussels have been canceled out of security reasons. In Brussels all public festivities have been annulled after two people suspected of masterminding a terrorist attack have been apprehended. In Turkey two people who were planning attacks in Ankara have been arrested. Security measures have also been tightened in Vienna, Dhaka and Bangladesh. The authorities in the American cities of New York, Los Angeles and Washington increased security ahead of the New Year festivities.



    The Romanian tennis players Irina Begu, Monica Niculescu, Andreea Mitu and Patricia Tig will participate in the Shenzhen tournament, China, scheduled to take place between January 3rd and 9th. The tournament has prizes up for grabs worth more than 400 thousand dollars. According to organizers, Begu and Niculescu will be among the tournament’s top seeds, Andreea Mitu will also be on the main table while Patricia Tig will play in the qualifiers. The best known Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, who won the Shenzhen tournament in 2015, will be top seeded in the Brisbane tournament (Australia) which will be unfolding in the same period. The Brisbane tournament has prizes worth almost 900 thousand dollars.



    The victims of the fire at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest were commemorated two months after the tragedy. Around 300 people brought flowers and lit candles in front of the club. The fire killed 63 people and wounded more than 150. According to data provided by the Healthcare Ministry, 23 people are still in hospital in Bucharest and abroad. In another development, the three owners of the Colectiv club were placed under home arrest. Prosecutors with the General Prosecutor’s Office seized the assets of the three owners, who were accused of manslaughter and serious bodily injury alongside another three people who were in charge of the fireworks show on the night of October 30 at the Colectiv Club.



    German chancellor Angela Merkel used her New Year’s speech to urge Germans to see the record influx of refugees to Germany as an opportunity for the future, drawing attention to those ‘full of hatred’ who want to exclude the others. Angela Merkel said she was persuaded that the big task of today, if understood correctly, namely that of receiving and integrating so many people, is a chance for tomorrow. The German chancellor has been contested both in Europe and in Germany, by her own Conservative party, for her openness policy. According to the daily Saechsische Zeitung, in 2015 Germany received around 1.1 million migrants, 5 times more than in 2014. The Government will publish the official statistics in early January.

  • Spending New Year’s Eve in Romania

    Spending New Year’s Eve in Romania

    As a tragic event has occurred in Romania this year, which took the lives of over 60 people, in several cities, Bucharest included, authorities have decided not to organize the traditional New Year fireworks.



    Those who want to party on the New Year’s night have several options at hand. Bucharesters can attend the party at the Parliament Palace, one of the largest buildings in the world. There is a theme party held there every year. This year’s theme is “King or queen for one night.” The event’s organizer, Alin Caraman, has the details.



    Alin Caraman: “This New Year’s Eve party is very special because it is held in an emblematic building, the Parliament Palace, which every foreign tourist wants to visit once in Romania. Everything that has been created around this concept is unique. This year’s theme is related to royalty. It usually is a black tie event, but this year participants can also choose to wear costumes of kings and queens and a Master of Ceremonies will present them as such upon entering the hall. Around one thousand guests will party together in the building’s largest room, the Union Hall. There is also a stage and the tables on which the royal menu will be served. Each dish in the menu has been inspired by an event of an international royal house. Renowned Romanian bands will perform at the party.”



    So there will be a Master of Ceremonies announcing the guests. Whoever dreams of being Louis XIII of France, Prince Albert of Monaco or Queen Elisabeth of Britain can see their wish come true at the New Year party at the Parliament Palace. If it’s the black tie that you’re going for, organizers recommend ladies to wear a long dress or a cocktail dress, while the gentlemen should wear a Tuxedo, gray pants, white shirt, black silk bow tie and black shoes. In these outfits guests are allowed to take part in royal dances, which they can learn from professionals right there at the party. No wonder that this offer attracts so many people, both from Romania and from abroad.



    Alin Caraman: “Every year we enjoyed international participation, either ambassadors of foreign countries who decided it was the right place to spent the New Year’s Eve as well as foreigners who came here for this special event. And what could be more thrilling than spending the New Year’s Eve in the world’s second largest building, according to Guinness World Record, in an extremely elegant atmosphere with exquisite cuisine? Services are provided this year by suppliers of the Romanian Royal House. The organizer is a supplier of the Royal House and so are the catering company, the wine suppliers and the firm providing gentlemen’s attires. So, I can say the New Year’s Eve will have a royal theme this year. This is the reason for which many foreign tourists and foreign groups of tourists have contacted us and are getting ready to come to the Palace for the New Year’s Eve party.”



    An event of this kind is also being organized in Sibiu, central Romania, and this event could be attended by anyone, as it takes place right in the city center. Well-known Romanian artists are to step on the stage beginning with 10 p.m., but the special guest this year is a renowned artist from Italy. Here is event manager Andrei Dragan Radulet with more.



    Andrei Dragan Radulet: “A New Year’s Eve Party is being organized In Sibiu’s Grand Plaza on a retro theme. Because of the latest tragic events, a decision was made at national and even international level, under which there will be no fireworks this year in solidarity with those that have suffered. Retro means that we’ll bring in artists from the 80s and 90s, and one of them is Francesco Napoli, known for his 1980s hit Balla Balla.”



    If you are into mountain trekking, you could visit the resort of Slanic Moldova. Here is hotel manager Ioan Munteanu.



    Ioan Munteanu: “A four night accommodation package, all meals included, the New Year’s Eve dinner and carnival, costs 290 euros. Tourists coming on January 3rd can benefit from a three-day package with meals and activities included (access to swimming pool) at 250 euros. Both packages sold out a month ago.”


    No matter what you choose for the New Year’s Eve party, have fun and enjoy to the fullest!