Praznicul casei – un obicei din Valea Almăjului, jud. Caraş-Severin
“The Wake” of the House – a Custom from the Valley of Almaj, Caraş-Severin County

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to discuss some theoretical and practical aspects regarding “the wake” of the house – a very well-known custom, also present nowadays in the Valley of Almaj, Caraş-Severin county. Essentially, it is about the day of the patron saint of the house – a holiday that is obligatory for every family in the area. We shall analyse the defining features of this specific manifestation, such as: the blessing of the house by the priest in the town, the preparation of the meal for the wake including sweets or fasting food (in direct connection with the fasting periods imposed by the rules of the church), receiving the guests, the obligatory moments of the manifestation, as well as the symbolism developed by some of the elements involved in this custom: the candle, the sponge cake, the wheat, the incense, the threshold. The wake lasts for two days: the evening, the eve of the holiday, a time called “cinişoară”, that is “the little supper”, and the wake day for that particular saint – the most important day of the wake which implies taking part in the religious service when the proshora brought by every host is blessed, and then there is a feast offered to neighbours, relatives and friends. It is important to note that the involvement of such elements in this custom of mark for the traditional community in the Valley of Almaj is correlated to a miniature representation of some moments in church rituals (the blessing of houses, the sign of the cross, the burning of incense).

• Details
• Contents