Christmas, the Season of Faith, Family, and Charity

Christmas caroling in Romania, 1841 Photo: Wikipedia
Christmas was my Dad bringing home proudly a scraggly fir with sparse branches – fragrant with the smell of winter, tiny icicles hanging from the branches, miniature crystal daggers, melting on my mom’s well-scrubbed parquet floor. I never knew nor asked how he could afford it from his $70 a month salary that barely covered the communist subsidized rent, utilities, and food. No matter how bare the branches of my Christmas tree were, it was magical to me. Continue reading

Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse

Photo: Ioana Boliga
On a sunny and breezy June 24, 2017, a group of over 100 Romanians from states and suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., have gathered in front of the State Capitol’s reflecting pool to pose for a group picture in celebration of the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse called “ie,” a hand-woven and hand-sewn artisanal blouse. Women from the three regions of Romania, Transylvania, Moldova, and Wallachia, have sewn these intricate works of art for centuries. Continue reading