Happy New Year!

I was reading some place that year 2001, the first year of the XXIst century and of the third millenium, is considered "The Year of Redemption". What does it mean? Probably each of us has his own version of what redemption means. Romanian being a beautiful and rich language, this term can express the survival of our people, but it also offers us the chance to grant its own meaning, personal to the redemption idea. It does not mean that it is of several kinds, but it is due to the fact that the choice of its meaning perceived by each of us is granted according to its face and its resemblance. But 2001 is almost gone: have we already lived the promised redemption that this year brought us? This fact, sooner or later, each of us will find out… Until then, let's enjoy as much as possible these last days of the first year of the millenium! People, it's time for the most beautiful Holidays!
And how are we supposed not to enjoy this period of time when you are reminded of it everywhere you go, when the town is spreading around the joy of the colored lights, when the shop windows are inviting you with a smile, being full of possible presents, and all kinds of advertisements are promising you big sells out! Do you imagine the joy of our eyes and our souls in front of such tempting promises! The feeling of plenitude specific to the Holidays seems more amplified by the satisfaction that indeed, sir, buying now with the respective discount you made a great deal. Everybody is wandering through the shops with the frenzy stimulated by the advantageous offer, the money are circulating so fast, and in dizzying quantities, the businesses are prosperous, and the gifts for the beloved ones are prepared. The spirit of the Holidays seems to take over the whole country. But still…
"But there is no resemblance for us anywhere in this world!", there is a saying. And it is so right. Because, look, just now, when the Christmas is coming there is announced loudly a great rise of the prices for the food (and not only!). This fact ruins all your joy, brings you down to earth and makes you understand that, in fact, buying various things tempted by the advantageous prices of the moment you did not make such a great deal. And this is due to the fact that these expenses have finished all your resources, and, look, there is a tomorrow… And here we are the Romanians, glommed inside our souls even for the Holidays! But, as every year, we are calming down, more or less. We are going to enjoy our holidays, even if this means not so much, not an outstanding present made to the beloved ones, but only the proletariat satisfaction… that, above everything, this year Christmas we are cooking sausages, and steak, and Holidays cakes, and stuffed cabbage… As we always are, you know! The time is milling our resistance, the joy is reduced step by step, and we get more stubborn to believe that the Holidays are not like they were used to be due to the fact that we grew old, and not to the fact that life has kneed us.
And still, the children, the young generation, and also the old ones, we all need so much the Holidays, the smile and the joy! We need so much to believe that the world we are living in does not mean only work, discontentment and worries! Winter Holidays are supposed to bring us a regeneration of the hope, trust and joy of life! They are the expression of love itself, of the kindness and generosity; that's why they are centered on the family idea, the gathering of all relatives around the copious fancy table.
Dear rail men, the Holidays are coming! The most beautiful time of the year is coming! Let's be pierced by the spirit of the Christmas, let's put aside in a drawer all gloomy thoughts, all the worries and the discontentment of our "every day" lives and to get out to light the good and the most beautiful things in us, to live fully the JOY! The most secure way to do it is to give to the Holidays their true meaning, to reconsider their meaning - to celebrate the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the New Year coming. This can easily happen because Romanian people have an invaluable treasure of traditions and customs, of a rare splendor and of a special spiritual and artistic value, dedicated to these Holidays. Let's get back, therefore, to this rich spiritual inheritance left by our ancestors for the delight of our souls!
A sacred and profane knit, of heathen and Christian conceptions, the customs of the Christmas of our people are expressing both the ancestral times, of believes and of old Dacia habitants rites. But in the same time Romanian people, Christian from birth, are talking more about the Light that wins in the battle with the powers of the dark.
At the Romanian people, similar to the other peoples, the old ones have enjoyed a lot of esteem and respect within the community, especially in the old times. The respect towards these ones was also kept after their death, to such an extend that some of them have become a sort of semi-Gods, whose recall remained untouched in the memory of the Romanian community. Such a character is the famous Christmas, mythical shepherd, whose legend has harmoniously mixed over the times with the myth of Jesus Christ Birth. Let' remember the legend.
Christmas was an astrological God, having Indo-European origins, specific to the territories inhabited by the Geto-Dacians, who was identified with the Roman God Saturn and with the Iranian God Mithra. Over a millenium, the Christians have celebrated the New Year in the day of Christmas. The name of "Santa" shows the age of the worshiped God, who had to die and to reborn once with the calendar time, at the New Year. Related to the Santa Claus have circulated several legends. The oldest ones present it trying to stop the birth of the Christian baby Jesus because his coming to life meant the death of the Santa. Contemporary vision about the "Holly" Christmas, the "generous and good" Santa, "loaded with many presents", reflects bookish influences which have penetrated our people culture coming from West, first of all the towns, then the villages. At the Romanian people, the Holiday of the Birth of Jesus Christ is stalled on an ancient background, related to the cult of winter solstice, based on the legend of the Christmas, Dacian mythical character, and also on the Roman customs related to the "Winning Sun" days. Due to the fact that at the end of December it is the shortest day of the year, the Sun needs help not to die appealing to all kinds of magical practices.
In the structure of the old myth of the shepherd-God-Santa, Christian elements have been introduced along the time and thus it was reconfigured in a new story - the one of the Christmas shepherd. This one refuses to give shelter to the Virgin Mary who is about to give birth. Insidiously, his wife has given shelter her and assists her during the birth of Jesus baby, fact for which Christmas punishes her by cutting her hands. Virgin Mary makes a miracle by sticking the hands of the woman back. This miracle converts Christmas to the Christian religion. Being so glad that his wife ended well he fires a stake of woods dancing around it happily. After dancing, he gives presents to the Virgin Mary and to her baby, and thus it was made the transfiguration of Christmas in a saint who brings presents to the children in the day of Jesus' Birth.
For us, the Romanians, as for all the Christians, the Holidays of Christmas has, besides a pure spiritual connotation, also other dimensions, among which we can not neglect the gastronomical one, the traditional meal of Christmas being a real joy. Dominant is also the Christian component which points out the Birth of the Christ Savior, transfigured in the wonderful religious carols ("The Star", The Three Shepherds", "What a Wonderful Novelty!" and so on) brought about from generation to generation. But the Christmas, as we were saying, is also celebrated with a copious meal, having various imperative courses as fish, pretzels, croissants, fruits, sweets and, of course, the beverage. Everything that is put on the table has a clear significance of the traditional customs of the Romanian community. There is also necessary to have on the table the nuts and the eggs, which have a more complex symbolism, referring to the resistance in time, to the seed that never disappears.
Winter Holidays, started on Christmas, once with the Birth of Jesus are ended at the Epiphany. During this time, within the village, world parties are thrown, while, in a special atmosphere, there are presented to the community the future couples, having the meaning that the life resumes its normal course once with the nature reborn.
Dear rail men, the winter Holidays time it just starts… Besides the worries and in spite of the poverty along the past year, let's taste the real splendor, to be better, more generous. This joy of the Holidays is never complete if you do not share it with the others, too, no matter if they have been or not good to you along the year!
It is your right, dear rail men, to choose how you welcome and how you celebrate the Holly winter Holidays. It would be a good idea to let your souls overwhelmed by their unique charm, to enjoy and to be cheerful with everyone, leaving the hope for better days to be reborn inside yourselves. And maybe you will remember the good and warm spur of our old carol: " Romanian, do not forget when you are joyful to be good!".
At the closure of these lines, I want to wish everyone to have a year-end as beautiful as possible. I also want to express my hope that year 2002 will be for you, as well as for all the Romanians a blessed year by the God, sharing what is best and most beautiful! And I hope that within the incoming year you will also think of us, the publishers of the RAILWAY JOURNAL, and you will provide us further on your support, as readers, the support that every publication needs in order to survive. I would like to thank you, on behalf of our team, for the messages received along the year that we are getting ready to close. No matter if they were praising or criticizing us, these messages helped us to give a shape to the content of the articles, number by number. Also they helped us to approach projects which will show their results…the next year. I would also like to thank all the collaborators and to those who have supported us in the material accomplishment.
I also like to use this last chance that year 2001 provides me to wish you, our readers, as well as to all our collaborators:

Merry Christmas, Health, and Strength!
A New Year Full of Accomplishments and Joy!
Happy New Year!

Oana Bran