In Romania, Christmas and mid-winter celebrations last from 20th December (Saint Ignatius's Day, when is sacrificed the pig, its meat being used in the Christmas meal) to 7th January (Saint John's Day). This period is very important in Romania, as in all the Christian countries, but not few traditions are much older, prior the Christianization. One of these is Pluguşorul (which literally means "little plough" in Romanian), an ancient agrarian carol, with theatrical elements. Traditionally, in New Year's Eve, or in some regions even in New Year's Day, a band composed of two to twenty boys and men recently married, headed by a vătaf (bailiff), went from house to house to sing good wishes. A plow pulled by oxen, decorated with colored paper, ribbons, flowers, on which was put a fir tree, was a customary presence within this carol.
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