For most city dwellers, New Year celebrations are limited to visiting friends or relatives and enjoying festive dishes. However, in villages some old traditions have been preserved which have been handed down to the next generations for centuries. Caroling is exactly such a tradition. This tradition mainly takes place during Christmas time (from the night of January 6 until the night of January 18-19, the Christmas period) in other words from Christmas until Epiphany: ‘From the star to the water’.
Caroling is a Slavic ritual, which can also be found in Romania and Moldova. Gagauzians also observe this tradition. Nowadays, there are not so many caroling groups left – mostly children gather in groups and go from house to house wishing everyone Merry Christmas. However, in the village of Tomai, Ceadir-Lunga district, there is a group of adult men who observe this tradition every year.
Petr Ivanovich Kotsarev is the leader of this group, and also the director of the local Community Center. He is 60 years old and graduated from the Moldovan State Institute of Arts named after Gavriil Muzicescu (currently AMTAP) in Kishinev. After his studies, he immediately returned to his native village of Tomai. At that time, the director of the Community Center was wrapping up his work and Petr Ivanovich took over his position. Since then, for 38 years, he has been the director of the Community Center. Shortly before he took this position, his colleague Afanasii Nikolaevich Gargorlyk had organized a group with which he studied carols and went to greet people. Petr Kotsarev, together with him, expanded these activities and began to prepare them with more details.
“Now we try to do as our fathers did and prepared, adding a little bit of our own, but at the same time remembering what they did”.
It was 1982, and at that time, such traditions, which had a religious basis, were forbidden. In spite of all prohibitions, again and again, every year they gathered as a group and went into Tomai’s homes to greet people on the birth of Jesus. Towards the end of the 1980’s, the attitude of the state softened, and it became easier for them to do this. Thanks to their activities, caroling as a tradition has not just survived, but it also took hold in Tomai.
There are not so many groups like ours, but it is extremely important to preserve traditions because they unite the people, they allow every person to feel that he or she is part of a people. It is very valuable when a person is aware that he/she belongs to some part of a people. We cannot leave out our own, it is our soul, and this is what makes us a people. Moreover, it makes us stronger, because it unites us. And with this we support each other”.
– adDs KoTSarev.
In Tomai, carols are sung in the Gagauz language. But there are also songs in Russian and in Romanian. Some songs were born in this group. While others have been passed down from their ancestors or were adapted to new music.
We have one song with the preserved melody, but we put new words to this music. There are a couple of songs that we sing as they were, in the Gagauz language. There are preserved carols, which we do not understand. Bulgarian, Serbian, all mixed up together. There are Moldovan ones. And there are Gagauz-Moldovan ones. As our ancestors heard them. There are Russian ones as well: “Good evening to you, kind master”. There is a person to whom inspiration came, and he wrote himself. Both music and words. We sing it, it is very beautiful!
Kotsarev’s group is big and famous. They often travel around Gagauzia and perform at various festivals. Because of this, nowadays they no longer go indiscriminately from house to house, but visit only those to which they have been invited in advance.
“Before, we really went to every house and did not choose”.
It all begins at the Community Center, where the group changes into folk costumes and starts rehearsing. Everyone warms up with his or her instrument. Then all sounds are blended into one single composition and the vocalists begin to sing. They go in rounds repeating all songs that would be sung in people’s homes that day and when they feel that they are ready, they hit the road.
The first stop on their route will be the church. The priest awaits them there. They solemnly enter the churchyard (because it is forbidden to play instruments inside the church) and they sing sharing their joy with the priest. And in his turn, he blesses them in this rite: “Congratulate all people” and brings them the gift of Christmas bread and a bottle of sparkling wine. The blessing of the priest means that they can go out into the village to greet people. In people’s courtyards, things happen in exactly the same way.
When the Christmas carolers approach the house, they call out to the master (host). The leader announces their arrival by asking the master for a permission to carol – it is a universal beginning to the rite. As soon as the master of the house grants his permission, the main ceremony begins – the Christmas carolers sing songs and wish all the best to the master of the house. In return, the master presents the Christmas carolers with food and wine. In general, the most important element in carol singing is when gifts are given to Christmas carolers. A carol gift could include various types of food, but the most traditional item is the sacral Christmas bread. After the gifts are given, the Christmas carolers go to the next house. And so on from house to house.
People wait for them to come. It used to be believed that caroling provided the owners with good harvests in the fields and vegetable gardens, in livestock breeding, as well as prosperity at home. Therefore, Christmas carolers tried to visit all houses, except for those where someone had died recently, where they were in mourning. Traditionally, Christmas carolers walked around the village from west to east or from lowland to highland, so that the prosperity of the houses they visited would also prosper and be on the rise. It was also believed that the Christmas carolers’ rounds drive away evil spirits from the village. In addition, carols brought and continued to bring joy to masters of the house.
The one who invites, he feels the joy of having his door opened, of having someone come into his yard, of bringing him the joy of the birth of Jesus Christ and they feel the feast. One waits for it, waits for such a holiday, and when we come with our songs, poems, music, it inspires any person, and people are happy about that.
Petr Kotsarev has two children – a daughter and a son. Previously, his son used to carol as well. But now, he has grown up and stepped away from that. However, he (his son) realizes that these are their traditions and understands how important it is to observe them. His (Petr’s) group consists largely of folk musicians and only one person graduated from the Soroca Cultural Education School. Others are local talents without any special education, who have found themselves in these traditions.
