Christmas bells entered the Romanian cultural space through a long process in which archaic traditions blended with Christian belief and European influences. Long before the holiday of Christmas developed as we know it, metallic sounds played an important ritual role in old communities: they were used to drive away evil spirits, to purify spaces, and to protect people during transitional moments at the turn of the year. These beliefs have been preserved in winter customs such as caroling, the Plugușor, and masked dances, where bells and jingles were indispensable. With the spread of Christianity, the sound of the bell also acquired a profound religious meaning, becoming an announcer of major feasts and a symbol of the Nativity. Small bells, however, were not originally used as decorations but primarily as functional or ritual objects. The first decorated Christmas tree in the Romanian lands was the one at the palace of Prince Carol I of Hohenzollern, following his arrival in the Romanian Principalities in 1866. From that moment the tradition took root, and on Christmas Eve princes and princesses invited to the palace would take part in decorating the tree. Among the ornaments used were small metal bells, symbolizing joy, the good news, and divine protection for the home. In the twentieth century, Christmas bells spread across all Romanian provinces and became a visual emblem of the holiday, appearing in both decorations and carols. Even during periods when religious expression was curtailed, bells remained in people's homes as signs of joy and the continuity of tradition. Today they retain this dual meaning: the echo of ancient beliefs and, at the same time, the announcement of the Birth of Christ - a symbol of hope, light, and the link between past and present. These tinkling pieces are part of a generous heritage collection at the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM), which includes more than 200 cultural items. A substantial contribution to the museum's collection of decorative bells was made by Dorina Raischi, a teacher at School No. 94 in Chișinău, who donated 174 bells, of which around 30 are winter-themed. Made of ceramic, porcelain, glass, and metal, they were brought from different parts of the world and together offer a succinct picture of the global culture of bells. They add a festive note to the home and even to a gift, and it is hard to imagine Christmas without their cheerful tinkling.
To the Question about the Loss of the Hill-fort Ekimauci
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
This hill-fort is one of the most researched among the medieval monuments of the country between the Prut and Dniester. Contradictions in identification of the date of it destruction (second half of the 10th or the first half of the 11th century) make us to examine chronologic indicators of the monument.
The numismatic collection represented by 17 Arabic silver dirhams gives the most exact information. It allows us to attribute the capture and destruction of the monument to the second half of the 10th century, and most likely to the third quarter of this century.
Earrings with pendant in the form of bunch of grapes can be used as one more category of objects which indicate the time of destruction of the monument. They were found out in closed complexes of the hill-fort together with later samples of dirhams.
Cartography of the finds of Echimauti type testifies about their particular concentration in the basin of the river of Tisza. In contrast to samples which were found outside the Carpathian basin, famous as a rule by materials of hoards, practically all earrings of Echimauti type inside the Carpathian arc are connected with nomadic burials. Pieces of weapon similar to those from the nomadic necropolises were found in Echimauti. Together with other evidences in the field of material culture, it allows us to suppose that nomads took part in destruction of the hill-fort while moving from the Northern Black Sea region into the Carpathian lowlands.
Historic situation and the exact chronology of the Pechenegs’ movement from the Black sea to the Upper Tisza region, during which the hill-fort of Echimauti was ruined, together with chronologic indicators of the monument, allows us to date its destruction not later than the third quarter of the 10th century.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. The map of location of earrings of the Echimauti type in Europe: 1 - Alcedar; 2 - Besob; 3 - Blandiana; 4 - Borschevka; 5 - Brănești; 6 - Vác-Hétkápolna; 7 - Gîmbaș; 8 - Gnezdovo; 9 - Denis; 10 - Döge; 11 - Echimauti; 12 - Zavada Lanskoronska; 13 - Ibrány; 14 - Kyiv; 15 - Kirovograd; 16 - Kistokaj; 17 - Cluj; 18 - Kopeevka; 19 - Cracovia; 20 - Lisovek; 21 - Nyíregyháza; 22 - Nagykövesd; 23 - Olesnica; 24 - Osnica; 25 – Peremyshl’; 26 - Peresopnica; 27 - Prsha; 28 - Redukeny; 29 - Szabolcs-Vontatópart; 30 - Szentes-Szentlászló; 31 - Szob; 32 - Törökkanizsa; 33 - Tiszabercel; 34 - Tshinica; 35 - Uzhgorod (?); 36 - Csoma; 37 - Csongrád; 38 - Jurkovci. Fig. 2. Earrings of the Echimauti type from the burials of nomads in the basin of Tisza: 1-8 - Csoma; 9 - Döge; 10 - Tiszabercel; 1-12 - Ibrány. 9-12 (after E. Istvanovits). Fig. 3. The map of location of the arabic dirhams in Europe (after Cs. Balint) with indication of the points associated with the movement of Pechenegs from the Northern Black Sea region to the Carpathian basin in the second half of the 10th century: 1 - Beregovo (Búcsu); 2 - Vécs; 3 - Glogovec; 4 - Dobra; 5 - Ibrány; 6 - Karos; 7 - Kenézlő; 8 - Kecskemét; 9 - Kistokaj; 10 - Pap; 11 - Prsha; 12 - Szeged 13 - Szilas; 14 - Szolnok; 15 - Szomod; 16 - Tata; 17 - Tverdoshovce; 18 - Tiszasüly; 19 - Hajdúdorog; 20 - Hust; 21 - Csoma; 22 - Sárospatak; 23 - Eger; 24 - Alcedar; 25 - Echimauti; 26 - Galich; 27 – Peremyshl’.
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко
Knight’s tombstone from Korolevo castle of Nyaláb
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко, Виталий Калиниченко
The castles of Transcarpathia of the second half of 13th - first half of 14th centuries
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XV [XXX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Игорь Прохненко
Hillforts of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Transcarpathian Region of Ukraine
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XI [XXVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко
Korolevo Castle of Nyalab in possession of descendants of Moldavian Voivode Szasz
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Christmas bells entered the Romanian cultural space through a long process in which archaic traditions blended with Christian belief and European influences. Long before the holiday of Christmas developed as we know it, metallic sounds played an important ritual role in old communities: they were used to drive away evil spirits, to purify spaces, and to protect people during transitional moments at the turn of the year...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
