The winter holidays are approaching and Romanians have already made their plans for the festive period ahead. According to the latest research from iSense Solutions, we find out what traditions they still observe, but also how the rise in prices has affected the budget allocated for this period.
Where will they spend the holidays?
Most Romanians (64%) plan to spend the winter holidays at home, in a small family setting, while 21% opt for an extended family celebration and 11% prefer to celebrate at home with friends. 16% say they will stay with relatives, 9% with friends and only 7% say they will go to the mountains in the country.
However, when it comes to preferences and if they could choose any destination, 37% would prefer to spend the holidays in a mountain hut, 23% on a tropical beach, 22% say they would stay at home, and 17% would prefer a lively city with festive lights.
What traditions do Romanians still respect?
The winter holidays start with Santa Claus, so 51% of Romanians say they will prepare their booties for Santa to bring them gifts, and half of Romanians (51%) will visit Christmas fairs as an authentic holiday experience.
When it comes to traditions, be they family or religious, over half of Romanians say they welcome carol singers (58%), while 30% go to church and 22% observe Christmas Lent.
In terms of holiday activities and customs, 70% say they will cook traditional products, 71% will give presents, 82% will decorate the Christmas tree and 66% will put presents under the tree. Of those who said they would decorate the tree, more than half (58%) prefer an artificial tree, 23% prefer a natural cut tree, while only 12% choose a natural potted tree and 3% a tree from their own backyard.
Caroling traditions are less practiced, so 26% of Romanians choose to go caroling on Christmas Eve, 8% go with a plow and 5% go with a goat/bear.
What will Romanians be cooking this year?
The menu of those who will cook traditional dishes includes sarmale in vine leaves or cabbage (64%), the famous boeuf salad (64%), cozonaci (53%), fresh or smoked sausages (45%), piftie (45%), boiled wine (39%), mămăligă to serve with traditional dishes (30%), caltaboși (28%), tobă (26%) and gingerbread (11%).
They say they will spend an average of 740 lei on prepared meals.
Romanians give gifts and make nice gestures for loved ones
89% of Romanians say they will give gifts to family, 44% to friends and 26% to work colleagues. Those planning to buy gifts prefer to buy online (69%), in supermarkets (65%), shopping malls (54%), holiday fairs (33%), craft/handmade shops (23%) or antique or second-hand shops (7%).
Most of them make a gift list and buy their presents in advance (69%), while the rest go just a few days before the holidays and buy them (31%). In terms of budget allocated, the average amount spent on gifts is 816 lei.
The data presented is part of the iSense Solutions Omnibus study, a representative survey of the urban Internet-using population. The survey was conducted on a sample of 520 respondents between November 13 and 16, with a maximum margin of error of +/- 4.3% at a 95% confidence level.