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Bear Custom- Umblatul cu ursul
 
This custom is known on the Christmas Eve. The bear was embodied by a young man wearing the coat of a killed animal that was adorned with red tassels on its ears on his head and shoulders.

Sometimes, the mask used to be made in a common way: the bear's head was made of wood skeleton covered with a coat and its body of a rough cover, adorned in such a way so it might suggest its characteristic brown threads.
The mask was accompanied by a young man wearing a bear coat and by fiddlers and followed by a whole procession of characters, among a child as a bear's cub might be.

Roused by the young man wearing the bear's coat who sang:
"Dance well, you old bear, / Because I give bread and olives." the mask grumbled and imitated the jerky steps of the bear, striking violently against the earth with his soles, while the drums and the pipe were playing.
Bear Custom, by Nicoleta Toma
Această datină e întâlnită doar în Moldova, de Anul Nou.

Ursul era întruchipat de un flăcău, purtând pe cap si umeri blana unui animal ucis, împodobită în dreptul urechilor cu ciucuri rosii. Alteori, masca era mai simplă: capul ursului se confectionează dintr-un schelet de lemn acoperit cu o blană, iar trupul dintr-o pânză solidă, astfel ornată încât să sugereze perii maronii caracteristici.

Masca era condusă de un "ursar", însotită de muzicanti si urmată adesea de un întreg alai de personaje- printre care se află si un copil în rolul "puiului de urs". Atâtat de ursar:
"Joacă bine, măi Martine,/ Ca-ti dau pâine cu măsline..." în răpăitul tobelor sau pe melodia fluierului, tinându-si echilibrul cu ajutorul unui ciomag, masca mormăie si imită pasii legănati si sacadati ai ursului, izbind puternic pământul cu tălpile.
 
Cristina Mihu
Artwork: Nicoleta Toma
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