One of the local artisans from Neamt County that keeps alive Romanian traditions related to New Year’s Eve is Ion Albu from Timisesti commune. The celebration of New Year’s Eve is the most important moment when we celebrate the ending of another cycle in a traditional folkloric way.
From generations, people from Neamt County welcome the New Year with joy, gifts, traditional parties and traditional dances. These traditional manifestations are a symbol of the trust we put in the following year. The beginning of a new year it’s also a new start for everything around us: nature comes back to life and with it a new cycle begins.
Google Maps location of the workshop
Ion Albucreates traditional masks for New Year’s Eve for more than 40 years. His creations are not just works of art: his masks are used by bands of masked men in the night between years to perform traditional dances. Ion Albu creates his masks by following traditional procedures and decorates it with imagination and humor: the results are true folkloric works of art.
Ion Albu is the founder of the traditional band “Asa-I datina la noi” and a member of the Romanian Academy of Traditional Arts. His masks are specific to Neamt area and together with music and special dances define this tradition for New Year’s Eve. Different dances performed by people wearing masks represent a symbol of the cosmic order’s reborn. Zoomorphic masks that represent the goat, the deer and the bear symbolize the reborn of nature.
