Dance of the Bear – a pre-Christian tradition well-preserved in Romania
The Bear Dance is an ancient pagan tradition which survived in the eastern part of Romania – in the region of Moldova, around Bacau city.
Performed on New Year's Eve by men - but also by women and even children - wearing heavy bear skins, the dance celebrates the power, the death (hibernation) and the ”resurrection” of this animal.
Dacians, the inhabitans of the land before the Roman conquest, considered the bear sacred. In the Medieval times, the Church fought against those kind of dances in pagan rituals.
The Communist dictatorship tried in vain to prohibit the Bear Dance, and now it becomes more and more popular. Scrupulously performed in towns like Comanesti, Asau or Darmanesti and in the villages of River Trotus Valley (Moldova region), these dances are celebrated as a festival in many cities of Romania.
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