Bear's Dance - Traditional Romanian Christmas Carols - Bucharest

Don't forget to subscribe if you like this channel! bit.ly/TravellFun
Thank you and enjoy watching!
The bear custom is a pre-Christian tradition, mostly found in the Bucovina area. It has its origins in a pagan ritual of the Geto-Dacians ancient people that considered the bear a sacred animal.
The group is made up of young men disguised as bears, bear-leaders, plovers and drummers. Each of them is playing a role in the ritual. The ritual presents the bear’s death and rebirth, which symbolizes the new year that is about to come.
The custom is still popular in many places in the east of Romania. Groups of men and women sometimes travel across the country in the days before Christmas presenting their show in several villages and cities.