The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-01-02
LIFE IN ROUMANIA
A Nation of Peasants, With Curl.
GUS Customs and Beliefs.
RULED BY SIGNS AND oMENS
Many SuperstitIons Enter Into thu
Everyday Life of This People, Whs
Are Little Given to Money Thrift
The Way a Lad Goes Accounting.

1.-THE great bulk of Roumania's pop
ulation belongs to the peasant class,
for there are comparatively few cities,
and most of them are small" says a
bulletin of the National Geographic
society on Roumanian folklore and Gus
toms, which gives an intimate insight
into the home life of that nation. The
bulletin, which is based on a commu-
nication to the society from John Oil
Yer. LaGOrce, says:
Many of these peasants live on the
great estates, where their forbears for
generations have farmed for the alb
sentee landlords. And an interesting
class these peasants form, with their
peculiar customs, their primitive ways
Of looking at things In general.
1.-THE evil of race suicide has never
invaded rural Roumania. 1t is re-
garded as worthy of honor to be the
head Of large family AS in all lands
where many of the people are more or
less tldterate, there Is a high death
rate, though the fact that the bottle
fed baby Is almost unknown In peasant
Roumania tends to overcome the high
infant mortality that would otherwise
result.
The average Roumanian peasant Is
not given to the kind of thrift that
leads him often to a savings bank.
The patrimony of his sons and daugh
10 nffoFN will
health and an honest mind than 1t Is
land or money or houses. So narrow
is the margin upon. which a young
couple starts out In life that it has
come to be proyerb among them,
Married today and out at the elbows
tomorrow for children come apace,
and the prices Of the things the peas
ant has to sell are even lower than the
prices of those he has to buy, and not
until his own labors are supplemented
by those of his sons and daughters has
he much chance to prepare for even
the shortest of rainy days.
when young Roumanian peasant
lads thoughts turn to love and his
mind begins to incline toward mar
rage he goes to his mother rather than
to his sweetheart with his tale. The
mother acts as an ambassador to the
father, and If he cal be induced to
look with favor upon the lovers choice
he calls in two Of his best friends In
the village, tells them of his sons
dreams and asks them to accompany
the said son to the house of the OBJ
tect of loves young dreams.
"Mayhap the girl herself has not re-
ceived from the youth a single hint
Of his love; but, even so, as he and
his spokesman approach the house she
suspects the object of his visit and
peeps through any crack or Granny
that Is convenient
IF 1t happens to be winter the ia
Their Of the girl invites the company
In and, surmising their mission gives
some hint as to his attitude by the
way he looks after the fire. If he
keeps it burning brightly they know
that he Is favorable; if he let's it die
down a little they understand that he
Is only of an open mind on the sub
Ject- But If he let's 1t go out entirely
there Is no use arguing the question.
"The Roumanian peasant is much
given to superstition, and he has sign
for everything. If shingles are not
nailed on a roof in the proper sign
they will turn up at the ends; If pota-
toes are not planted in the proper
sign they will grow on top of the soil
and be failure; If you have money
in your pocket when you see the new
moon you will not 'go broke" at least
not until another new moon has come
On the other hand, 1t is held to be dan
gerous to announce to those in the
house that the new moon has appear
ed, for in that case all the pots and
pans in the kitchen will be broken be-
fore the waning moon passes.
"When a peasant child is christened
all of those present assume the rela-
ton of godparents, and it is a super
stition that there must be no intermar-
riages between godfathers and god
mothers. The result Is that christen-
ings are not widely attended, and those
with matrimonial ambitions eschew
them entirely.
1.-THE utmost care is taken by some
to prevent a child from seeing It's i'm
age In mirror before 1t is three years
old. for If it does it will become vic,
tim of the falling Sickness which will
send It stumbling through life.
There are many customs which still
proclaim the olden time rule and In
fuence of ancient Rome that have per
sisted through the centuries since the
departure Of her glory. For instance,
there ID the old Pyrrhic dance, the
robes with bells on sleeves and girdles
The Roumanians still shout in unison
to prevent Saturn from hearing the
voice of the infant Jupiter, and even
their oxen proclaim the glory that was
Rome in their names, for here you
may see Caesar and Brutus as yoke
fellows and there Cassius and Angus
luao