The artisan Vasile Gaman was born in 1936 in Lunca village, Vanatori-Neamt commune. He graduated from the Art and Trades School from Targu Neamt in 1954 and he specialized in wood sculpting and carpentry. Vasile Gaman dedicated his entire life to his passion: giving shape to wood and creating objects that remind us of the past life from the Romanian villages.
His dedication and passion for his work was rewarded after a 40 years career with the membership of Traditional Art Academy from Romania and “Carmen Saeculare” Cultural and Art Center.
His …

Vasile Neamut from Vanatori commune, Nemtisor village is one of the local artisans that create in his workshop from his house traditional art objects. He inherited the skill of wood carving from his father but he also worked as a carpenter when he was young.
In his home you’ll also see all sorts of old object gathered from Nemtisor village to express the traditions and the history of this place. Vasile Neamtu manages to keep alive the local traditions and to transmit to younger generations the values of the traditional Romanian …

Easter is the most important orthodox holiday and that is why the traditional Easter dinner has to be a special one. The Easter traditions are well preserved in Neamt County and transmitted from one generation to another. On the Easter table should be red painted eggs, cozonac, pasca, lamb and drob (made from lamb meat). These are only few of the culinary delights that every person from Neamt County has on his Easter table.
The tradition says that the Easter day is celebrated with your family, around a table filled with …

Each year on February 24, we celebrate our own traditional holiday dedicated to love: Dragobete. The Orthodox Church celebrates in this day The Finding of St Joan’s Head, a religious holiday also known as “spring head” in our tradition.
Dragobete first appears at our ancestors: Daci. In their beliefs, Dragobete was a matchmaker and a godfather for the animals. Romanians carried on this tradition and transformed this myth in a love story: those that meet in this day will be loved all year long.
Dragobete was the son of Dochia and was …

The traditional mask-dances from the night of New Year’s Eve represent the celebration of “all madness” in the night when a “new order is installed and when life is reborn”. For centuries traditions like “Capra” (The Goat), “Ursul” (The Bear) or “Calutii” (The Small Horses) are highly appreciated by people that witness these dances. Around these “animals” there are bands that wear masks representing humans in all their diversity. You’ll see masks representing elders, old ugly women, devils, goats and so on. These characters are called either “Uratii”, which means …

In the last day of every year, traditions and customs from Neamt County are an eco over time of our primordial traditions and customs. Here are two traditions that are still alive and that take place in the day before the new year.
“Plugusorul”  (The Little Plow) (performed on December 31)
The tradition of “Plugusor” continues in Neamt County under different forms, depending of the ethnographic area. Although there are different names for this custom, like “Plugusor” (Little Plow), “Urat”, “Uratura de Sfantul Vasile” (St Vasile Wishing), “Buhai” (The Bull – because …