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- Eugen Ionesco – Fighting The Absurd With Its Own WeaponsAna Aslan – The Fight Against AgingNadia Comaneci – The Mark of PerfectionBlack Tourism in RomaniaRomanian Comedy PlaysHenri Coanda – Father of the JetGopo – A Romanian Walt DisneyGeorge Emil Palade – The Romanian Nobel PrizeRomanian Touches In World CulturePetrache Poenaru – Inventor Of The Fountain PenEmil Racovita – A Scientist With A Taste For AdventureUnforgettable Romanian MoviesThe Story of The LipovansJean Negulesco – A Romanian at HollywoodThe Romanian Book MarketMihai Eminescu – the Genius of Romanian LiteratureRomania’s Eye for ArtMaria Tănase – the Voice of Romanian FolkloreTraditional Hand Made Crafts Fair in OradeaPetreus Brothers“Police, adjective” – Another Memorable Movie by Corneliu PorumboiuBranding RomaniaReaping Dreams with Paula SelingThe Concert Market in RomaniaTransylvania Film Festival – Celebrating Film for 8 YearsOina – Romanian baseballBoogie – One Movie, an Universal StoryIndependenta Romaniei, The First Romanian Full Length MovieBucharest Days – Taking a Walk Through Bucharest’s History
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The Story of The Lipovans
Bathing is almost sacred for Lipovans. The ceremonial bathing usually takes place on Saturdays, but also on the eve of important holidays and when one family member falls ill. Bathing is considered to be a universal cure -the Lipovans prefer bathing than going to the doctor. The bathroom (a sauna, usually) is separated from the house, in order to prevent fires (which were a serious danger especially in the past, when houses were covered with straw or reed). As part of Lipovan rules of hospitality, a guest would first be invited to enjoy the steam from the bathroom, then invited inside the house.
A Lipovan house can have a porch and gable (richly decorated with animal or floral motives); the walls are usually painted in white, while the carpentry is in blue. Some specific elements are the devices placed on top of the houses, in order to indicate the wind’s direction and the stretched ovens, also used as beds, during cold seasons.
The Danube Delta has no secrets for the Lipovans, who are famous for being extremely skilful paddlers. Not accidentally, the best Romanian sportsman in the field of canoeing is a Lipovan, Ivan Patzaichin.
He was born in 1949 at Mila 23 in Tulcea County and won 13 Canoeing titles at the Olympic Games and World Championships, equaling the record for men, set by Gert Fredriksson and Rudiger Helm. After a gold medal at Men’s Canadian Doubles, 1000 m at Ciudad de Mexico, in 1968, he won another gold medal at Men’s Canadian Single, 1000 m, at Munchen, in 1972. This success came after a truly dramatic qualifier race – his paddle (“pagaia” in Romanian) broke and no referee saw him when demanded a new one. So he had no choice but to finish the race with the broken one; needless to say, the public instantly adored him for his fierce determination.
He is also famous for his pony tail, which he has got since he was a young man; he faced being expelled from the National team because of it, during the Communist regime, and he recounts that he used to stick his hair with sugar and hide his tail under the shirt’s collar, when he met important Party officials.
After retirement, he was coach of the Romanian national canoeing team for a long time and his nickname was “The Admiral”.
Author: Iulian Fira
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