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HBC has been able to collect little information yet on Romanian boys' clothing. Some information is available on traditional clothing. These traditional clothes were widely worn in Romania throughout the 19th century. A typical outfit was a long white jacket, wide callf-length pants, a black fez, and a red fez. The establish of an indepedent monarchy with a German dynasty presumably had an important impsct on populsarizing Western clothing styles. We note fashionably dressed boys by the early 20th century, but think we might be looking at omages from a small, affluent elite. Western European boys' clothing styles became more common after World War I. Romania appears to have been more influenced by the French or Austrian styles than other Balkan countries. Hopefully our Romanian readers will provide some information on boys' fashions in their country so we can can expand our coverage.
The Romanian nation has a fascinating history streaching back to ancient times. The medievel era is particularly interesting. Romanians played an important role in impeding the Ottomon movement beyond the Balkans. There are some striking characters in Romanian history, including Count Dracula and Nicolae Ceausescu. The Ottoman era resulted in the mixing of people throughout the Balkans. When new nations were formed in the 19th and early 20th century, there were as a result countless territorial disputes. Romania was thus caught up in disputes with neigboring countries. Romania fought with the Allies in World war I. It attempted to negotiate regional security arrangments. The country was, however, left isolated after the British and French abndoned Czechoslovakia at Munich. Hitler who was fixated on Romanian oil forced Romania to join the Axis and participated in the disaterous campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The Soviet Union had seizec large areas of the country and the Romanians were an important part of the German-dominated force that invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets destroyed much of the Romanian Army at Stalongrad and in the Crimea. The Red Army seized the country at the end of World war II. It was forced to become a Soviet satellite. Stalinist secret policies arrested Romanians in large numbers, many of whom were executed. The disasterous Soviet-economic policies, especially those of Ceausescu drove Romania into national poverty from which now democratic Romania is just now beginning to recover.
Little information is available yet on Romanian boys' clothing. Some information is available on traditional clothing. These traditional clothes were widely worn in Romania throughout the 19th century. A typical outfit was a long white jacket, wide callf-length pants, a black fez, and a red fez. Western European boys' clothing styles became more common after World War I. Romania appears to have been more influenced by the French or Austrian styles than other Balkan countries.
We do not yet have very many images of Romanian children and thus can not begin to develop a chronology at this time. Our general impression is that many children in the country side wore what are now seen as folk or ethnic clothing with a Turkish influence. Romanian for many years was dominated by the Ottoman Empire. Hopefully Romanian readers will tell us more here. After the establishment of an independent monarchy in the late 19th century we begin to see more Europen styles, espdecially in affluent urban families. The gew images we see seem to have a French, Austrian, or German and roughly follow the same chronological trends as boys in neighboring countries. The important of the German econonomy probably influenced clothing trends and thus may hazve had the greatest influence, at least until World War II. Hopefully we can expznd our Romanian archive so we can better understand Romanian chronological trends.
The Romanian monarchy was a 19th century creation introducing a German family. The Romanian nation, however, has a fascinating history streaching back to ancient times. The medievel era is particularly interesting. Romanians played an important role in impeding the Ottomon movement beyond the Balkans. The Romanian royal family had some influence on fashion, but primarily in the towns and cities.
We do not yet have information on Romanian school wear, but we have some information on military schools.
Romania's religious history is complicated by the fact that it appeaared as a nation only in the 19th century nd the boundaries if the country have changed substantially since its creation. The area of modern Romania was part of the Roman Empire and thus Christianity developed at that time. There is not as a result an official date of Christinization as is the case for much of central and Eastern Rurope. The country was alo affected by massive migrations of non-Christian peoples after the decline of the Roman Empire. The already Christianized Romanians played a role in the Christianization of the
Bulgars ans Slavs. Christianity in Romania was complicated by the split between Rome and Constaninople. Orthodox Christianity emerged as the dominant denomination. Most Romanians today are Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox Church played an important role in resistance to the Ottoman Turks which eventually led to the creation of the modern Romanian state (2002 census). One estimate suggested as many as 87 percent. The Romanian Communist Goverment promoted atheism, but did officially recognize several religions. The regime favored the Orthodox Church. The 1948 Law of Cults brought the Church under state control. There and controlled appointments of the Church hierarchy. There were dissenters, but the hierarchy and most priests accepted state control and the Church was largely submissive to the refime. The Eastern or Byzantine Rite Catholics (Uniate Church) was supressd by the Communist Government beginning in 1948 with the Law of Cults. The monasteries were transformed into craft centers and priests were encouraged to learn other 'worldly' jobs.. The Uniates had in the late 17th and early 18th centuries the Uniates broke from the Orthodox Church and accepted Catholic Papal authority even though they retained the Orthodox ritual and canon. They also retained the Orthodox calendar and conducted the mass in Romanian. The Communist Government in 1948 decided to shift the affiliaion of the Uniates back to the Orthodox Church. This was in part because the Government had moe control over the Orthodox Church and was suspicious of Papal influence. It also served the general Communist desire for national unity. About 1.7 million Iniates were involved. When Uniates resisted, the Government arrested 14,000 priests and 5,000 vocal laymen. An unknown number were executed or dies from mistreatment while incarcerated. The Orthodox hierarchy cooperated in the supression of the Uniates, charching that they had been forcibly separated by the Roman Church and truly belonged in the Orthodox Church. There is a small Roman Catholic community, about 5 percent. Protestants (especially Baptists and Pentacostalists) have made inroads in recent years, amounting to about 5 pecent of the population. Most of Romania's historic Jewish popultion was murdered by the NAZIs and Romanian Fascists during the World War II Holocaust. There is a small number of Muslims.
Romanian folk costumes or folk clothing has remained unchanged for centuries. We are not yet sure about the origins and the time line here. Thereseem to be some similarities with peasant styles throufgout the Balkans. Some of the outfits seem to show a Turkish influence, but we are not yet sure how the Ottoman era affected folk costumes. The basic garment for both men and women is a shirt or chemise cut similarly. It is traditionally made from hemp, linen, or a woollen fabric. It is only in the 19th century that inexpensive coitton fabrics become available. The basic shirt or chemise was secured around the waist with a destinctive fabric belt. The basic shirt/chemise did vary in length. Women wore the garment long at ankle-lengths. Men tended to wear short lengths ahd with pants or leggings fashioned from fabric strips. Women wear an apron over their chemise to protect the garment below the waistline. These aprons vary somewhat. Im nuch of Romania this apron was a simple cloth worn at the front of the skirt with a waist band. In Transylvania and the southwest it is common to wear two of these aprons with one protecting the back of the chemise. As is common with folk costumes, there were no destinctive garments for children. A HBC has noted that one element of folk costume in Romania and the Balkans were strap shoes or sandals. We are not sure when this footwear first appeared. We can not yet establish any connection with the strap shoes and sandals that became popular for children in Western Europe and America durong the early 20th century.
We have very limited information on ethnic groups in Romania. There are minorities from neigboring Bulgaria and Hungary. This is especially the case because there were so many territorial changes in the 19th and 20th centuries. Tranyslvania was populated with both Hungrians and Romanians. As a result, control of rhe the province was contested between the two neigboring countries. There was also a population of Volk Deutsche, We note two groups, the Banter Schwaben and the Saxons of Transylvania. Although the Germans are much reduced from the period before World War II, there is still a small group remaining in Romania. A HBC reader has provided us an assessment of his 2005 trip to assess Transylvanian ethnic trends. Romania had a substantial Jewish minority dating back to Roman times. There was a Jewish minority, although they were largely destoyed during the Holocaust. There is also a substantial Gypsey or Roma population. The modern term for gypsey is Roma, a derivation showing the Romanian origins of many European gypsies.
We have no information on Romanian youth groups at this time. There was a small Scout mocement in the early 20th century. We assume that a Fascist oriented nationalist group was organized in the 1930s, but we have no information at this time. After World war II the Communists organozed the Young Pioneers, but we have not yet obtained information on the movement in Romania. As in the other Eastern European countries, agter the fall of Comminism, the Young Pioneers were disbanded. We have no current information on Romanian youth groups atthis time.
W e have no information on Romanian boy choirs at this time.
We do not have much information about children working in Romania. The country was a largely rural country until after World War II. Thus most working children would have been found in rural areas on a range of farm jobs. Some children may have worked on estates, but many large estates were broken up as part of land reform programs. Even if not the children of estate woirkers, rural childen would have done a range of chores for their parents. We are less sure about the experience of urban children.
HBC does not yet have in any information on Romanian movies or other theatricals.
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