When visiting Romania you may easily feel at home and forget that you are in a foreign country. But the welcoming and friendly spirit of the Romanian people will not help you over-bridge the cultural differences and understand the Romanian culture. So in order to avoid a culture shock, there are a few things that you should know about Romanians before you travel to their country.
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Things You Should Know About Romanians and Their Culture
Of course, Romanians are not all the same. Nonetheless, there are some distinctive characteristics that most of them share and which actually define the Romanian culture.
1. Romanian Eating Culture
Romanians eat three times a day and dinner is typically their biggest meal. They usually eat very late at night, so ordering food after 10:00 p.m. in a restaurant is not uncommon.
Romanians love dinner parties and they will use every opportunity to gather some friends around their table. If they invite you for dinner, you should expect a copious meal with many courses and delicious deserts. Each course is big enough to stuff an average stomach.
The host tries her best to impress you and expects compliments for her cooking. If you like the food she will always insist that you have second and even third helpings.
Invoking a small stomach will not spear you the insistence. Many people may find the insistence very annoying, but in Romania this is good manners.
When offered food, Romanians will first politely refuse. But don’t be fooled. The “no, thank you” only means that you’ll have to insist!
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2. Punctuality in Romania
In the Romanian culture punctuality is a strength only when doing business. But when invited to a party, or a social gathering, time seems to have a totally different meaning.
If you are told the party is at 7, you are not expected to show up exactly at 7 sharp. In fact, being right on time may be a little awkward and inconvenient for the hosts.
Is not unusual to even find them in the shower at 7 o’clock, getting ready for the party. So if the invitation is for 7 o’clock, you should plan on arriving more toward 7:15 or 7:30.
READ NEXT: 15 Fun Things About Romania You Probably Didn’t Know
3. Religion and Spirituality in Romania
90% of Romanians are Christians and the vast majority of the population practices Eastern Orthodoxy.Despite believing in God, Romanians are not a very religious people. They are are more preoccupied with religious traditions than they are with religion itself.
As a result, they participate in very elaborate customs and ceremonies whenever there is an occasion, like births, weddings, or funerals. So at Christmas and Easter, Romanian churches all over the country are full of people. But the rest of the year, you’ll only see a few old ladies coming in to pray.
Romanian culture abounds with religious customs of all sorts. Easter and Christmas traditions in Romania are particularly interesting.
4. Meeting and Greeting Culture in Romania
When greeting a stranger, Romanians may seem formal and reserved. But when they meet with friends, they will kiss and hug each other. When they kiss a friend they do it twice, on each cheek, from left to right. Doing it only once would seem cold and distant.
It’s not unusual to see a man kissing a woman’s hand when they meet. That’s a sign of deep respect and it’s practiced especially by the older generation. It’s also common when a young man meets a much older woman. However, this is not something that Romanians expect from a foreigner.
Compared to the Western Europeans, Romanians are very talkative and outgoing. They will easily talk to strangers in the street, or on the bus, or in restaurants. And if encouraged, the conversation may soon become more than a general chit-chat.
If you are in an airport, or waiting at a train station, you may even be asked where you are going. Or where you are coming from. And if the conversation continues, they may even ask you what you do for a living! To some people this may seem like an intimate conversation, but Romanians consider it just friendly talk.
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5. Judging and Complaining
Romanians complain frequently and about everything: politics, government, their economic conditions, or each other. Complaining is deeply embedded in the Romanian culture and is part of almost every conversation.
However, complaining is only acceptable when Romanians talk among themselves. A similar negative remark coming from someone from another country would be considered an offense.
Romanians like to compare themselves with other nations, but they don’t think in terms of different. They think in terms of better and worse.
Also, Romanians judge you by the way speak and express yourself. Your level of education is what matters, NOT your accent. Unlike in the US, where having a foreign accent can be subject to subtle forms of prejudice!
6. Romanian Sense of Humor
Romanians have a very keen sense of humor. Quite similar to the English sense of humor: very ironic and directly unto the person. Becoming the subject of their jokes can be quite irritating, as they have no sense of political correctness. They enjoy poking fun even at themselves, especially as a nation! Romanians have a lot of ethnic jokes about the different minorities living in Romania, like the Gypsies, Hungarians or Jews.
7. What Annoys Romanians
Romanians are an extremely friendly and easy going people. However, there are a couple of things that will surely ruffle their feathers and cause them to label you stupid and ignorant beyond redemption.
Confusing Bucharest with Budapest
Some people confuse the two neighboring capitals of Romania and Hungary. Even some famous artists and political figures did it in the past. At first, when celebrities like Michael Jackson came on stage in Bucharest shouting “how are you doing, Budapest” locals were indulgently amused.
But as the trend continued, they moved from “amused” to seriously “pissed off,” as they feel diminished by this mix-up. After all, Bucharest is the 6th largest city in the European Union and a fine cultural and artistic center. It doesn’t deserve to be confused with its neighbor just because it has a similar name.
Being Mistaken for Romas
Another thing that will annoy Romanians is confusing them with Gypsies. Gypsies (or Romas) are a big ethnic group that has been living on Romania’s territory since the 1300s. Because of the name similarity – Romas and Romanians– some people confuse the Romanians with the Romas (Gypsies.)
Tensions between Romanians and Romas go back centuries ago and are somewhat similar to the tensions between white Americans and black Americans. Although Gypsies have never been enslaved en masse, they lived in poverty and illiteracy for a long time and and were thus labeled as an underclass.
Sadly there is still a lot of racial prejudice against the Romani (Gypsies), especially when it comes to crime. They are considered thieves, cheaters and lazy. Being a Gypsy is the worst social stigma in Romania, which is why Romanians find it offensive to be mistaken for Romas.
Confusing Romanian Language with Russian
No one can deny something that is obvious – Romanian is NOT a Slavic language. It’s part of the Romance languages – a group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin. However, to some uneducated Anglo-Saxon ears Romanian language may sound a little like Russian, because it suffered influences of the nearby Slavic languages.
However, Romanian language also shares a large part of its vocabulary with Italian and French. And yet nobody will ask you if you are speaking French or Italian, when you speak Romanian. What makes Romanian language seem so different from other Romance languages (despite the many common words) are primarily the sound changes that the language underwent. Romanian has a lot of harsh-sounding letters (like ș, ț, ă, î, or â) which may not seem very musical to a foreigner. But that gets into a totally different discussion, so let’s stick to the point.
Why do Romanians find it upsetting to see their language confused with Russian? The answer is simple: because they deeply dislike Russians (to put it mildly!) One reason is that prior to World War I Romanians sent their gold reserves to Russia for safe keeping. But the Russians failed to return the gold after the war. Out of the 120 tons of gold shipped to Russia for “safe keeping” only 33 kg have been returned (as of 2014)!
But the more important reason why Romanians hate Russians is because of the Soviet occupation that followed the 2nd World War. We all grew up hearing stories of Russian soldiers stealing, raping, killing people, or damaging buildings. And sadly, they are not just stories! You can read about these attrocities in many books, if you have an interest in this subject.
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Diklo
Ah, my dear Romanians, always eager to share a feast and fashionably late to their own parties! 😄🍽️🕰️ The mix of traditions and customs is what makes our culture so unique.
Dr JAI KUMAR SINGH
I have read a lot about Romania in past 30 years. I also watched gymnast Nadia Comaneci, many years ago. She was the first who brought my attention to Romania. I always wanted to marry a girl from Romania, but it didn’t happen, lol! I love the Romanian way of living. Thanks Anda for this comprehensive information.
Robert
The issues with the Gypsies go back to education and politics. They are only used by local politicians (mayors especially) around the elections, for votes, of course. Their lifestyle hasn’t improved too much, to be honest. Most of them refuse to work, they stay home, make children, send them to beg instead of sending them to school and get the social money from the Government. Those who get jobs are usually poorly paid (street workers, cleaners). It ‘s sad to see this.
But yeah, Romanians are offended when they are compared to the Gypsies.
Zara
I have a Romanian friend and she is a lovely and kind hearted person. However she is never on time for anything and frequently misses flights and trains because her time keeping is so poor. I wondered if this was a ‘laid back’ cultural thing? She also does not eat very much at all (never eats full meals) and just picks at food throughout the day, I started to wonder if this was a Romanian thing, but clearly not!
Anda Galffy
Hahaha, being late is kind of a cultural thing in Romania for sure. However, not eating full meals doesn’t have much to do with culture. It’s a rather personal preference for sure.
Ann
Hi Anda,
Thank you for this article!
Do you have any specific advice on how Business etiquette in Romania is done? And recommendations on managing business teams there; coming from the IS.
Thank you!
Anda Galffy
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you any pertinent advice. It’s been 30 years since I left Romania and things have changed quite a bit there in the meantime. From all I know, Romania is trying hard to rise to the European Union standard in all aspects of life. That applies to the Romanians’ attitude towards their jobs, as well as the business etiquette in the work place. I don’t believe you will see a big difference from other European countries in this respect. As for their character, Romanians are hard working people, but unfortunately there is still a lot of corruption in the country. I hope this helps. All the best to you.
Elisabeta
I’m Romanian and I loved reading all this. It was very on point! I have always been asked if I was a gypsy and that always annoyed me so I love how you added that! And we sure do love our food! Especially sarmale and mămăliga haha.
Anda Galffy
Thanks for your comment, Elisabeta. It’s a real compliment, coming from a compatriot.
Chris
You are right. Many people confuse Romanians with Roma. This nation went through a lot of things during WWII. Never been to Romania. This post seems like a good starting point to gather more info.
Priya
Interesting to learn about the Romanians and their culture. Sounds a little similar to India how the hosts are always so welcoming and feed you (literally force you) with seconds and thirds! Now I’m hoping if I ever get to Bucharest that I get invited to a party with yummy food. I will make sure to get there a few minutes later and finish everything on the plate.
Anda Galffy
I think you’d enjoy visiting Romania, Prya.
Noii Asberry
Hi Anda:
Comparisons of Romanians hatred of the Romas to that of white Americans relationships to the economic institutions of the slavery of Africans and Americans is historically inaccurate. Your assumption that most Roma are poor and illiterate gypsies is also a racist assumption, and such juxtapositions do not represent the peoples of Romania, who just may be a different class of gypsies.
Anda
Your comment is an obvious misinterpretation of my article, so I would kindly refer you back to it. And not striving for “political correctness” doesn’t make me a racist. I am not “assuming that most Roma are poor and illiterate gypsies.” My article was referring to their condition throughout history. Gypsies are no longer poor these days. In fact, everybody who has traveled to Romania in recent years is well aware of their display of “wealth” reflected in the lavish (and poor-taste) palaces they built all over the country.
Sandy N Vyjay
It always makes senses and in fact, it should be the duty of every traveler to understand the basics of the culture and habits of the people of the place they are visiting. Loved these posts which are invaluable, especially as Romania is only recently emerging as an attractive travel destination and emerging from the shadows of the other European nations. So knowing about Romanian culture becomes so important. I have heard jokes about the gypsies and Romanians in some quarters which smacks of ignorance and intolerance. Nice of you to compile these pointers.
Anda Galffy
Thank you, Sandy. I’m really glad if my post can be of help to those wishing to visit Romania.
Megan Jerrard
This is really interesting, thanks Anda! I literally had no stereoptyes in my mind about Romanians, I love the sound of their strong cultural ties to enjoying food though. Sounds very similar to Spain where they eat really late too 🙂 It’s good to know things like finishing everything on your plate is a sign of respect – differes so much from country to country, some cultures are the opposite, so I do like to try and read up on that stuff before I visit a place 🙂
It sounds like I would get on with most Romanians – my sense of humor is very much the same – I love the direct English approach, poking fun at yourself and not being politically correct. And I’m happy to say I’m over my geography well enough to not confuse Bucharest with Budapest lol thank goodness :D!
Anda Galffy
Thanks for reading my post, Megan. I’m sure you could get along pretty well with Romanians. Knowing how sweet you are, you could probably get along with just about anybody in the world!
Mark Wyld
Thanks for tips I will be sure to remember them for when we visit Romania next year, Mental note don’t eat much if you get invited to a dinner party. Dinner at 10 pm I probably would be in bed by then lol. Sounds like a friendly and welcoming country to visit
Anda Galffy
I hope you are going to like Romania, Mark. If you go, make sure to visit Transylvania. It’s probably the most beautiful part of the country.
Michele {Malaysian Meanders}
The insistence on refilling a plate and then consuming all of it reminds me of Chinese mothers and grandmothers. I’ve found the key is to only get a little at first so that I can get multiple refills.
Anda Galffy
Yea, this custom most likely derives from the lack of food that some of these nations faced over the centuries. And if you think about it, it’s a waste to throw food away. I think it’s a good habit to just load your plate only with what you can eat.
Jim ~ Reflections Enroute
Good information to know before visiting Romania. How rude to go out on stage and mistake Budapest and Bucharest!
Rhonda Albom
A very interesting read. Romania is on my list of places I want to visit. Every country has its own “style”. While things may appear similar to what I am used to, there are differences in values and approaches that can trigger that culture shock feeling.
Anda Galffy
It’s very interesting to see how similar and yet how different we humans are. We can perceive things very differently, depending on where we are from.
Lolo
While in Bucharest, our tour guide told us the awkward story about Michael Jackson calling it Budapest! Kinda funny and sad at the same time. We found half of the Romanians we encountered to be incredibly friendly and excited we were there and the others completely rude. It was interesting to learn about the religion, the corruption within the church and government and the obsession with building so many new churches all over the country as well as the big one in Bucharest. Nonetheless, we still loved it all!!
Anda Galffy
The obsession with building so many churches comes from the fact that during the Communism a lot of them were demolished. Unfortunately, corruption is one of the things that keeps Romania from progressing.
Michelle
Fun article! I’m American and Black. I would love to visit Romania. Please be honest, how would I be treated?
Anda Galffy
Way better than you would expect, Michelle. Romanians never had any issues with the black people because there were no blacks living on their territory at any point in history. Racism in Romania is mainly directed against the minority groups, especially the Gypsies. As for people outside their borders, Romanians don’t like Russians. However, given the fact that they lived under the Soviet umbrella for 50 years, that is understandable. They also don’t like Muslims because they have a long history of fighting Turks and Muslim invaders. Depending where you will end up in Romania, you would probably be more stared at than racially discriminated. Not in a negative way though, more out of curiosity. As with all foreigners, people are curious where you come from, what you are doing, what you like about Romania etc.
dend
1. Romanians like to talk about things they don’t know.
How on earth are your gypsy issues anything like in the USA?
You’d like to think so but it’s a nonsense.
2. Romanians are delusional and illogical.
3. How are Romanians non-PC when they are probably the most sensitive people on earth. What you mean to say is that they don’t think about OTHER people.
I could go on.
Anda Galffy
Oh, I know you could go on. Unfortunately it would be in the same incoherent manner in which you started, so it would be of no interest to anybody. Save your breath!
Anda Galffy
Thanks for your comment, Alex. Well, you can argue that most gypsies were slaves (“robi”) on the territory of Wallachia and Moldavia, but in Transylvania for instance, they weren’t. Besides, slavery was abolished in 1856. I wasn’t arguing their status, but just compared their situation to that of the blacks in America, which by all accounts could be considered mass slavery. As for history, I wouldn’t base my research on movies. They never proved to be a reliable source of information, but rather some people’s opinion about different historical events.
Deepti
Makes it a wonderful read! I can relate to the part when people serve you food two to three times. Happens back home in India as well. Is it true that food in Romania is cooked with no salt?
Alex
Nope… we have the largest salt mines in Europe and even the world…. check out on youtube “Salina Turda”.
Anda Galffy
Not really. I don’t know where that came from, but in my family there is a tendency to use too much salt in to food.
Yvonne @ Lost with Yvonne
What a great post! Whenever I visit Romania I will definitely have to keep this bookmarked and check back to it. It’s always wonderful to know the different cultures and learn the different ways people act and even eat.
Lyndall
These are very important tips for travelling happily in Romania, thanks so much 🙂
Sebastian
Discover the most beautiful and amazing part of my country.
William Kendall
Very informative! I’d love to visit the country.
Rosemary K
Catching up a little late with my reading here! Very interesting post as Romania is still very high on my list and we are hoping to cycling there this summer.
I wonder how much French people speak?
It would also seem that the gypsies originally came from India.
I shall feature this very relevent post in my weekly blogger round-up tomorrow.
Anda Galffy
Thank you, Rosemary. It’s always good to hear from you. The older generation in Romania speak pretty good French, while the younger generation speaks English. I believe you can get by in French there.
Katrina Elisabet
I’m bookmarking this post for when we visit Romania in 2016 or 2017. I agree that a large part of culture shock is not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate, and concern that you will commit an error. Many people talk about culture shock as something you experience when visiting a third-world country or a culture that’s vastly different from your own, but you can experience it even with cultures not so very different than your own. I experience a bit of “culture shock” when visiting the New England states as compared to my home-state of Virginia. And after becoming accustomed to Germany’s ways, I had a bit of culture shock when visiting Italy this past summer.
Anda Galffy
Hope you’ll manage to visit Romania soon, Katrina. It’s still an inexpensive and beautiful place.
Rebekah
I studied abroad in Romania this reminds me so much of that year. The food was so good but it was definitely hard to convince people that I really was full…. and confusing them with gypsies definitely would not have gone well
Anda Galffy
I am glad to hear you had a good experience in Romania, Rebekah. Hope you’ll return for a visit.
Traveler
I must correct you on one thing: the gypsies have indeed been enslaved “en masse” in Moldavia and Wallachia. Even in the 19th century, gypsies were slaves.
There were up to a quarter of a million slaves (according to some estimates) and that is indeed mass slavery. Pure slavery. It can’t get any more real than that.
Slavery was abolished in 1855 and 1856 in Moldavia and Wallachia, respectively.
Anda Galffy
Thank you for your comment. The interpretation of the Gypsies’ slavery in the so-called Danubian Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia) always provoked various disputed views that can be argued endlessly. The bulk of historical references suggests that the Roma population has not been enslaved on all the Romanian territories, even that in some parts of Wallachia and Moldavia slavery was wide spread.
Alex
It wasn’t exactly slavery… it was mostly like a “liberal slavery” kind of thing… basically there was white & gypsy slaves. Slavery was mostly like a job, but you had that job for 10-20 years.
Judy Charlotte
Well you know what they say. When you’re in Rome, do what the Romans do.
Vlad
I may have to contradict you – lunch is the most important meal here (most restaurants will have special 3-course offers), I was talking with a Dutch friend and she found this so strange, because their most important meal is dinner. Usually, we have a bigger dinner on special occasions (guests, celebrations, Christmas, Easter).
It’s funny, I know about the punctuality “rule”, but I’m always annoyed when my guests show up late, I end up telling them to come earlier, to make sure they come when I want, haha. 🙂
Anna
I agree about lunch being the biggest meal of the day… I was surprised since I am a born Romanian myself.
And yes, I always invite people half an hour earlier to make sure they arrive ‘just’ in time 😉
And the complaining part?!? Wow, interesting… My American husband doesn’t understand it quite… He is too polite and sometimes politically correct… And the Romanian humor doesn’t help him much either. Gotta love it!
Anda Galffy
Glad to hear we agree on some of these points, Anna.
JP
What a cool article! I think I would fit in just fine, especially with whomever was drinking the Becks beer haha. I agree with you, when I go to another country I worry about offending people because I don’t know or understand the customs. Would love to read your article on the difficulties with coming to America, sounds interesting.
Anda Galffy
Thank you, J.P. I think I should write a post about my culture shock when we moved to America.
Linda Bibb
I agree with JP. I would very much like to read about your experiences as well. It would be very nice to get cultural insights into American culture from someone who didn’t grow up in the country.
Anda Galffy
I think I’ll have to take on the challenge Linda. It will take a little time to put all my memories together. After all it’s bee so long since then… 25 years!
Adelina // Pack Me To
Interesting read. I can definitely understand a few of these after my time in Hungary, especially the things about what annoy them. Hungarians get equally as annoyed about gypsies and don’t get me started on the Bucharest / Budapest confusion.
Anda Galffy
Thank you, Adelina. I know you understand better than other people the Romanian culture because of your years spent in Hungary.
Kim
I have always wanted to go to Romania so it was interesting to read about things I didn’t know about the country.