Caloianul

Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the team of the County Center for the Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture Ialomița witnessed Caloian, an archaic custom, kept alive in the village of Luciu, Gura Ialomitei commune, in our county. This ritual of invoking rain, practiced on Tuesday in the third week after Easter, represents a symbolic sacrifice for the fertility of the earth and saving crops from drought. The custom was carried out again this year through the diligence of the teachers Ana Banu and Cloșcă Domnița, benefiting from the hospitality of the hosts: Buterez Aurelia, Spânoche Elena and Spânu Elena. The video montage captures the rigorous order of the custom: • Clay modeling: Children mold a human figurine with their hands, which they decorate with flowers and red eggshells kept from Easter. • Funeral procession: The Caloian is carried through the village, accompanied by a procession of children who sing an ancient lament, asking it to go to God to bring rain. • Burial and release on water: After being symbolically buried in the wheat field, the Caloian is later dug up and left to float on the water, to carry the community's message to the forces of nature. • Water sprinkling: Throughout the journey, the village housewives sprinkle the participants with water, thus foreshadowing and invoking the long-awaited rain. • Caloian's alms: The ritual ends at the host's house with a traditional meal, where eggs, polenta and sweet cheese pie are served. We invite you to discover, through the material created by Pașata Ionel, a fragment of Romanian tradition and to feel the charm of a custom that endures in the heart of Bărăgan. We congratulate and bow to those who carry this custom forward and assure them of our full support and consideration. Through such noble souls and minds, we carry the traditions of our nation forward and honor our ancestors. _________________________________________________________________________________ County Center for the Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture Ialomita www.traditieialomita.ro www.facebook.com/traditie.ialomita