La Multani! (Happy New Year!)

Our New Year's celebration was wonderful. The Sighisoara Nazarene Church (our church) held a New Year's party and it proved to be a ton of fun. Monday evening we watched a movie that a friend sent to me while the boys napped, and then left for church, Karen's dish-to-share in hand. We enjoyed playing games, eating, and talking together until the anticipated hour arrived. At ten to midnight we all bundled up and rushed outside, waiting for the fireworks show. Standing next to two of my closest Romanian friends, I brought in the new year admiring an elaborate fireworks show and laughing about how little of the "La Multani" song I actually know. I couldn't have asked for a better way to do it. =]
As I mentioned in a previous post, part of the fun of this time of year is noticing all of the little things that make Romania, Romania. One thing that is different here is the tradition of breaking glass at midnight on New Year's. It is supposed to bring good fortune. So as the fireworks came to a close, you could hear bottles being thrown to the ground, glass breaking everywhere. I smiled as I realized how uptight this would make Americans..."broken glass everywhere, are they crazy?". No, they aren't. It's just a different way of celebrating.
Another thing I noticed that made me laugh was the mini fireworks shows that were going on all over the town. It reminded me of being at the beach on the fourth of July and seeing little shows flare up all over. The only difference is that at the beach, you can hear sirens as the police try and hunt down the people starting these little rebellious displays. Here, the police were setting off their own show to join the bunch. Everybody celebrates! Just as it should be.
This week has been rather slow, which has been a welcome break to the fast-paced life we normally lead here in Romania. But I would be lying if I said I'm not ready for the gears to start grinding again. I look forward to this new year and all that God has planned for it!