Between 1 and 25 December enjoy on my blog, all free on this page, my Christmas gift: an Advent Calendar of riddles leading you to Romanian winter legends, first snow songs, and recipes to a seasonal dish to feast on! May your Christmas be Merry and your winter full of peace!
1 December – Riddle: Who keeps pace with you in the dark pinewood, though no track breaks the new-fallen snow?
“On the Night of Saint Andrew, on Wolves’ Night”
2 December – Riddle: What guardian of shadowed firs knows the forest’s forgotten tongue and carries winter on its breath?
“Hidden Transylvania, Secrets of Ancient Carpathian Forests and an Enigmatic Grey Wolf”
3 December – Riddle: Which pale watcher climbs the winter sky, stirring restlessness in every unseen den?
“Magic Verse for the Wolf Moon, January’s Full Moon”
4 December – Riddle: What ancient flame is kindled not for warmth, but to summon the turning of the pastoral year?
“Sumedru’s Sacred Fires, the Beginning of Pastoral Winter”
5 December – Riddle: What drifts in silence, yet speaks in shapes only the patient can decipher?
“Snow’s Thousand Faces and Meanings”
6 December – Riddle: Who crosses thresholds without a footprint, yet leaves kindness where only cold should linger?
“First Snow and Saint Nicholas, a Legend”
7 December – Riddle: Which door opens only under frost, revealing rooms made of memory rather than stone?
8 December – “A Train Journey Through Snow, in Romania”
Riddle: What iron beast carves silver trails through drifting silence?
9 December – Riddle: What iron traveler carves gleaming paths through a world hushed by white?
“A Journey Through the Medieval City of Sighişoara, Romania”
10 December – Riddle: What sound rolls through narrow alleys like a herald of secrets long kept?
“Medieval Horns, a Dark Staircase, and Amazing Photos from Sighişoara”
11 December – Riddle: What fear endures past daylight, refusing to loosen its grip on the living or the dead?
“A Transylvanian Tale of Old Superstitions”
12 December – Riddle: What voice speaks in drafts that know your name, curling around rooftops, chimneys, and dreams?
“Winter Whispers, Tales from the Frosty Depths”
13 December – Riddle: What night weaves dreams from falling stars of white?
“Snowy Night, a Winter’s Dream”
14 December – Riddle: What place is built of stone and silence, yet rings with meaning for every pilgrim?
“Altars, Shrines and Christian Symbology”
15 December – Riddle: What song marches beside weary men, carrying both steel and hope in its refrain?
16 December – Riddle: Which melody crossed oceans and ruins to warm homes once cold with fear?
“Post–WWII, The Christmas Song, Music Monday”
17 December – Riddle: What hymn rose when empires were young and stars still guided kings?
“The Oldest Christmas Carol, Jesus Refulsit Omnium”
18 December – Riddle: What light burns without flame, guiding wanderers who walk by faith, not road?
“The Oldest Christmas Story and the Christmas Star”
19 December – Riddle: What evergreen keeps summer’s promise even in the deepest freeze?
“The Legend of the Christmas Tree, a Bird and a Fir Tree”
20 December – Riddle: What tradition grows taller each year, though its roots remain ancient?
“The History of Christmas Trees in 9 Merry Short Stories”
21 December – Riddle: Which tune falls like gentle snow upon the heart, no matter how many winters pass?
“White Christmas, Holiday Inn”
22 December – Riddle: What customs dance between pagan fires and Christian bells as the year turns?
“Romania, Incredible Winter Traditions”
23 December – Riddle: What rising dough carries warmth, memory, and the scent of home?
“Festive Dessert for Christmas, Romanian Cozonac”
24 December – Riddle: What song once silenced guns and let men hear each other breathe?
“The Christmas Truce Song by Catherine Rushton, with Six-String Soldiers”
25 December – Riddle: What gift is unseen until the heart recognizes it first?
“An Unexpected Christmas Gift – Un Dar Neaşteptat de Crăciun” (a bilingual blog post).
~*~*~*~
When the last door swings open and the peace of Christmas morning settles upon the world, may the old stories walk beside you like familiar companions on a snow-soft path.
May the fir trees stand watch, their needles whispering only the comfort of time and may the star that once guided kings cast its patient light upon your threshold.
May your home be warm, your heart steady, and your thoughts touched by the quiet wonder that lingers between one breath and the next.
And as the year folds itself into memory, may the grace of this winter, with songs, legends, and frost-etched small miracles remain with you long after the snow has melted from the eaves.
Blessed Christmas, and may peace find you as gently as falling snow.