Bear Custom 

This custom is known only in Moldavia, part of Romania, on the Christmas Eve. 
The bear was embodied by a young man wearing the coat of a killed animal that was adorned with red tassels on its ears on his head and shoulders. 
Sometimes, the mask used to be made in a common way: the bear's head was made of wood skeleton covered with a coat and its body of a rough cover, adorned in such a way so it might suggest its characteristic brown threads. 
The mask was accompanied by a young man wearing a bear coat and by fiddlers and followed by a whole procession of characters, among a child as a bear's cub might be. 
Roused by the young man wearing the bear's coat who sang: 
"Dance well, you old bear, / Because I give bread and olives." the mask grumbled and imitated the jerky steps of the bear, striking violently against the earth with his soles, while the drums and the pipe were playing. 

Umblatul cu ursul  

Aceastã datinã e întâlnitã doar în Moldova, de Anul Nou. 
Ursul era întruchipat de un flãcãu, purtând pe cap si umeri blana unui animal ucis, împodobitã în dreptul urechilor cu ciucuri rosii. Alteori, masca era mai simplã: capul ursului se confectioneazã dintr-un schelet de lemn acoperit cu o blanã, iar trupul dintr-o pânzã solidã, astfel ornatã încât sã sugereze perii maronii caracteristici. 
Masca era condusã de un "ursar", însotitã de muzicanti si urmatã adesea de un întreg alai de personaje- printre care se aflã si un copil în rolul "puiului de urs". Atâtat de ursar: 
"Joacã bine, mãi Martine,/ Ca-ti dau pâine cu mãsline..." în rãpãitul tobelor sau pe melodia fluierului, tinându-si echilibrul cu ajutorul unui ciomag, masca mormãie si imitã pasii legãnati si sacadati ai ursului, izbind puternic pãmântul cu tãlpile. 

Winter customs