Moș Gerilă facts for kids
Moș Gerilă is a special character from Romanian stories and a part of communist propaganda. He was created to replace the traditional Santa Claus figure during a certain time in Romania's history.
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What Moș Gerilă Means
The name "Moș Gerilă" has a simple meaning. The Romanian word moș means an "elderly man" or "old man." The word ger means "frost" or "cold" in Romanian.
So, Moș Gerilă basically means "Old Man Frost." This name was taken from a similar Russian character called Ded Moroz, which also means "Grandfather Frost." The Romanian communists chose this name to create a new holiday figure, moving away from the traditional Moș Crăciun, who is like Santa Claus.
How Moș Gerilă Looked
In 1947, a newspaper called Națiunea showed a picture of Moș Gerilă. He was drawn as a young, strong, and active man. He was shown without a shirt, looking like a hard-working person. This image was very different from the older, jolly Santa Claus many people knew.
Moș Gerilă's Story
Why Moș Gerilă Was Created
Between 1944 and 1948, the Communist Party in Romania started to change how people celebrated Christmas. They wanted to make Christmas seem less important.
In 1948, the Communists took control of Romania. After this, the word Crăciun (Christmas) stopped appearing in official newspapers. The government thought the word "Christmas" was too religious.
So, in the 1950s, a new character was introduced: Moș Gerilă. Instead of Moș Crăciun, children were told that Moș Gerilă brought gifts. These gifts were given on December 30, not December 25.
The date December 30 was chosen because it was the day King Michael I of Romania stepped down in 1947. This day was then called the "Day of the Republic." December 25 and 26 became regular working days.
Moș Gerilă's Decline
In the 1980s, the leader of Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu, became very powerful. People were encouraged to admire him greatly. Because of this, children's New Year gifts were linked more to the government and Ceaușescu himself, rather than to Moș Gerilă.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the communist government ended. Moș Gerilă slowly disappeared, and the traditional Moș Crăciun (Santa Claus) returned as the main gift-bringer.
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