Romanian Christmas in Washington

Washington has been as sad as it could be in this period of the year. There was almost no Christmas atmosphere in the Capital of the United States of America. The White House has given up on using the religious word in the wishes for the winter Holidays.

The TV networks and the newspapers are debating on "Christmas - and endangered specie", but the Romanian Embassy in Washington organized a memorable night together with Vox Ama Deus.

The residence of the Romanian Ambassador in the American Capital, Sorin Ducaru, had its doors wide open in a spring-like night. 80 guests had confirmed their presence at the Christmas celebration. Anyway, it turned out that the idea had been much more successful than expected and the number of the people present was almost double. More than 150 people, Romanians or not, have entered the residence of the Ambassador.

WHAT A HOUSE! A little part of Romania. Christmas was everywhere. The beautiful lady ambassador, who took care of the house’s design offered her husband the most beautiful Christmas gift, but this is something we will discuss later.

FAIRYTALE CAROLS. "A Jazz Renaissance Noel with Vox Renaissance Consort and Philly Jazz", artistic director and choir master…ladies and gentlemen…famous Valentin Radu! The master, together with a group of five vocalists, all Americans, has brought the spirit of Christmas to the seventh Heaven and back. A concert that lasted 2 hours without any break brought the oldest carols (the fifteenth century) and Romanian carols to the audience.

ALL OF THEM. Listening to Romanian carols sung by Americans is like the dearest gift ever. This is like going to the clothier to have your pajamas buttoned. Kristen Conrad, Jennifer Graf, Bronwyn Fix-Keller, Dana Wilson and Ed Bara sang "O, ce veste minunata", "Astazi s-a nascut Hristos", "Floricica", "Buna dimineata la Mos Ajun" and "Am plecat sa colindam" (all of them are Romanian carols). A jazz recital came next and earned a standing ovation. The public was formed of members of the diplomatic community in Washington, of the American Administration and Congress, of the Romanian-American community and members of the academic environment.

Master Valentin Radu took care that all the people present would have an unforgettable evening in the Christmas spirit. It wasn’t too hard for him. And if it was, then he got his deserved reward. This is because Ambassador Sorin Ducaru offered him the "Officer with Cultural Merit" Medal of Honor, F category. This way, Valentin Radu got recognition of his merit on the promotion of the Romanian culture in the country as well as abroad. The strong emotions on his face cannot be described in words. The master was stunned when he heard about this.

SURPRISE. Since we’re talking about surprises: Carmen, Ambassador’s Ducaru wife, offered him the most precious Christmas gift. She gave birth to "Sorin Ducaru II" on the 5th of December. The little boy enlightened his parents’ faces more than the Christmas tree.

Moreover, in order to confirm his little-star-to-be status, the picture of the little boy was published together with the one of his sister in the Washington Post.

Another surprise, a little unpleasant this time, was that they went out of wine. Naturally, the recital at the Ambassador’s residence ended in a buffet with cheese and wine. Since the number of the people present was double than expected, the wine disappeared in no time. However, they managed to find a solution for this immediately. And it didn’t count that much either. Everyone had a great time in the Christmas spirit.