The meaning of time in culture as presented on the examples of the folk names for the autumn and winter months in Romania

The category of time functioning in individual cultures, as well as calendars – the corresponding systems of time classification – can be perceived as examples of cultural phenomena. They prove to be extremely interesting, but at the same time difficult to analyze. In many cases the circumstances are quite complicated as there are various methods of measuring time within an individual culture. They correspond to the national, secular calendars, the official religion, the calendars of minority faiths, and the so-called folk tradition. The purpose of this article is to analyze the names of the months functioning in the Romanian folk culture in the context of the official names of months present in the Romanian language. Cultural anthropology, supported by the idea of research on cultural senses and meanings as well as the inter-translation among them denotes that the traditions presented vary, are incoherent and refer to various sources. However, for a few centuries they have been undergoing a process of formulation within one cultural domain. The fundamental issue for an anthropologist is to be convinced that a proper linguistic translation cannot be conducted unless the senses and meanings of a given culture are quite profoundly penetrated.
The ethnolinguistic as well as cultural analyses plainly indicate that behind the contemporary division into twelve months there might be another, even older tradition of time classification. A part of the folk nomenclature is of a very distant provenance; it is known to have been present in the religious texts around the Romanian land as long ago as at least the second half of the 16th century. The nomenclature corresponded to the phenomena observed in nature, the changes of seasons and the vegetation cycle of plants. Other functioning names mentioned household activities, agricultural labour performed in the fi elds and the village life. The names of the months and weeks within them encompass various mythological aspects. They refer to people’s beliefs and significant personas of the folk pantheon. The names also relate to religious attributes associated with saints from the liturgical calendar and the customs as well as rituals of the Orthodox Church performed at a given time of the year. They were a result of a different perception of time – not linear and historical, but rather cyclical, making a full circle during the year.
Despite the fact that folk culture is slowly disappearing and the global infl uence is gaining momentum, the folk names of the months are still present in the contemporary official language of the Orthodox Church as well as within the popular culture

The category of time functioning in individual cultures, as well as calendars – the corresponding systems of time classification – can be perceived as examples of cultural phenomena. They prove to be extremely interesting, but at the same time difficult to analyze. In many cases the circumstances are quite complicated as there are various methods of measuring time within an individual culture. They correspond to the national, secular calendars, the official religion, the calendars of minority faiths, and the so-called folk tradition. The purpose of this article is to analyze the names of the months functioning in the Romanian folk culture in the context of the official names of months present in the Romanian language. Cultural anthropology, supported by the idea of research on cultural senses and meanings as well as the inter-translation among them denotes that the traditions presented vary, are incoherent and refer to various sources. However, for a few centuries they have been undergoing a process of formulation within one cultural domain. The fundamental issue for an anthropologist is to be convinced that a proper linguistic translation cannot be conducted unless the senses and meanings of a given culture are quite profoundly penetrated.
The ethnolinguistic as well as cultural analyses plainly indicate that behind the contemporary division into twelve months there might be another, even older tradition of time classification. A part of the folk nomenclature is of a very distant provenance; it is known to have been present in the religious texts around the Romanian land as long ago as at least the second half of the 16th century. The nomenclature corresponded to the phenomena observed in nature, the changes of seasons and the vegetation cycle of plants. Other functioning names mentioned household activities, agricultural labour performed in the fi elds and the village life. The names of the months and weeks within them encompass various mythological aspects. They refer to people’s beliefs and significant personas of the folk pantheon. The names also relate to religious attributes associated with saints from the liturgical calendar and the customs as well as rituals of the Orthodox Church performed at a given time of the year. They were a result of a different perception of time – not linear and historical, but rather cyclical, making a full circle during the year.
Despite the fact that folk culture is slowly disappearing and the global infl uence is gaining momentum, the folk names of the months are still present in the contemporary official language of the Orthodox Church as well as within the popular culture