Ancestry.  More than 85 percent of Romania's people are Romanians by ancestry.  The Romanians are descended from the Dacians, Romans, and such tribes as the Goths, Huns, and Slavs.  The Dacians lived in what is now Romania as early as the 300's B.C. The Romans occupied the country in the A.D. 100's and 200's, and the tribes began living there after the Romans left. 

Hungarians form the largest minority group in Romania, making up about 8 percent of the population.  Germans make up about 2 percent.  Smaller groups include Gypsies, Jews, Turks, and Ukrainians. 

Language.  Romanian is the nation's official language and is spoken by almost all the people.  Many of Romania's Germans and Hungarians prefer to speak their own ethnic languages among themselves. 

Romanian developed from Latin, the language of the Romans who ruled the country in ancient times.  Romanian is the only Eastern European language that comes from Latin.  As a result, it is much different from all the other languages that are spoken in the region.  Romanian most closely resembles French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.  These Western European languages also developed from Latin. 

Way of life.  The Romanian people have one of the lowest living standards in Europe.  Almost all of the workers in Romania earn enough to pay for their families' food, clothing, and shelter, and have a little left over for recreation.  But few Romanians can afford many luxury items.  For example, only about 15 per cent of the people own a television set, and fewer than 2 per cent own an automobile. 

Most rural Romanians live in two- or three-room wooden cottages.  The houses are plain and simple, but many people beautify them with a variety of art objects that they make themselves.  These objects include wall rugs with skillfully woven patterns, colorfully decorated plates, and woodcarvings on furniture, building frames, and fences. 

Festivals held to celebrate such things as weddings, christenings, and holidays are the most important part of social life in rural Romania.  At the festivals, the people wear colorful costumes, and they play and dance to Romanian folk music. 

Romania's cities present a striking contrast between the old and the new.  Many city buildings are hundreds of years old.  Others are modern structures built since industrialization began in the 1960's.  Population growth has caused a housing shortage in the cities.  Most city people live in crowded apartments. 

Both old Romanian traditions and modern, Western culture are part of city life.  Many people enjoy going to restaurants and to concert halls where orchestras play Romanian folk music.  They also visit exhibits of rural Romanian folk art that the government sets up in cities.  But many people--especially the young--like rock music and Western movies, plays, and books. 

Before the 1989 revolt, the lives of the Romanian people were affected by the Communist government in many ways.  The government decided what kind of jobs students should prepare for in school.  It owned or managed most of the country's businesses and farms, and so almost all the people worked for the government.  Romanians could not change their jobs or leave the country without the government's permission.  After the revolution, the non-Communist government lifted most of these restrictions. 

Recreation.  Romanians have two favorite vacation spots--the mountains and the Black Sea coast.  The mountains offer skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, and beautiful scenery.  Romanians go to the Black Sea coast to swim and to relax in the sun.  Soccer is the most popular spectator sport in Romania. 

Food and drink.  Romanians enjoy grilled meats, including mititei (meat balls shaped like cylinders) and patricieni (sausages).  Another favorite food in Romania is mamaliga, a bread or mush made from corn meal, which can be cooked and served in many ways.  Wine and a plum brandy called tzuica are popular drinks in Romania. 

Education.  Romanian law requires children from 6 to 16 to attend school.  Elementary school lasts eight years.  Students then take tests that are prepared by the government to determine what kind of course they will study in secondary school.  About half the students are assigned to vocational courses.  These students learn the basic skills that are needed for work on farms or in factories.  Most of the other students take courses that train them in advanced technical skills, in the arts, or in teaching.  The top elementary school graduates--about 5 per cent of the total--are assigned to courses that prepare them for college. 

Romania has seven universities.  The largest Romanian university is in Bucharest. 

Religion.  About three-fourths of all Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, an Eastern Orthodox Church.  About 7 per cent of the people--chiefly Hungarians--are Roman Catholics.  Other faiths that are practiced in Romania include Islam, Judaism, and various forms of Protestantism. 

In order to avoid popular protests, the prerevolution Communists allowed churches to operate as long as the churches avoided political activities.  After the revolution, the churches were granted complete religious freedom. 

The arts.  Romania's rural culture has had a strong influence on the country's professional art.  The lives and customs of rural Romanians have long been favorite topics of Romanian writers.  The works of many composers show the influence of Romanian folk music.  The best-known Romanian paintings are medieval works that appear on the outside walls of churches.  These works were done outside, rather than inside, to remind peasants passing by of their faith. 

In the 1950's, the government forced Romanian artists to use their works to promote Communism.  Romanian art grew dull from a lack of self-expression.  However, since the 1960's, the government has allowed artists more freedom, and art has flourished in Romania.  Old Romanian themes and styles are still popular.  But many artists have turned to modern styles, and deal with such themes as humanity's relation to the universe. 

The composer Georges Enesco, the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, and the playwright Eugene Ionesco probably rank as the best-known Romanian-born artists.  But each man did most of his work in France.  Enesco's masterpieces, called Romanian Rhapsodies, are based on Romanian folk music.  Some of Brancusi's sculptures contain elements of Romanian folk art.  Ionesco's plays show some influence of his youth in Romania before the outbreak of World War II in 1939.