CAP

Women, men and children wore the Russian fur cap. It had flaps that protected the ears, the forehead and the nape of cold. The Romanian ones were made of lamb fur. The Russian variants contributed to the social stratification of the ones who wore them: the underprivileged wore caps made of rabbit fur, then there were the ones wearing nutria, otter, fox, wolf and mink fur.

The price of a Russian cap bought on an acquaintance system, was somewhere between half of the modest salary and two or three salaries. The tourists who went on O.N.T. trips on business would bring caps. At a certain moment, women preferred the white or silver fox cap and collar. These came from Poland, by illicit trade routes. In Mamaia, on the nudists? beach, I saw women who would tear Polish fur caps from each other?s hands.

When it snowed, women would frequently cover these caps, considered an expensive clothes item, with plastic bags. (111)

CAROL

In one of the nights around Christmas, Dan Nasta, the collector and his wife would gather a few friends, about 10 or 15 to assist, in their sumptuous house, at the ritual of carol singing. The carolers were young people from the Conservatory, who would not sing only the usual carols but also old carols, folk carols, and old Byzantine songs discovered through specialized studies. In such an atmosphere of precious pieces, combined in such a refined way, near a table (I think it was a Régence style) full of delicate goodies, made and arranged in such a sophisticate manner by a mother-in-law from Banat, in the middle of such distinguished guests, I, and I am a rather snobbish person, was absolutely delighted: the mixture between whatever was traditional and modern, between religious and whatever was of a rare cultural quality, between the spectacular and the natural side of the feast seemed great to me. Maybe a little too well mis-en-sc?ne. An isle of perfection, enough for one to draw one?s breath, so that the next day, one could run about in the empty stores and markets, looking for eggs, butter and flour for the Christmas sponge cakes, looking for meat for the pig?s trotters (pork jelly). Mrs. Nasta had had some luck: at the Constructions Institute, the lecturers and the professors had already received a frozen hen from the canteen for the New Year?s Eve. (87)