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Romania Family Life
The process of socialist modernization greatly affected
family
life. Through education and a comprehensive welfare
system, the
state assumed responsibility for providing assistance and
transmitting values. Although the family was identified as
the
fundamental unit of socialist society, and it heavily
influenced
the values of the younger generation, its primary role had
become
population reproduction. Even that role was no longer a
private
matter, but was subject to the whim of government policy.
But the
prediction that socialism would provide for the transfer
of
domestic duties from the home to the public sector fell
far short
of fruition. In 1989 communal dining facilities and public
laundries were still largely unavailable, and because the
tertiary
sector of the economy received the lowest priority,
services such
as house cleaning, home repairs, and dry cleaning were
either
inadequate or nonexistent.
Consumer durables to lighten the burden of housework
were
available only to a privileged few. In the late 1960s,
only 7.3
percent of households had electric refrigerators, 22.6
percent had
gas stoves, 9.5 percent had washing machines, 3.2 percent
had
vacuum cleaners, and 38.8 percent had electric irons. By
the late
1980s, the situation had improved somewhat, but the
majority still
lacked these items. In addition to the difficulties
associated with
home maintenance, shopping for the family was laborious
and timeconsuming . The dearth of refrigerators and freezers forced
most
families to shop for food every day and because
supermarkets were
scarce, shopping entailed trips to several different
stores where
the customer typically had to stand in one queue to select
merchandise and in another to pay for it. Inadequate
public
transportation made shopping even more toilsome.
Family life for rural Romanians differed in many
respects from
that of urban families. Their living standards were lower,
and they
maintained values and behavior patterns that were firmly
rooted in
traditional peasant life. The unavailability of
electricity to many
rural households made it impossible for them to use
refrigerators
and washing machines, which in many cases would have been
prohibitively expensive. Even when electricity was
available and
they could afford the appliances, many peasant women still
did
their laundry at the stream because it was a traditional
site of
social interaction. Using a washing machine gave a woman a
reputation for being lazy and antisocial. Likewise, many
rural
families eschewed refrigerators in favor of traditional
ways of
preserving food. Perhaps because farm produce was a source
of
income for many rural families, they consumed far less
fresh meat,
vegetables, and fruit than urban families, and the staple
of the
rural diet remained maize porridge flavored with cabbage,
cheese,
onion, or milk. This frugal everyday diet was interspersed
with
feasting on special occasions such as weddings, funerals,
Easter,
and Christmas.
Rural family life was much more heavily influenced by
religion
than was urban society. Romanian Orthodoxy, rich in
tradition,
dictated the rhythm of life in a calendar of numerous
holiday
celebrations. Church attendance in rural areas far
surpassed that
in urban places. Most rural people viewed the civil
marriage
ceremony required by the state as a mere formality and
lived
together only after a church wedding. In addition, divorce
was much
less common in rural parts. Rural families spent a
remarkable
amount of free time in church and in church-related
activities. The
average sermon lasted more than three hours. Visiting,
folk music,
folk dancing, and listening to the radio were other
popular
activities. Urban families, on the other hand, exhibited
more
secularized values and were more likely to use their free
time to
pursue cultural activities.
Although industrialization, urbanization, and education
did not
eliminate the cultural gap between rural and urban
Romania, these
processes did narrow it. Rural-urban contact occurred
daily though
commuting, and the accoutrements of urban living trickled
back to
families even in the most remote areas. Furthermore,
although the
influence of religion was not eradicated, it certainly
declined,
especially in urban areas, creating an unforeseen problem.
Surveys
indicated that the socialist ethics and values that the
state
expected the educational system to instill had not filled
the void
left by fading religious values.
Data as of July 1989
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