WINTER IN ROMANIA Teacher Livia Dobrescu Școala Gimnazial ă nr. 11 “St. O. Iosif” Brașov - Romania The Seasons Comenius Multilateral Project

Natural phenomena Temperatures are low. Days are shorter, nights are getting longer. It's snowing. The wind blows. It forms glazed frost and hoar – frost. Water it freezes from the cold.

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Winter in Poiana Brasov

Winter months December Decembrie JanuaryIanuarie February Februarie

Games and winter sports Most winter sports are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Cross- country skiing, Alpine skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, figure skating, luge, bobsleigh and snowmobiling. Common team sports include ice hockey, curling and bandy.

Poiana Brasov Poiana Braşov is the most popular Romanian ski resort and an important tourist centre preferred by many tourists not only from Romania, but also from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and other European states. After the 2010s modernization, the ski area has expanded from 50 hectares to 80 hectares. In 2013, it hosted figure skating, alpine skiing and speed skating in the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival.

Celebrations National celebrations 1 December National Day of Romania

Historical celebrations 24 January Unification Day It honours the union between Wallachia and Moldavia which created modern Romania.

Traditional celebrations 31 December New Year

Religious celebrations 6 December Saint Nicholas Day 25 December Christmas Day

Animals’ life in winter To survive the harshness of winter, many animals have developed different behavioral and morphological adaptations for overwintering: Migration is a common effect of winter upon animals, notably birds.

Birds’ life Many migratory birds could bear without problems but low winter temperatures with decreasing temperature-rise and sources of food disappearing. Insects disappear, the earth will be frozen and covered with snow state and swamps and rivers will freeze. All birds that depend on these food sources will have to migrate in search of favorable living conditions.

The most famous migratory birds in our area are the swallow and the stork.

Birds that remain over the winter in Romania dove sparrow crow woodpecker

Hibernate Some animals hibernate for part or all of the winter. This is a special, very deep sleep. The animal's body temperature drops, and its heartbeat and breathing slow down. It uses very little energy.

In the fall, these animals get ready for winter by eating extra food and storing it as body fat. They use this fat for energy while hibernating. Some also store food like nuts or acorns to eat later in the winter. Bears, skunks, chipmunks, and some bats hibernate.

Some animals remain active in the winter. They must adapt to the changing weather. Many make changes in their behavior or bodies. To keep warm, animals may grow new, thicker fur in the fall. On weasels and snowshoe rabbits, the new fur is white to help them hide in the snow.

Food is hard to find in the winter. Some animals, like squirrels, mice and beavers, gather extra food in the fall and store it to eat later. Some, like rabbits and deer, spend winter looking for moss, twigs, bark and leaves to eat. Other animals eat different kinds of food as the seasons change. The red fox eats fruit and insects in the spring, summer and fall. In the winter, it can not find these things, so instead it eats small rodents.

bear squirrel fox deer wolf

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.