24 December is the Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Church. This day is for strict fasting in the Orthodox Churches, with Divine Liturgy celebrated, usually that of Saint Basil the Great, but this year the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom will be celebrated, because Christmas day is on a Sunday. On this day, the priests go to the houses of the faithful announcing the Nativity of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

As far back as the 4th century on the Christmas Eve the Christians have fasted and received in their homes the priests icon of the Nativity in their hands, just like today, in order to announce them the great feast of the next day. In the Romanian Orthodox tradition, on the Christmas Eve, the carollers of various ages come to the houses of the faithful to announce the Nativity of Christ by songs. They represent the angels and shepherds who announced on the holy night of Christmas that the Saviour of the world had been born in the manger of Bethlehem.

The Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian language defines the “carol” as “traditional song sung by groups of children, young men or adults, on the occasion of the Christmas feast or of the New Year”. For the Romanians, carolling exceeds the term of simple custom, having a special organisation, with various motifs, either sacred or lay, for all ages and social classes.

Carolling begins on the Christmas Eve day. The first ones to carol are the children who go from house to house announcing the Christmas Eve: “Good morning, Christmas Eve...”. On the Christmas Eve night, the troparion of the Nativity of the Lord is sung at the Vigil service of the Nativity of the Lord, within the Vesper service. After the Vigil service, the Christmas Eve night belongs to the carollers. Groups of carollers announce the Nativity of Infant Jesus till morning, as the carol says: “Great hosts, don’t sleep ant more...”.