Ion Ghinoiu (b. 1941), a senior ethnological researcher in Romania, is known for his seminal works, such as Vârstele timpului [The Ages of Time] (1988, 1994), Obiceiuri populare de peste an [Folk Customs over the Year] (1997), Panteonul Românesc. Dicționar [The Romanian Pantheon. Dictionary] (2001), Sărbători și obiceiuri românești [Romanian Holidays and Customs] (2003), Cărările sufletului [The Paths of the Soul] (2004), Comoara satelor. Calendar popular [The Treasure of the Villages. Popular Almanac] (2005), and Dicționar de mitologie românească [Dictionary of Romanian Mythology] (2013), among others. He managed to theoretically complete the aforementioned monographs while operating with explanations and interpretations generated on the borders between ethnology, folk religion, folklore, archeology, astronomy, geography, and history. He has been daring in his interpretations and a pioneer in approaching phenomena, provoking debates while also inspiring generations of ethnologists. The Romanian Ethnographic Atlas (five volumes) is his magnum opus, as the folklorist Nicolae Constantinescu has stated. The publication is an example of what it means to be aware of and respect the initiative and contribution of forerunners who supported this scientific project and, subsequently, to excellently coordinate generations of research teams to achieve it. As follows, Ion Ghinoiu offers a fundamental tool for the research and methodology of ethnology, in the pages of which data are documented and expressions, as well as aspects of folk culture, are mapped and photographed, registered in prewar, interwar, and postwar Romania.This homage volume represents a collection of studies that are generators of various key implications. Starting from the metaphorically formulated title and inspired by the topics carefully explored and theorized by ethnologist Ion Ghinoiu, such as the popular calendar and the rites of passage, it suggests the fruits of his continuous study, which is a referential stand for the studies of future generations of specialists. It is a book in which the chapters communicate the mixed directions and approaches in ethnology in Romania, as well as ongoing research projects, such as the expression of a renewed perspective and the importance of exploring problems, phenomena, and topics through new methodologies and insights. The volume reveals just a small part of the applicability of diachronic and synchronous, inter- and transdisciplinary inquiry in institutional ethnology in Romania. The chapters simultaneously reflect the preferences for traditional thematics, still explored, and at the same time communicate that some specialists from this disciplinary field strive to distance away from the old investigation methods and thematics, outlining a more up-to-date domain, better connected to contemporary reality.The first part of the volume contains tribute materials addressed to Professor Ghinoiu, in which established ethnologists, folklorists, philologists, and linguists (Constantin Eretescu, Nicolae Constantinescu, Ilie Moise, Gheorghiță Geană, Zamfira Mihail, etc.) emphasize the scientific, methodologic, and didactic significance of his work. These accounts build on personal experiences obtained during research projects, showing the professional and human qualities of the ethnologist Ion Ghinoiu and his contribution to the elaboration of meaningful theoretical works of synthesis and the development of hypotheses and theories. This section of the volume argues that his work has achieved its goals of being scientifically useful, applicative, and intended for both specialists and the general public.The second part of the volume contains studies of ethnography, folklore, and ethnomusicology that aim to document, capitalize on, and research cultural facts as manifested historically and as they appear today under the effect of changes, dilutions, transformations, and conversions. The chapters are focused on thematic and theoretical-methodological areas such as comparative ethnology studies; theorization of the terms and concepts; traditional mentalities and dynamics of the rituals; capitalization of folklore archives and folk dance music; life-cycle habits and their temporary performance settings; studies on the history of institutionalization and ethnological research; ethnography of food; research of the outsider; forms of the temporary organization of built space and habitat; ethnographic reconstructions and restitutions; historical forms and styles of living of certain guilds in urban entourages; local histories and interpretations of the source and transfer of cultural customs and practices; historical views on local diffusion and transcontinental differences of traditional occupations; ethnographic geomorphology, history, and toponymy; and connections between folkloric aspects present in literature and political journalism.Therefore, those interested will read materials that argue for the need to explore topics inspired by the professor, such as elaborating on the ethnographic atlases of Romanians in eastern Serbia in Timok (Emil Țîrcomnicu) or how the specialist’s opus is drawn by his or her research style (Radu Toader). Other chapters focus on broader or narrower topics, such as the custom of accompanying young men (carolers) after caroling among the Romance speakers (Ion Taloș); capitalization of field diaries as holographic documents kept in the informational funds of unconventional folklore archives (e.g., the diary of the musicologist Harry Brauner) (Cristina Damaschin, Iulia Wisosenschi); explanation of the factors that condition the changing of musical forms, having as a case study Călușul Argeșean (Mihaela Nubert-Chețan); analysis of cultural concepts, such as myth (Ioana Alexandra Fruntelată); funeral meals celebrated by the whole community, having as an ethnographic site Vrancea County (Anca-Maria Vrăjitoriu); the role of the Romanian Academy in the institutionalization and continuity of ethnography as a discipline (Alexandru M. Iorga); and the food consumed and sacrificed at religious and popular holidays throughout the seasons (Laura Ioana Toader). Also interesting are the chapters on the ethnographic understanding of Montenegro and its people using the written press (Armand Guță); the exploration of households outside the estate of the village, such as the sălașe of the Arad Plain (Elena Rodica Colta); the image reconstruction of a peasant community through multidisciplinary and monographic investigation, having as a case study Slătioara from the Cerna Valley (Corina Mihăescu); historically living sequences in the urban space by researching the street of the cabmen in Bucharest (Ana Bârcă); personal and indigenous narratives and explanations regarding the origin and oral transmission of rituals, using the example of Căluș (Cătălin Alexa); memoirs and field accounts of interwar redrawing of transhumant pastoralism to Bessarabia and Russia (Lucian David, Ionuț Semuc); comparative analyses of sheep-breeding practices, the fencing system in England, and the transhumant system in Romania (Rusalin Ișfănoni); the ethnographic exploration of the Crucii Spătarului as a toponym, as a landmark, and as an identity witness of the disappeared monastic phenomenon (Cezar Buterez); the interpretation of the death and immortality models in the Romanian mentality (Cristina Douglas); local and demographic perspectives on the dynamics of the funeral fir ritual (Gabriel-Cătălin Stoian); and the definition of ethnography as a discipline and the presence of Romanian popular culture in the work of the poet Mihai Eminescu (Marin Constantin).The chapters are completed by various primary sources, such as notes from field diaries, urban plans, archival materials, and sheets of music, as well as ethnographic photographs from field research, cartographic materials, and so forth, thus enriching the scientific quality of the publication. The analyses are carried out in logical formulations with explained and argued connections, proving a proper acquaintance to the selected subjects and terrains by the authors.Even though the chapters are written in Romanian, it is a good source of information for both native and nonnative researchers concerned with the phenomena, facts, and cultural processes of Romanian society.