An augural custom from the cycle of events devoted to the celebration of the New Year. The ritual is performed by a little boy carrying the ‘sorcova’, which is a small branch or stick adorned with paper flowers with which he touches his elders, addressing wishes and invoking health, abundance, and prosperity:
"Sorcova,
the merry sorcova,
Long may you live
To a hoary old age,
Long may you flourish,
Like pear trees,
Like apple trees,
In midsummer."