Romanian Traditions

Dream and Sign Interpretation in Romania 

 

It is a well known fact that Romanians are a superstitious people, so it's time to have a look at the way they interpret dreams and certain signs they find in the everyday life. Passed on from the elders, these traditions are kept even nowadays even in the greatest of cities.

Dreams and interpretations

Here's a list with the most common interpretations of different symbols that might appear in your dreams: 

• clear water – great worries
• dirty water – disease
• falling in unclear water – disease
• fire – argument, worry, good weather
• infant – danger
• going to a wedding – argument
• having a tooth fall off and hurting teeth – a member of your family will die
• somebody dies – changing weather
• visitors – news
• somebody's house crumbles – death of someone living in that house
• a bull or a pig chases you – illness
• receiving news – having guests
• plane, soldier – getting news
• gipsies – good luck
• attending church – loss of money
• playing, dancing, laughing – upset
• flying – growing
• getting dirty – shame
• if a pregnant woman dreams of a boy's hat or a ring – she'll give birth to baby boy
• if she dreams of a scarf or woman's ring – she'll give birth to a baby girl
• wolves – problems with the law
• crossing a bridge – winning in front of the law, achieving something
• going uphill – progress, health improvement
• descending a hill – money loss
• priest – religious holiday
• white clothing – joy, success
• widow man/woman – danger 

Tradition also says that Monday night dreams, as well as those on Thursday and Saturday night come true, while those on Sunday (towards morning) usually don't come true. Some use special books for interpreting dreams, while others consider that dreams are sent either by your guardian angel or by the evil spirits.

Foretelling the future

Gipsies usually foretell the future by looking in the palm of your hand or by using cards. Others have a look at an older calendar, throw a grain of wheat towards it and if it falls on one of the 70 numbers on the page, this has a certain meaning. There's also a zodiac that gets checked out by foretellers, as well as calendars spanning over 150 years.
In the zodiac, each month has a certain sign associated to it, lasting from the 12th of a month to the 12th of the next one. Foretellers also search the sky and stars for signs regarding the future of a certain person. For example, a falling star points the direction of the place where your future will change.
Some women even practice the guessing of the future by using a coffee mug. There's also the "bobdi" guessing, done with the aid of 41 corn grains, that are placed on a table. Afterwards a woman makes the cross sign above them and they're mixed, while the woman chants an old song. Then the grains are split into 3 groups, each group with grains counted four by four. The remaining grains are placed on the table in a straight line, separately on 3 columns.
The process is repeated, while mixing the grains and choosing only some of them, till you get 3 horizontal and 3 vertical columns, so that any way you count them, there are 9 groups. If a grain falls in the middle, it's a bad sign. When 3 grains are in the middle, it's a good sign. If on top, the first line sums up to 9 grains, it's a bad sign. “Bobdii” are tossed while thinking the same thought, three times. If you want to have another thought, you must switch one of the 41 grains.

Signs that foretell events

As every culture has pretty strange signs that "foretell" events, here are a few from Romania:

• If you find an old horse shoe and keep it in the attic, behind the main pillar, it'll bring good luck to your house.
• A hanged man's rope is good for spells.
• If a cat comes by your house, it'll bring good luck.
• In order to be lucky when buying and selling stuff, before going to the market, you'll need to throw some coins to the children you meet on the way.
• If someone sews your clothes easily and they come out well, it means you're a lucky man, but if they fail to sew them once or twice, you must be an evil man.
• In order to preserve your luck, it's not a good idea to share your salt, when the cow gives birth, because it'll lose its milk.
• If you eat out of your lap, you'll be "eating your luck".
• Before going to a party, you should eat on the door step of your house, in order to keep spells away from you.
• Little children shouldn't look in the mirror when they start speaking, in order not to remain mute.
• When the walls, windows or corner of the house cracks, these are death signs.
• If the lamp of the house gets broken by itself, the people living in the house will split up.
• If a girl breaks a mirror, she won't be married for 7 years.
• When an icon falls off the wall and breaks apart, it's a bad sign, foretelling somebody's death.

Author: Alex Stanescu

The Girl Fair of Mount Gaina 

 

   Near Mount Gaina you’ll witness one of the most interesting traditions of Romania: the Gaina Girl Fair, taking place each year in the Sunday closest to July 20. Known as "targul de fete", this is the greatest outdoor holiday of the country and it hosts the greatest traditional song and dance groups from Romania.

 

      The history of this celebration was lost in the mist of time, but Mount Gaina was mentioned by Strabon, "the father of geography", who claimed that Dacians had a "cogaiom" mountain near their capital, Sarmisegetuza, where they made their sacrifices. Gaina is probably the peak where Dacians invoked their Gods and offered them such sacrifices. 
The girl fair is first mentioned officially in 1816 with people from all over Romania taking part in it, specially those from the Bihor, Aries and dwelling near the river Crisul Alb. They’ll exchange traditional products, like food or clothing and have a good time singing old songs and taking part in dances. This place is not only a symbol of Dacian traditions, but also one of the landmarks of the local "gold rush", as the precious metal seemed to have been widespread in this area.
Christian tradition placed this holiday in the second decade of July, so it'll be close to the celebration of Saint Ilie. The girl fair of Mount Gaina also has economical reasons, like the need of buying or selling various products, including girls, but only symbolically. The festivities of the girl fair take place in a beautiful local forest, surrounded by fir trees and situated at 1467 metres altitude.
There's also a romantic and ethnic motivation of the fair, as young people who live in very remote regions get together in this celebration, meet each other and sometimes fall in love and get married. In the past, girls would arrive at the fair with their dowry on their horses and the marriage was done on the spot by priests who came to mount Gaina for this purpose alone.
Today, the Mount Gaina fair is just a great local celebration, which takes a couple of days of preparation. It starts with the "tulnicarese" group of Avram Iancu, followed by various artistic programmes, which last till night kicks in. Among the dances on Mount Gaina there are the passionate "tropotite" played by mocani or "tarina", a dance for pairs and the most famous of locals, also known as "moti". There are variations of this dance, as, for example, the Abrud tarina is played elegantly and slowly with wide arm movements, lots of walking around and spinning the girl underneath the man's hand.
For tourists, the fair is the perfect place to buy unique local products, like musical instruments, wooden vases, ceramic ornaments, wooden tools or clothing items and culinary products.
Regarding the name of Mount Gaina (which means chicken in Romanian), there’s  a legend that says that on this mountain lived a chicken that laid golden eggs. Locals tried to steal her eggs, but the creature moved its nest all the way to the Rosia Montana area, where gold is extracted now. A smaller version of the girl fair of Mount Gaina is held in October (26th) and this is called the Fall fair.
The origins of the Mount Gaina celebration lie in the pagan celebrations of the summer solstice when people gathered on the peak of the mountain and worshipped the sun, praying for better crops and wealth. As Christianity became popular, Mount Gaina turned into a gathering place for shepherds and local folks, looking to dance or get married. A couple of traditions still remain from the ancient times, like the girls kissing the morning dew on the ritual plants or the early morning singing of the tulnicarese group, which point their musical instruments toward the sun.
The girl fair was most of the time a series of planned weddings between people who didn't want their young ones to marry their own relatives from small communities, so they travelled to Mount Gaina in order to find matches. It's  nice to see that a romantic tradition is still alive in the era of digital matchmaking, but that's one of the advantages of a rural/agricultural country with a rich tradition of legends.
Author: Alex Stanescu 

Romanian Wedding Traditions

   

    The wedding is one of the most important events in a family and since it involves the free will of two persons in love, it's the perfect occasion to blend milenia old traditions with elements of the local Romanian culture.

 

Basically the "institution of marriage", as it's officially known includes these phases: asking the future bride to marry the man, the call to the wedding, the “fox” game, the bride's party, the dowry game, the bride bringing, the forgiving, the actual wedding, the party afterwards, the bride dressing and the "primary way". This last tradition involves a family meal, one week after the wedding, meant to strengthen familial relationships and to gather more money for the newly weds, in case the parents didn't collect enough during the wedding.
The call to the wedding takes place a couple of days before the event and specially in the eve of the wedding. The callers are usually related to the bride and groom and are specially the parents of the two about to be wed. During a habit called "petit", the relatives will choose the future godfathers, the cooks and the people who will help with the wedding.

Petit

Pe?it is also known as "intelegere", "petitura", "croiala", "starostie", "impe?it" and either involves the groom (alone), or him and his parents. In case the young man doesn't know if the bride likes him or not, he must send the "pe?itori" before he arrives. Those are usually outspoken men or women who are daring enough to ask the bride in marriage for the groom.
There's a romantic twist for this situation, as when the parents of the future bride don't agree with the marriage, the two can run away and after a while, a relative of the man will visit the bride's family for reconciliation. They usually brought a bottle of their finest drink, which they drank and celebrated, in case things went fine.
In Romania, three weeks before the wedding the priest makes the wedding calls in the church, which are basically the public announcement of the wedding, meant to discover if anyone has a reason to spoil the marriage. 

Dowry

In the old days, in Romania both the future groom and the bride had their dowry set before the wedding. This habit reflected the social status of the family from which the young man and woman came  from. Girls without a dowry would usually remain unmaried or find it difficult to get married.
In Transylvania parents would set the dowry, and the agreement can be verbal or written, involving witnesses and a contract, usually made official by the priest on the engadgement day.
The girl's dowry usually included animals (cows, sheep, pigs, birds etc), several lands, cereals, money and the dowry chest that held clothing. The boy had to have a house, lands, a carriage, other animals and money. The dowry chest or the coffer, "lada miresii" in Transylvania, "lada de Brasov" in Oltenia, "sipet" or "cufar" in Moldova was the object that proved the status of the bride.
It was usually made out of wood, beautifully painted with floral motifs or adorned with sculptures.

The wedding meal

The "Sunday wedding meal" or "The Great Meal" is usually cooked in the groom's house and if there isn't enough space in there, some of the preparations take place in the bride's house. In Oltenia it is customary to have two meals, one at the bride's house, with her relatives and the groom's friends, followed by the great party at the groom's house.
The table setting is different depending on the region where the meal takes place. For example, in Oltenia the bride and groom don't eat at the same table with the other guests, but they eat out of a single dish with a big wooden spoon and share the same bottle of wine, so they'll learn to share everything in life.
The menu is not at all varied, as it includes most of the traditional foods of the region, like soup, sarmale, mamaliga, roast beef, fish, tuica, wine, cozonac.
Another interesting tradition is the "chicken dance", which involves a stuffed chicken addorned with flowers, cereals and fruit. The roasted animal is taken to the godfathers who buy it symbolically, then it is broken to pieces and shared with the rest of the people at the table. If the families are rich, the chicken can be replaced with a piglet or a turkey. 

The wedding tree

The wedding fir tree is addorned the night before the wedding and in some regions it can be an apple tree. It is filled with flags, colored paper, bells, ribbons. At the top of the fir tree, the relatives place a cake called cozonac or a bottle of local alcoholic drink tuica. The young men and women who climb the tree are rewarded with that bottle of tuica or the cake. In Transylvania each guest can bring his own tree, so you might even have about 50 trees at a wedding. Sometimes their are replaced by branches of prune trees or apple trees filled with nuts or apples.

What happens Saturday, before the wedding

Wedding preparations begin Wednesday, when, at least in Moldavia, women start cooking a part of the food, while men get the cereals ready for the big party and for the cooking of polenta and various sortiments of bread. Also on Saturday, at the groom or bride's house, "vedrele" are played, a dance that involves all the men and women in the house. "Vedrele" are an old measuring unit for liquids, one of them summing up to 10 liters.
The dance goes on till midnight, as the groom is shaved and the bride has to splash his face with water and basel. At night, the two about to be wed exchange gifts, usually their clothes. In Transylvania, the bride sews the numbers showing the age of her future husband onto the hat that he'll wear at the wedding. Meanwhile, the friends of the bride make bread, which she'll tear above her head and share with her female friends.
A funny version of the groom shaving habit is "shaving" the man symbolically with a hovel or scythe. Afterwards, the male friends of the groom put him on a chair and lift the man up three times, while drying him up. This resembles an older Jewish tradition and could be derived from it.
Some of the most important relatives before the wedding are the godfathers. In Moldavia, about 15-20 godfathers are chosen, the bigger the number, the richer the family. Of course, many godfathers also mean many gifts….
There's another important person at the wedding, some sort of party planner called "vornic" or “cumnat de mana” in Oltenia. He basically directs the wedding, starting from the invitations, the cooking, the setup of tables, the planning of dances and everything elese. The bride’s mother and father in law are the ones making the preparations for the big event, and the father of the groom is the one doing most of the spending. 

The wedding flag

In Transylvania the wedding flag is made a week prior to the wedding, by a "stegar" (flag man) payed by the godfather. He sews the flag together with the girls and in some regions the object is made by the godfather. On Saturday night, before the wedding, the flag is placed on the godfather’s house gate. In Sibiu, there are two flags made, one for the groom and one for the bride. Basically, one of these objects is made out of a stick, on which the girls sew colored ribbons, pieces of clothing, bells, and various other items. As the flag is made, they receive food and drinks.
The flag is worn by the “stegar” from the groom's group of party people and it is protected by the man during the wedding, as the other guests will try to steal it and make the “stegar” pay for it. The pay is usually in drinks…. The next night after the wedding, the flag is broken and the first ribbons are divided among the bride's female friends.
At the beginning of the 19th century the wedding would only take place in the groom's house, where every relative would eat and dance to the music of violins and flutes. After they finished eating, the tables were pulled outside and the dancing went on, as the poor bride had to endure a Moldavian tradition: her hair was fixed with the aid of a hole made in the house’s wall (lavita, the wall compartment where people sleep) and while she stood still, there was a symbolic beating applied to the woman so she would stay faithful to her husband all her life. This tradition was not kept to the present day, but the others, summed up make for quite a nice set of Romanian habits meant to welcome the newly weds to the world or married couples.
Author: Alex Stanescu 

Easter – The Most Important Christian Holiday

  Easter was first celebrated around 1400 B.C, the day when the Judaists left Egypt with the aid of God, as the Old Testament claims. Since those times, the Judaists celebrate the fact that the Divinity saved them from their Egyptian slavery. This is the old version of Easter, which got a new meaning, when God's son, Jesus Messiah took physical form and sacrificed for the sake of mankind.

 

This new commitment of the Divinity is not only one made to the Judaists, but to all of the humans that walk the Earth. It is interesting to notice that in the New Testament Jesus and his followers celebrate the new holy day through the Last Supper, as commanded by God. Before 325 B.C., Easter was celebrated on different days of the week, even Saturday or Friday sometimes. In that year the council of Nicaea was organized by the emperor Constantine, who approved the "pascal law", which set the Easter in the first Sunday after the full moon or after the spring equinox.
Easter is the most important religious holiday in Romania, as it has not been "tainted" by consumerism as has Christmas. In Bucovina, girls visit the local church's bell tower at Easter Eve and wash it with fresh water. They'll cleanse their faces with that water as soon as the sun rises on Easter day, so they'll be beautiful all year long. There are interesting traditions in Banat too, where at the Easter breakfast, each person around the table gets "pasti" (holy wine and bread). The local Easter dishes also include boiled pig meat, boiled eggs and other traditional food, plus the classic lamb roast.
Another beautiful tradition takes place in Maramures, the Lapus area, where the children who are up to 9 years old go to their friends' and neighbours' houses and announce the resurrection of Jesus. The hosts give each child an egg that's been painted red. In the valley of Crisul Alb, in Almas everyone gathers in the church's yard dressed up for holiday and ready to paint and adorn eggs. Easter wouldn't be the same in Arges without the egg bagels, which are called like this because they are cooked using lots of eggs (about 10-15 for each kilo of flour). They're among the local sweets and children go crazy for them.
     In Calarasi, people bring the pascal basket to the church right on the Easter Eve in order for the priest to bless the food. Aside from the eggs painted red and bread, people bring white roosters to church. They are bred especially for this occasion, as they are claimed to announce midnight and the revival of Messiah. The luckiest member of the community is the owner of the firs rooster that sings.
As in most cultures worldwide, Romanians still keep the Easter bunny ("Iepuras" in Romanian) in their Easter traditions, the little rabbit that runs around and brings gifts to children. This is a pagan ritual that dates from ancient times, when people worshiped the elements of nature and animals, rejoicing as the spring began. Also, the rabbit is the symbol of fertility and vitality and is known for "hiding" coloured eggs that the children must find, a trait of international Easter traditions that wasn't kept in Romania.
Among the Christian symbols of Easter there's the cross, that stands for the crucifixion, which is the opposite of ressurrection, but it became the official symbol of Christianity at the Nicaea Council in 325 B.C. In Romania the most important Easter symbol are the eggs painted red, which symbolize revival and the blood of Christ. The lamb is one of the most common dishes at the Romanian table on Easter day and it stands for the victory of life over death. The little animal is sacrificed on this holiday, to symbolize Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind.
"Pasca" is a dish only baked at Easter time and it has a round shape with a cross in the middle. Also "Pasca" is adorned with dough on the side and when putting it in the oven to bake, each woman  must say a prayer and make the cross sign. The legend of Pasca says that Jesus and his followers were visiting a very kind man, who put bread in their travelling bags, without them knowing it. When the followers asked Messiah when the Easter was coming, Jesus said that it will be celebrated when they'll find bread in their bags.
Another vital symbol of the ressurrection of Jesus is the candle of Easter Eve, which every believer carries to church and lights from the holy candle held by the priest and given at midnight. Many Christians keep the rest of the candles in their homes, once they burn out and light it when they're in trouble. Passing from Christianity to superstition, it's known that one shouldn't sleep on the Thursday before Easter, else he'll be lazy for one whole year. If a woman is the one sleeping on that day, Joimarita will visit her, this legendary figure making the woman incapable of working for the rest of the year.
Also, it is claimed that on Thursday the dead souls visit their old houses, where they dwell till the Saturday before Rusalii. Apart from being the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter is a time when families come together and unlike Christmas, they’re not united by the “give and take” phenomenon that involves gifts, but rather by sharing the joy of the divine sacrifice of Messiah. 
Author: Alex Stanescu 

Dragobete – The Lost Romanian God of Love and Lovers 

 

   Dragobete was a protector of joy, love and fertility. This pagan god had different dates of celebration in different areas and those dates were sometime between the 24th of February and the 25th of March. He announced people the long winter was coming to its end and the sunny weather was approaching. The old Dacian feast was more of a fertility ritual, local human community following the lead of the blooming nature.
 
His name comes from the Dacian word “trago” (this meant “he – goat” which was a symbol of vitality and fecundity) and “pede” (legs). When people turned to Christianity, Dragobete became a genuine symbol of spring and pure love. People believed that Dragobete or Iovan Dragobete (as he was known in some parts of the country) was a handsome nice lad, son of the hateful Baba Dochia. So he was a positive character, a solar good symbol in opposition to his old lady, Baba Dochia, embodiment of hateful and cold elements of winter.
Dragobete was a rogue god with a typical Balkan volcanic character, somehow similar to the Greek Eros and who used to play tricks to young people. A legend says he was turned into a flower – hart’s tongue – by Virgin Mary as he dared to annoy Her too (this legend is a clear example of the mixture of religious and pagan elements and characters).
Ancient Dacian population believed Dragobete was the animals’ godfather and that he was the one to officiate the beasts’ weddings up in the sky. In time he became the symbol and protector of love, fertility and of the entire blooming nature – including plants, animals and humans too. The legend has it that people who get engaged on the 24th of February (Dragobete’s Day) would be happy, joyful and remain deeply in love with each other for the whole year round.

Strange rituals at Dragobete’s Day

One of the best known and largely spread rituals in the past was the so – called “blood fraternity” or “blood union”. That meant young people who were not relatives but were very closed friends decided to celebrate their friendship somehow and in order to make it even more important they became sworn brothers and sworn sisters.
But how exactly did all that ritual happen? The boys and girls (in pairs of two and both of the same gender), surrounded by their band, made a small cut to their wrists. Then the ritual was to overlap the two raw cuts so the blood would mix together and then sip a bit of the friend’s blood and make some serious vows of friendship and loyalty to each other. This ritual was sacred and solemn for the small communities and most of the times people kept their promises for the whole life. Sometimes sworn sisters and brothers were much more important and much closer friends than real brothers and sisters.
Later on when people became Christians the cut got a cross shape and that meant the liaison was blessed by God. Some parts of the country there is an old ritual for young  girls to collect water from the un-melted snow. That water was carefully stored and used to wash their face, their hair etc. during the year as people said the liquid was magic and could make the girls look better, make them prettier and lovely.
Dragobete’s Day is a holiday indeed – people do not go to work, do not weave, do not wash the laundry and clean their houses in advance for the day. One custom is that in the morning young people go to the forest to pick up the blooming plants and flowers. At noon they come back to the village running and singing out with joy. Each lad chases the girl he fancies and if he manages to catch her he can kiss the girl in public – this being the equivalent of an engagement for 1 year. “Dragobete kisses the girls!” is a local saying as girls are in fact very pleased to be kissed.
Author: Irina Petre

Romanian Spring Traditions 

The Romanian holidays announcing the coming of spring have just passed. So maybe this would be a good time for Romanians to take a moment and think about the meanings of the celebrations they engaged themselves in. This is also a good opportunity for foreign people interested in Romania to find out more about its background. The holidays are a good place to start exploring the depths of the Romanian heritage. 
 
    The 1st of March represents the official beginning of spring worldwide.The whole universe is coming to life after a long and harsh winter.People are starting to spend as much time as possible outdoors, aremore optimistic and just cannot get enough of the sun. How could younot take the opportunity of celebrating such a miracle of nature?Romanians are no exception and cheerfully welcome the coming of spring.In order to officially acknowledge this event, the local custom here is for men to give all the women in their lives a “Martisor” which is asort of lucky charm that symbolizes the spring season. It is supposedto protect those who wear it and bring them happiness and good luck.The lucky charm can consist of a coin, a jewel, a flower or a cuteanimal which are tied to a red and white string. But few Romanians are aware of the actual origins of this tradition.

 According to the old Roman calendar, the 1st of March was the first day of the year. Therefore, the celebration of this day was originally related to the beginning of a new year and not to the coming of spring as it is considered today. Romans thus brought a tribute to the God Mars, who allegedly was the father of the founder of Rome. In fact, the
word “Martisor” is a diminutive deriving from the word “Martie” (which is Romanian for “March”). Moreover, “Martisor” is also the regional name for “March”, coming from the Latin “Martius”.

ORIGINS OF THE "MARTISOR"

At first, the Martisor consisted only of the colored threads which were worn by women and children or were put on the fences to protect their houses. Later on, people attached a coin to it and started wearing it on their wrist or pinned to their clothes as a lucky charm. The significance of the white and red strings is not 100% known. Some say it comes from the fact that the God Mars is a blend of two characteristics. On one hand, he symbolized the regeneration of nature by being the protector of agriculture while on the other hand he was the patron of war. Others are more poetic in explaining the origin of the two-colored thread. They speak of a legend of the Sun that used to come down on Earth in the form of a young man. One day, he was captured by a dragon and kept in a dungeon. The entire world immersed in sadness, still no one had the courage to free the Sun. One day, a courageous lad dared to face the dragon and the Sun was up in the sky again, thus bringing the world back to life. However, the brave man who achieved all this was hurt in battle and could not be saved. His blood left red traces in the white snow. Since then, people tied two threads together and give them to the ones they love: the red one stands for love, reminding of the young man’s blood, while the white one is a symbol of health and purity. Nowadays, women wear the “Martisor” for about 9 to 12 days.  After that, some put it around the branches of a tree. If the tree blossoms, it means they are going to have a wonderful year. Others wait until the first sighting of a flock of storks and throw their “Martisor”
towards them. Still, the modern women are not so keen on these traditions anymore. In Romania, the first 9 (or in some regions 12) days of March are called “Babe” which literally translates into “old women”. As it is the beginning of the agricultural year, people use these days to predict
how their year is going to turn out. They pick one day as their “baba” and if the day proves to be sunny, then the following year is going to be a prosperous one.  

THE 8TH OF MARCH AND "MUCENICI" CELEBRATIONS

The 8th of March represents Mother’s Day just like in other parts of the world. Still, in Romania, the celebration has a sort of extended significance, as it is nowadays considered to be Woman’s Day.
The next day is also a special day for the Romanian people. The 9th of March is the day of the 40 saints called “mucenici” (“martyrs”) or, as some Romanians call it, “mosi” (translating into “old men”). Men like to have their own version of this celebration, as they like to label this as “Men’s Day”. The legend of the 40 martyrs begins in the 4th century, under the reign of Licinius, when people were actually punished for their religious beliefs. The army general decided that everyone should bring offerings to the gods. But 40 of his soldiers were Christian and refused to obey. They were thrown in prison and then harshly punished by having stones thrown at them and being forced into a freezing lake. They gave their lives after passing through terrible tortures, but their sacred remains were preserved until the current day in various parts of the world.
On this day, almost all Romanians commemorate the 40 saints by eating knot-shaped bread similar to the figure 8 that are honeyed and dotted with ground nuts. People believe they will please the saints by giving them these offerings. Although the habits vary depending on region, this day is celebrated all over Romania one way or another.
The Romanian traditions for welcoming spring have been celebrated by locals for many years. People love to engage in these festivities, although many of them lost the original meaning of these holidays somewhere on the way. This does not prevent them from having a great time on these occasions, but trust me on this: knowing the entire background will make you go through the whole “Romanian spring experience” much more intensely. And it will be definitely worth it.
Author: Adriana Niculescu