On February 24, the day
when the Orthodox Christian church celebrates The Finding of St. John the
Baptist's Head, the Romanian folklore celebrates the day called Dragobete. Dragobete was
the god of love in the Romanian pantheon, protector of love and good spirits.
Dragobete, the God of love and cheerfulness in
Romania, called also the Hedad of spring or the Head of summer, is the son of
Dochia. He is identified with Cupid, the god of love in Roman mithology, and
with Eros, the god of love from the Greek mithology. Locally, he is called
the Hothead, handsome young man, who makes girls and young women get infatuated
with him. He was transformed by the Virgin Mary into the flower called Heart’s
tongue (Phyllitis scolopendrium). Dragobete was celebrated by
the young people from the villages until the mid-20th century
on February 24 and 28 or on March 1 and 25.
In Romania, Dragobete was
the day when the girls and boys put on their best clothes and, if the weather
was good, they used to go out in the forest singing and looking for the first
spring flowers. The girls used to gather snowdrops, violets, and other spring
flowers, which they used to put near the religious icons and saved them
till the holiday called Sanziene (Bedstraw, on Midsummer Day), when they threw
them in the rivers. If they happened to find wild strawberry
flowers (Fragaria vesca), these flowers were gathered in
small bouquets and they were put in the girls’ washing water while they
chanted:” Wild flowers of strawberry / Picked on February/ Let all people love
me/ Send bad things away from me”.
On the Dragobete morning, the girls
and young women used to gather the fresh snow, melt it and use it to wash their
face and hair, believing that people would like better their face and hair.
On this day, usually the boys and
girls would meet at one house and invoke the Dragobete to bring them their
loved ones, and those who had no lovers hoped to find their own lover, so that
they would be loved till the next Dragobete holiday. This meeting usually
became a big party, with food, drink and dances. Sometimes the boys went to
other neighbouring villages to celebrate Dragobete, singing and shouting over
the hills, having fun.
People also believed that on
Dragobete the birds that did not migrate would gather in great flocks and
chirped and chose their mates and started to biuld their nests. The birds that
could not find their mates would have no chicks during summer. The old people
celebrated Dragobete to protect them against colds and other illnesses.
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragobete
http://www.e-transport.ro/DRAGOBETE_OBICEIURI_DE_DRAGOBETE_ZIUA_INDRAGOSTI-i41-news25867-p82.html
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