In Romanian tradition, the day dedicated to love is Dragobete day – the 24th of February, when Orthodox Christianity celebrates the Finding of the Head of Saint John the Baptist. Mythically similar to Eros or Amor/Cupid, Dragobete is the son of Dochia and the god of youth, love and love of life. Handsome man and a womanizer, he was considered a cosmic godfather who, in the heavens, united in marriage all animals at the beginning of spring. Then he married all men. That is why, on Dragobete Day, boys and girls meet, so that their love might last forever, like that of some birds – messengers of the gods – getting engaged the same day. Between the winter celebrations we are still reminiscing about, and those of spring which are coming closer, are the celebrations of love. The month of February brings with it Valentine’s Day – a western celebration readily embraced by some Romanians (especially the younger ones), or regarded with hesitation by others who see it as a commercial, superficial and tacky celebration. And, in February we have the “Dragobete”, the traditional Romanian celebration of love.
The story of Saint Valentine is told is in a legend of ancient Rome. It is said that the Roman emperor Claudius II decreed that none of his soldiers could marry, because he noticed that, once married, they did not want to go to battle, preferring the warmth of their homes and the love of their wives. And Valentine, a priest, seeing the injustice of this decree, didn’t respect the imperial order and secretly married couples. After a long search, the priest was found and brought to the emperor. Charmed by the young and wise priest, the Emperor tried to win him over to his side and asked him to renounce Christianity and join the Roman army. Valentine refused. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Before the execution of the sentence, Valentine wrote a farewell to each of his friends, each time ending with the words: “Remember your Valentine!”. He was killed on the 14th of February 269/270, the day when we remember him. Or at least this is how the story goes.
In Romanian tradition, the day dedicated to love is Dragobete day – the 24th of February, the day when Orthodox Christianity celebrates the Finding of the Head of Saint John the Baptist. Mythically similar to Eros or Amor/Cupid, Dragobete is the son of Dochia and the god of youth, love and love of life. Handsome man and a womanizer, he was considered a cosmic godfather, who, in the heavens, united in marriage all animals at the beginning of spring. Then he married all men. That is why, on Dragobete Day, boys and girls meet, so that their love might last forever, like that of some birds – messengers of the gods – getting engaged the same day.
Whether it’s the 14th or 24th of February, Valentine’s Day or Dragobete, the celebration is always about love, which we should really celebrate it every day. How? It is so simple and so natural. A smile, a kiss, a caress suffices. If you don’t want to let these special days go by without a pleasant memory, you can try and surprise your partner. Do it with a flower, with a present or even a romantic dinner. If love catches you in Bucharest – alone or not – and you don’t want to spend your evenings alone at home, you can chose from the multitude of events, fairs, concerts the Capital has to offer. On the 14th of February, Sala Palatului (Palace Hall) hosts a concert by Directia 5, dedicated to lovers, they will interpret their most romantic songs covering a musical career of 20 years. On the same stage, on the 25th of February, the Holograf band will hold a concert especially focused on the Dragobete celebration.
BABA Dochia
Following this month, dedicated to love, Romanians will greet the spring with gifts. This has been a tradition over centuries, or even millennia. Our 1st of March gift is called Martisor (a March token). The celebration of Martisor predates Christianity and presents a Romanian tradition that is encountered only in the area of the Carpathian Mountains and with some peoples south of the Danube, who apparently adopted the tradition from us. The Bulgarians honor Old Lady Martha who is responsible for the passage to the hot season. To hasten this passage, they clean their houses and prepare a huge fire to warm it up; in March Bulgarians wear a red and white thread on their wrists, the Martenitza, to be protected against evil. The Romanian name, Martisor, is in fact the folkloric name for March, the month dedicated to Mars, the Roman deity of natural forces, vegetation, spring and agriculture, the fields and herds, and also the God of war, protector of marriage, of the young and of the founders of the city. The New Year started on the 1st of March in ancient Rome, when the Matronalia, a celebration dedicated to women, was celebrated and women were given presents by their husbands. For Thracians, the attributes of the god Mars were identified in Marsyas Silen, the god who invented the flute, whose cult was linked to vegetation and to whom the celebrations of spring were dedicated. As for the Matronalia, this holiday seems to have overlapped with the local equivalent – Baba Dochia (Old Lady Dochia), the peasant and maternal deity, celebrated on the 1st of March.
And yet, just how was Martisor born? There are more stories regarding the origin of this custom, the most common of which we have retold in previous issues of our magazine and which can be found on internet sites that deal with Romanian mythology. They are linked to the story of Old Lady Dochia and her daughter-in-law, or to the young man who brought back the sun to man after it had been taken by a dragon. (This version is probably based on a solar eclipse from Roman times, an eclipse that the Dacians, our ancestors, have explained in popular terms). The warm blood of the young man injured in the battle is shed on snow, and ever since the youth give their loved ones two threads together: one red like blood, a symbol of love and courage, and another white like snow, the symbol of health and the first flowers of spring.
The same symbolism of blood and snow can be found in a legend better known in Basarabia, today’s Moldavian Republic: it is said that on the first day of March, Spring, coming to the edge of a forest and seeing a drop of water making its way through the snow, from a blackthorn bush, hurries to remove the snow and thorny branches, to allow the flower to rise. Infuriated, Winter sent frost to freeze back the water drop. Spring protected it with her own hands, but the thorns scratched her and she bled. A drop of blood fell on the flower and it recovered.
Martisor was a gold
or silver coin
Beside all the versions of the myth one thing is certain: many archaeological digs in Romania have discovered amulets that very much resemble Martisors some dating back 8000 years – white and red river pebbles on string and worn around the neck. Red - the color of fire, blood, the sun - sends to love, life is associated with the feminine element, while white, represented by the clarity of water and the clouds is associated with the wisdom of men. White can be correlated to the snowy winter and red to the heat of summer. The threads of the Martisor gather the opposing elements: feminine-masculine (the two colors we see today at weddings or funerals have remained to this day the symbols of sexes), winter-summer, hot-cold, brightness-darkness. This combination of colors is a traditional one: we can see it in wedding garments, in the clothes of new-born babies, in the funeral clothing of old people (in Oltenia), and it is also with these colors that the first sheep to come into the sheepfold or the first plough to go into the fields in the spring are adorned. Originally, in Moldavia and Bucovina Martisor was a gold or silver coin fastened with a red-white thread – of linen, wool or cotton – around the necks of children, was considered to bring luck. Young women wore it on their necks for twelve days, and then put it in their hair, and when storks came or trees bloomed they tied the threads onto the branches of the first tree to bloom. In many Romanian areas, mothers would tie Martisor on children, around their necks, hands or legs, to be protected, healthy and clean. In Transilvania, Martisor was hung then as it still is now, on windows, gates, bucket handles, animals’ horns to repel the forces of evil, for prosperity and good luck. Today, the thread tied in the 8 shape is worn mainly pinned on the chest or tied on the arm. Tradition says that it should be worn throughout March… Or, according to the region, the Martisor, carefully tied at dawn on the 1st of March, before sunrise, is taken down after nine or twelve days or on another spring holiday – The Martyrs (9th March), Armindeni (1st May) or even on the Palm Holiday – once storks have arrived. Then the Martisor is thrown up to the sky so that luck will be big and have wings. Or, when the first tree blooms, people leave their Martisor on the branches of the tree to be healthy and beautiful like its flowers, and if the tree bears fruit that person will have a good year. Usually, the day the Martisor was taken off was celebrated with a party called “the drinking of Martisor”.
Today, according to tradition, the Martisor is a springtime gift, given on the first day of March, a symbol of spring, love, admiration and a new beginning. It is given to children, girls, women but also to men in some areas, for protection. Over the years, gold and silver coins have been replaced by flowers, shells, figurines, figurative beads, jewelry, with craftsmen competing in making more and more varied models. Beside its general message, Martisor can also be personalized – letters or numbers that have a special meaning for the addressee, horn sweepers for wealth, a four-leaves clover or horseshoe for good luck, snowdrops – tenderness and purity. Actually, any present can be converted into a Martisor– a bunch of flowers, a box of candy, a book, a car. What matters is for it to be given with love and received with joy.
Stories of love, stories of spring, they all celebrate life with beauty and caring. All I have left to do, is wish for all of you, our readers, to love, to be loved, to enjoy spring around you, and mostly what is within you. Not only on Valentine’s Day, Dragobete or March 1st. And not only for a day or a year but for a lifetime!
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