Tradition
ROMANIA
Saint Andrew and Saint Nicholas
by Catalin and Roxana
Saint Andrew
The night preceding the day of St.
Andrew – one of Jesus’ apostles , who
brought the Orthodox faith to Romanian
people – is associated with the
emergence of folk traditions: ghosts,
witchcraft charms of love and fate, as
appropriate and to determine if the
coming year will be fruitful .
The feast of St. Andrew (name derived
from the Greek word “Andreas” , meaning
“brave” or “manly“) appears on November
30 both in the Orthodox calendar , and in
the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and
Anglican ones. In Scotland, Saint Andrew
is celebrated as the patron saint on the
same day.
On St. Andrew’s night, the boundary
between good and evil becomes blurred,
ghosts walk and steal into people’s minds
or steal the fruit of orchards. Ghosts are
spirits of the dead who, for various
reasons, have not reached the realm
beyond. On this night, the spirits are
dangerous, destructive, bringing
disasters, disease and unhappiness.
However, there is a very good weapon to
chase these spirits away: garlic. Garlic
used in the practice of defence was
usually prepared the year before, all
through the night of Saint Andrew. A
ceremony of “guarding ” the garlic
involved the participation of girls and
young men in the village who partied all
night, while the garlic was placed in the
middle of the feast, gaining protection
qualities .
St Andrew’s night can provide fruitful
orchards and fields. People bring in
homemade cherry branches, put them in
water and if they bloom by Christmas,
there will be a rich year. Another method
is to sow wheat in small flower pots or
use 12 onions (for the 12 months of the
year) – the dry and corrupt ones are
marks of rainy months, the sprouting
ones are a sign of wealth.
On the other hand, weather conditions on
the night of St. Andrew can predict what
the winter will be like, which is not hard,
if it is clear and warm outside. Instead, a
dark sky, full moon, snow or rain is a sign
of winter drifts.
St Andrew’s Day marks the start of the
winter holiday season, which will continue
with St. Nicholas, celebrated on
December 6, and will end on Epiphany,
on January 6.