April was the second month of
the Roman calendar, 
which began on March 1st.
In the Julian and Gregorian
calendars, it was the fourth month.
The old name of April, “prier”, is related to the weather, which is favorable
for continuing the agricultural works begun in March.
When the weather was changing and it was too cold for seeding, April was named “bag
on a stick” (Romanian: “traista-n bat”), which was associated to poverty.
According to the tradition, if the weather is beautiful in April, May will be cold
and frosty. Instead, if April is cold, the weather will be beautiful in May.
The celebrations of this month are:
- April 1st: The fools’ day (The tricks day)
- April 11: Teeth day (St. Antipa)
- April 22: St. George’s
Eve (St. George of the cows)
- April 23: St. George (Sangiorz)
- April 25: St. Mark of the ox
- Also this April, on 26-28th we will be celebrating EASTER - read more about it in my dedicated threads for Easter In Romania which you may find in the Table of Content here
April 1st: The fools’ day (The tricks day)
Almost all Romanian people today, especially the ones from towns, know that
April 1st is the “Tricks Day”, when lies are told and tricks are made.
Nevertheless, this celebration doesn’t belong to the Romanian folk life. It was
only introduced later in time.
April 11: Teeth day (St. Antipa)
This day is dedicated to St. Antipa. People believe that this saint can cure
the toothache.
April 22: St. George’s
Eve (St. George of the cows)
The night before the St. George celebration (an ancient beginning of the
Pastoral Year) is a very important one. People believe that witches try to
still the crops and the milk from the cows. For this reason, all the rituals of
this night are meant to protect the fields and the cattle.
This is the night when witches, naked and disheveled, gather in groups of
twelve at the village boundary. An older witch advises them. It is said that
they fight at the boundary between two regions. The winners will be awarded the
rain and their region will be fertile. On the other hand, the losers’ region
will be draughty.
In order to steal the corn of the fields and the milk from the cows, witches
tie to one of their legs an empty little bag or a milk strainer, which they
drag over the fields and pastures. With the same purpose, they cut green wheat
with the sickle, bury charmed salt blocks in the path of the cows and do
various spells.
It is believed that who doesn’t sleep on this night can hear the witches’
songs.
Men should always wear something on their head when they go outside in the
evening of this day. If they don’t wear a hat, the witches put a bridle on
their head and use them as a horse. Thus the men will run as the witches
command.
People execute various rituals in order to keep the witches away.
It is believed that witches are afraid of the great noise. For this reason, the
young men play alpenhorns and fautes
made of nut tree wood, people scream, ring church bells or bang coppery plates,
trying to make as much noise as possible.
For keeping the witches away, people splash one another with charmed water from
the river and they also splutter the cattle and the stable.
In this night some people take their cows grazing and carefully watch over
them.
Sometimes a harrow with the teeth pointing upwards is put at the stable
entrance, in order to scare the witches.
In the same purpose, enchanted herbs are put in the milk bucket filled with
water and left there over the night. The second day people cut them in little
pieces, mix them with salt and bran and feed the cows with this mixture. The
doors and windows are smeared with garlic and ornate with green branches of
willow, beech, bramble, peach or lovage. These are also placed at the gate, at
the stables, at the well, at the milking buckets, at the horns of the cows and
at the plough. Green branches decoration also means the revival of the nature.
According to the folk tradition, the one who walks in the morning, before the
sun rises, on the rural fields, will be blessed with health.
Sky opens this night, in order to give the trees the power to bloom. As St.
George is the patron of the summer, people plant a green tree in the front of
their houses. If the tree grows, they say it was a gift from St. George.
People hit one another with nettles, believing that this way they will be
healthy and fast all year.
One shouldn’t sleep in this night, as he will be sleepy all year.
The white snake is a common presence in the beliefs of this day. It is said
that who searches for treasures should look at a river until he sees a white
snake. He should cut its head with a silver coin, then he should bury the head
in the ground and he should plant garlic above. If the man eats the garlic
before St. George celebration, he will be able to understand the language of
the animals and he will even be able to hear the grass growing.
According to other similar beliefs, the silver coin used for cutting the head
of the white snake will always return to its master, no matter how many times
it will be spent. If one puts garlic in the mouth of the dead snake, he will be
able to see the witches stealing the milk from the cows.
In order to be lucky, on St. George’s
Eve people make the “live fire”. This is lightened by unmarried men, by rubbing
dry woods. The live fire is lightened in order to purify the space from the
evil spirits, to keep away the witches and the disasters of the nature.
Opposite to the normal fire, which is lightened with the steel or matches, the
live fire is only lightened by rotating a dry soft wood on the hard one. People
jump over this fire, saying magic words. The live fire is kept until the sheep
are taken down from the mountain. By mixing the ashes of the live fire with
other herbs, medicines for skin diseases are obtained.
It is believed that fires appear in this night, indicating treasures hidden in
the ground.
The power to overcome Evel and to Do only good!
April 23: St. George (Sangiorz)
St. George Day is one of the greatest Romanian celebrations. It keeps ancient
elements, previous to the Christianity. Only the memory of a holy warrior, who
killed the dragon which threatened the world, has been kept from the
Christianity.
An ancient beginning of the Pastoral Year, this day is considered to be the
beginning of the spring. People choose the shepherds to whom they will entrust
the sheep until St. Dumitru’s Day (October 26).
In the morning, before the sun rises, people bathe in a river, thinking this
will make them healthy. Girls seed basil and keep the seeds in their mouth, in
order that the plant should rise and have a beautiful smell.
Also in the morning, before they eat, people weight, in order they should be
protected of spells and they should have a long and happy life.
The garbage of this day is placed at the base of the trees, thinking that this
way they will fruit.
If there’s much dew or if the day is foggy, the year will be wealthy.
An ancient custom is named the “bloj” (also named “Sangiorz”, “Gheorghe”, “Gotoi”,
“Bloaja”, “Papaluga”, “Mujug”, “Moroi”, “Ploughman”). The custom symbolizes the
birth and the death of the vegetal god. Young men gather in the wood, a day
before St. George. There, sitting around the fire, choose the one who will play
the role of the god. The birth is symbolized by the dressing of this young man
with clothes made of vegetal elements: green branches of beech, lime etc. On
the head he will wear a helmet made of wild cherry bark. He’ll also wear tree
bark shoes and he’ll have in the hand a green branches ornate stick. The others
have alpenhorns or flutes
made of the bark of some trees. In St. George’s
morning, the masked young men go in the village, shouting and singing. The “Sangiorz”
(the vegetal god) enters the households, dances and tries to embrace the women
and girls. The other young men protect him of being spluttered with water. If a
peasant manages to splutter the “Sangiorz”, he’ll have a bad year. All kind of
gifts (eggs, meat, wine etc.) are given to the young men. The one who collects
the gifts is named the “clucking hen” or the “lass”. After they have finished
singing and dancing in the village households, the “Bloj” is undressed of his
vegetal clothes and thrown in the water, symbolically suggesting growing old
and death. The clothes are sometimes ritually buried. These have magical
properties: protect the cattle from the
witches, give a bigger crop, and bring luck and health. In some regions, the
crowns of the bride and groom are made of these green branches.
April 25: St. Mark of the ox
St. Mark the Evangelist is presented in the religious icons sitting next to an
ox. For this reason, people name this celebration “St. Mark of the ox”.
Peasants shouldn’t work on this day, as the cattle will be in great danger.
I hope you'll all enjoy these posts which unfortunately I'm not able to post regularly as it was the plan from the first time :-)
Wish you all a wonderful and joyful April :-)
With friendship,
Anamaria