Saint Andrew’s Day

Saint Andrew’s Day is one of the most important religious holidays in Romania, being celebrated on the 30th of November. On this day people named Andrei or Andreea (the Romanian versions for Andrew) celebrate their name day. Saint Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother and one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Both of them were fishermen, as was their father.   

Before becoming Jesus’ disciple, Saint Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, who put him on the path to following Jesus. He also led his brother to Jesus, telling him that he had found the Messiah. This is why Andrew is known as "the first-called". According to tradition, theologians and historians, St. Andrew was the first who preached the Gospel to the Geto-Dacian in the 1st century AD. He preached in the ancient province of Scythia Minor, including the Dobrogea region in the SE of Romania and along the Black Sea. Thus, he is considerAs for Romanians, the name of Saint Andrew is related to wolves. It is claimed that this name - the Apollo of the Wolves - derives from the old Dacian name, Daoi (wolves), but also from their symbol - the wolf. Saint Andrew was crucified on the 30th of November, in 60 AD, in the Greek city of Patras. According to tradition, St. Andrew felt that he was unworthy to be crucified the same way as his Lord, Jesus Christ. Thus, he begged that a cross of a different form be made for him. This cross represents the symbol of humility, suffering and martyrdom and become the "Cross of St. Andrew".ed to be the patron saint of Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Greece, Cyprus, and Sicily.

The night before Saint Andrews’ Day is marked by several customs, traditions and superstitions and is considered to be suitable for magic and charms. Most people relate it to love and marriage, but also use this night to protect themselves against evil spirits who haunt the living. It is considered to be the Romanians’ equivalent of the Halloween, as this is the night when “heavens open” and spirits go out in the world, wolves can speak and people protect themselves, their houses and their animals with garlic.

St. Andrew's Day is also called the Wolf's Day. It is believed that on the 30th of November the wolf becomes more agile, it can bend his neck tightly and nothing escapes it. This is why people now say that "the wolf sees his tail". On this day people do not work inside so the wolves do not to kill their cattle. However, wickedness is not only a danger for cattle but also for people who dare to go on the road.

The wolves are also the reason why on this day people do not sweep at all, do not take the garbage out, do not attend the stables, do not use fire, do not scratch and do not lend anything. If the masters of the house do not work, the wolf cannot approach. Also, the day before Saint Andrew, all sharp objects must be tied with string and put in a safe place. The comb also comes as a forbidden object by St. Andrew, being associated with the wolves’ claws, so all hairstyles shall be made on St. Andrew’s eve.

It is also said the ones that can hear what the wolves say will find out terrible secrets but will die soon and that the people bitten by wolves on this night will transform in werewolves.

There are also superstitions claiming that on Saint Andrew’s Day the evil spirits go out. They are known as “strigoi” (ghosts). They are the spirits of the dead who do not cross over after the funeral or refuse to return to the “other side” after visiting their relatives on big holidays. The “strigoi” are very dangerous for the living: they take the lives of close relatives, bring diseases, hail and other sufferings. Depending on the type of mischief they cause and the place they case it, these spirits can be of water or land of cattle and hives or of rains and fire.

These ghosts come to people’s houses, but all housewives take defensive measures: they eat garlic and anoint themselves on the forehead, on the chest, on the back and on the wrists. They also anoint the windows, the doors, the chimneys, the stairs, the door gates, the horns of the oxen and the cows, the pliers, the box and the axe. Sometimes, garlic is first poured through soot. Some people even close the chimney stove. Also, in the evening, housewives turn all the pots and mugs with their mouths down so that “no hole” remain uncovered. Sometimes housewives spread loaves of bread through the yard so that the hungry spirits do not look for food through the storehouses. If the spirits cannot find a crack to enter the house, they call out the ones inside. The spirit comes and screams at the window: "Have you eaten garlic?". If the man answers, he silences them; and if he stops, the spirit goes to try those who did not eat garlic. Also, garlic is a very powerful weapon against werewolves. People hang the garlic outside the house at the doors and at the stables to keep spirits away and they also put garlic in the animals’ food for protection. When it comes to magic and charms this day is considered one of the most important, as this night the most powerful charms for love, welfare and luck can be cast.

On Saint Andrew’s night, in order to find out who their future husband shall be, young women measure nine cups of full water and pour them into a basin, which is then placed under the icon. If the next day, after measuring the water in the basin with the same cup, there is still water left at the bottom of the basin, the girl will have luck. However, if the last cup is not filled then they will not be lucky and will not get married. There is also a tradition where, in order to find out their future husbands, young women stand naked, at midnight, between two mirrors, in a dark room, with a candle in each hand. It is believed, and some people even had this type of vision, that life scenes begin to perish, that the young women see their future husbands or, in some cases, that scenes from the future are revealed.

Another tradition is that on this night young women will put 41 grains of wheat beneath their pillow before they go to sleep and if they dream that someone is coming to steal their grains then they are going to get married the following year. Also, in some other parts of the country young women light a candle from Easter and bring it, at midnight, to a fountain.

They ask Saint Andrew to let them glimpse their future husband:

"Holy Andrew,

Take his face to the face of the water,

That in dreams I dream of him,

That for real I would see him!"

A very popular tradition that is still kept today is that on the night of Saint Andrew, all the family sow wheat in a bowl with soil. To whom the wheat grows better and nicer, he or she will be healthier, will do better and will be lucky in the year to come. Last but not least, the weather this night will tell us what the next winter will be like.

If it is a clear sky, winter will be gentle. St. Andrew's Day marks the start of the winter holiday season, which will continue with St. Nicholas, celebrated on the 6th of December and will end with the Epiphany on the 6th of January.