Saturday, November 30, 2013

Romania's patron Saint Andrei


Romanian Christians celebrate today St. Andrei (Andrew) , when over 600,000 Romanians named Andrei, Andreea, Andra, Andreas will also celebrate their name day.  St. Andrei is known as Romanians’ apostle and Romania’s spiritual patron. He was the apostle who preached in the Roman province Scythia Mica- today’s Dobrogea, introducing the Christianity in a region where people still believed in multiple Gods.
This is a Christian celebration which however has some pre-Christian roots, so several pagan traditions have been kept. The Christian celebration has actually replaced an ancient pagan tradition called the Day of the Wolf.
A common tradition on this day is to plant wheat seeds and keep them indoors until New Year’s Eve. The tradition goes that the person who plants the wheat will be able to tell how next year will be based on how the plants will look like. Another tradition is to take small branches from a fruit tree, put them in water and keep them until the Christmas holiday. The branches should bloom, which is another sign of how fruitful next year will be.

http://www.romania-insider.com/romanias-patron-saint-andrei-celebrated-on-november-30/15519/ 

Sfântul Andrei, ocrotitorul României
Sfântul Andrei este patron al Scoţiei (steagul scoţian reprezintă crucea sfântului Andrei, în formă de X), al României, al Spaniei, al Siciliei, al Greciei şi al Rusiei. De asemenea, este patronul oraşelor Napoli, Ravenna, Brescia, Amalfi, Mantua, Bordeaux, Brugge şi Patras. În România, oraşul Galaţi îl are ca ocrotitor tot pe Sfântul Andrei.
Deoarece era pescar, sfântul Andrei este considerat de marinarii şi pescarii greci drept ocrotitorul lor. În România este socotit cel care a propovăduit Evanghelia pe aceste meleaguri. Mărturie stau toponimele din zona Dobrogei unde a şi locuit o vreme. Peştera Sfântului Andrei, Izvorul Sfântului Andrei sunt tot atâtea mărturii care dovedesc trecerea Apostolului pe aceste meleaguri. Sfântul Andrei mai este cunoscut în popor şi cu numele de Sântandrei sau Sânedru.  

http://www.romanialibera.ro/timpul-liber/evenimente/sfantul-andrei-ocrotitorul-romaniei-319222.html

5 comments:

ADRIAN said...

Have a good St Andrews day. He is also the saint of Scotland.

Joop Zand said...

GREAT shot Daliana

wish you a lovely weekend.

Greetings, Joop

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful portrait Daliana.

Д-бомж said...

Happy holiday!

Fram Actual said...

The painting is exquisite and the lesson is interesting.

I have always enjoyed the posts in which you offer a glimpse into Romanian history and traditions, Daliana. I hope you will continue doing this in the future.

While November 30 has moved on to December 1 in Romania, it still is November 30 for me in America so I will wish you a Happy St. Andrew's Day. And if, by chance, you planted a bit of wheat or placed some fruit tree branches in water, I trust they will reveal your coming year is to be prosperous and enjoyable.

So, once upon a time long, long ago, it was the day of the wolf .... hmmmm .... I will mark that on my calendar.

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