Every year, on the 23rd of April, Romanian people celebrate Sfantul Gheorghe or St. George Day. He is one of the most important saints in the Orthodox calendar.
In our region—Bucovina—people who live in villages cut small square pieces of fresh ground, stick willow branches into it and put them at the entrance. They are thought to be a spring symbol.
Planting branches on a piece of fresh ground is a very nice tradition and a suitable image of spring! It remids me a little our Easter tradition of “The lavurielle”. But from what kind of plant do you take the branches?
By the way! Tomorrow will be Easter day in Romania, won’t be?
So, HAPPY EASTER to you all! I wish you, Liliana and kids and all our Romanian partners, an Easter full of peace, love, harmony and everythingelse you dream!
GINA
Dear Gina,
Thank you for your wonderful words!
Indeed we’re celebrating the Orthodox Easter tomorrow and we will soon let you know how we do it.
That plant the kids were talking about is actually a tree called willow. I guess the Italian word for that is “salice”. You can see it in the photos. It’s just a small branch.
A presto,
Liliana
cool
This post was such a pleasant surprise! I was searching for icons of the saint…
The saint is not “cutting off the head of the dragon”, but rather piercing the mouth with the vertical spear (vertical therefore connected to God, and with a small cross at the top).
The exact same symbolism is present in what you describe, with the vertical plant (spring -> creation) that is stuck in the soil. The soil fragment is removed from it’s place so it shows the “spear” penetrated below the surface, in the same way blood is shown coming out of the beast’s mouth.
This tradition is another re-enactment of the reality depicted in the icon.
At least this is what I think…
Mihai
Wonderful work
Was St. George’s Day celebrated April 24th in Romania in the 15th century? When reading about the lag time between the Julian and Gregorian calendar, it said that the lag time between the two increases one day every century.